Which is better self-defense, Krav Maga or Karate?

Karate? Brazilian Ju Jitsu? Kick Boxing? Which is best for you? Sorry, we can’t tell you that, but what we CAN tell you is that Krav Maga is hand-down, without question the undisputed champion when it comes to street smart, real-world, gritty, raw, smash-mouth self-defense.

Developed in Israel as a close combat system by Imi Lichtenfeld (Imi Sde-Or), Krav Maga is a mixture of all of the best elements of traditional martial arts techniques, boxing and grappling. Think of it as the all-star line-up of fighting techniques in one system. Imi spend 30 years developing his program, and went on to create the International Krav Maga Federation in 1995, now lead by his pupil and our own Master Trainer at Watchdog Krav Maga, Avi Moyal. The IKMF is the school used to train the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), the military forces of the State of Israel, and is the same system that we use to train our students. If you are looking for the world’s most effective fighting system with techniques designed to be learned quickly, appropriate for any person of any size, age, or gender, forget the dragon – enter Krav Maga.

Oh, and what about MMA? That’s a sport, not a self-defense system or martial art. It may be good for sparring, but it may not save your life. Plus cage fighting is not for everyone, but Krav Maga definitely is!

Don’t believe me? Neither did Bart Sympson:

What about getting in shape, is it an exercise program? Well, while Krav Maga classes are intended to train you to fight, one of the primary mantra’s of Krav Maga is to stay in fighting shape at all times. A typical Krav Maga class will have you burning more calories and get more fit than your every-day exercise class. And since we all know that exercise is usually pretty boring, Krav Maga could ever be considered dull. Challenging, exhilarating, addictive, high-energy, fun, fast-paced, fight training yes. Boring, never.