Krav Maga Ground Fighting

Some styles do not teach ground fighting. They say they don't need it since their style is so effective they will never be taken to the ground, they will finish the fight standing.

Anyone who has experienced really fighting knows one must be prepared for every type of situation.

Whether on the street or in combat being knocked down or taken to the ground, is a real possibility. Therefore the first stage in Ground Fighting is learning how to fall.

Learning How To Fall.

We take our falling techniques from Judo, Jujitsu, Russian styles and first hand experience. We learn to fall from various heights; front, back, side ways. We learn to roll forwards and back. In addition to being an important part of krav maga fighting this had also saved many of our students from accidents such as falling off bikes and skate boards.

Simplicity

Personally I love Brazilian Jujitsu and submission wrestling. I loved watching the early UFC matches with Royce Gracie. The wide variety of techniques; chokes, leg locks, arm bars, wrist locks, make it a very exciting sport. Ultimately however, it is a sport.

With our street and combat training we have to eliminate most of the fancy stuff and stick with the "down and dirty". In a sporting event I'd rather see a well executed triangle choke but on the street, kick him in the groin, push him off and get out of there.

Ground fights, in real life, are not sporting events, and thus there are huge differences that must be taken into account. Using sports training for the street could prove a fatal mistake.

Differences between sport and the street

The Street is not a mat - There are rocks, broken class, hard concrete surface.

He might not be alone - Your opponent might have friends nearby who will kick you while you are wrestling with this guy. Or, someone might pull out a weapon.

OTHER ASPECTS OF OUR GROUND TRAINING

Ground To Standing

My dear friend Arthur Cohen has an expression, "Down and Dangerous" instead of the common expression, "Down and Out". This phrase reflects an attitude and a set of techniques.

The attitude is that "I am not out of this fight. I may be down but I am not out. I can fight from here and I can still inflict a lot of damage, so watch out!"

There are a set of techniques which can be easily executed from the ground; kicks, joint smashing, take-downs and submissions. A Krav Maga fighter can indeed be very dangerous from the ground.

We have drills where one student is on the ground, he is surrounded by others who attempt to kick or grab him. He must improvise by kicking back, attempting takedowns using his legs and arms (if the opportunity presents itself), and protecting himself against strikes. The drill is performed in an aggressive, real time, type of way.

Get UpNo matter how good you are on the ground we always say - get up as soon as you can. The ground is a bad place to be. Get up and get away.

Ground defense training on tiled floor, Jerusalem.

Ground Knife Defense

In Krav Maga training we understand that on the street or in combat a fighter can suddenly pull out a knife. As such we train for this possibility as well. Some of our techniques are adapted from the Russian Martial art of Systema, and some from the teachings of W. Hock Hochheim. All are made "Israeli" by our application of them to real life situations. Krav Maga vs. Multiple Attackers . Armed and Dangerous . Krav Maga Attitude . Fight Quest and The Human Weapon; Krav Maga