KRAV MAGA FUNDAMENTAL STRATEGIES

Kahn, the United States’ chief instructor for the Israeli Krav Maga Association, offers further insights into the Israeli fighting system in this seventh guide in a series.

Krav maga has become an increasingly popular system of self-defense in recent decades, in part due to its adaptability: “The system conforms to your strengths; you need not conform to the system,” writes the author in his introduction. The system’s lack of these kinds of formal rules, however, means that the strategies underlying the practice are that much more important, as “Israeli krav maga’s pledge…is that it can teach nearly anyone to successfully defend against proximate violence.” With this book, Kahn walks the would-be kravist through various tactics, from disengagement strategies to avoid a conflict—always the primary goal—all the way to strategies for surviving an ambush. It instructs readers on ways to defend themselves in a slew of scenarios involving armed and unarmed assailants by quickly assessing the situation and taking advantage of attackers’ weak points. Kahn pairs each strategy with a full-color photo series illustrating how to execute it, step by step. The prose is simple and direct, walking readers through the mechanics of different moves, the theory behind them, and their specific effects on the body: “A precise, strong side kick or stomp using the heel or, alternatively, a straight kick using the ball of the foot against the front or side of an opponent’s knee, can cause significant damage that will drop him immediately.” As Kahn admits at the outset, krav maga requires in-person training, ideally with a professional who has experience in the system. But for those looking to get a basic understanding of the system, including the sorts of movements involved and, more importantly, the thinking behind them, this book will prove to be a valuable primer.

A comprehensive, no-frills krav maga manual.