This Is Why I Quit Krav Maga And You Should Too

Jeff Phillips used to be a Krav Maga Senior instructor, yet years ago he made the decision to quit it. In this video he explains why and how Krav Maga fails as a self defense practice.

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Welcome to the Martial Arts Journey YouTube channel!

My name is Rokas. I'm a Lithuanian guy who trained Aikido for 14 years, 7 of them running a professional Aikido Dojo until eventually I realized that Aikido does not live up to what it promises.

Lead by this realization I decided to make a daring step to close my Aikido Dojo and move to Portland, Oregon for six months to start training MMA at the famous Straight Blast Gym Headquarters under head coach Matt Thornton.

After six months intensive training I had my first amateur MMA fight after which I moved back to Lithuania. During all of this time I am documenting my experience through my YouTube channel called "Martial Arts Journey".

Now I am slowly setting up plans to continue training MMA under quality guidance and getting ready for my next MMA fight as I further document and share my journey and discoveries.

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Check the video "Aikido vs MMA" which started this whole Martial Arts Journey:

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#KravMaga #SelfDefense #MartialArts

[sampokemppainen]

Fist rule: If questioning the art and methods causes your instructor to shut you down, it's time to walk out and never come back.

[maxwellkafka]

I did a year at a “Krav Maga Worldwide” gym in Phoenix before I joined the Army, and they had some good training (much better than Army Combatives), but when I met an Israeli soldier during some medical cross training, he explained that Krav Maga isn’t a style, it’s a mindset to condition their soldiers to become violent and recondition their stress reactions

[RamseyDewey]

A few good apples in a barrel of bad ones is a very apt analogy. I have met and trained with many Krav Maga instructors. Only two of them were any good, and even then I’d describe those two as athletic, aggressive white belts.

[tmenzerj]

As a Krav instructor, I agree with a lot of this. One of the things that I have benefitted from is that our school is mostly BJJ and MMA guys. Some really good strikers and grapplers. This means that we have the opportunity to test some of our moves under stress and get the input of some folks who are actively competing in combat sports. I look at my Krav classes this way, I am never going to make my students competitive with the guys who train Muay Thai and BJJ a lot, but Krav can give them a lot for the folks who train once or twice a week. Give them the best techniques that you can for self-defense in the limited time that they have and push them to try these techniques under pressure. I constantly tell my students that if they want to get better they should be cross-training in BJJ and Muay Thai

[makenjikarate]

Two years to become a krav instructor?

*Mcdojo intensifies*

[dustinsegers]

I studied Krav for 10 years after doing MMA. I achieved a 1st dan black belt. I had to fight full-contact for my rank, and it was intense and injuries would occur. That was with wearing full protective gear. It was like MMA training, but we did knife, gun, and multiple attackers. Most Krav schools now however are a joke. $ eventually ruins all martial arts.

[marlow]

Krav Maga, like most arts, have been co-opted by the “black belt store” business model.
When I started Krav Maga 20 years ago, it was more about the mindset and keeping technique simple and effective - weeding out the bullshit from the “arts”. It was a ‘what ever works/no rules’ mentality. Calling it an art was a misnomer.

[eddierattlehead]

Being an avid self-defense enthusiast, my rule of thumb is that I would look at every fighting style, take at least one good thing that stands out and incorporate it into my arsenal.

[cldavis]

This is why I love BJJ - walk in the door, your shit works, or you are owned so badly. Talk or think about it all you want, but if it didn't work, it didn't effing work.

[nickgreen]

You have to remember: most people who do Krav have never done any combat training at all, they don't want to compete or be some ninja, they just want some basic tools they can use if they get into a dangerous situation. For them, anything is better than nothing.

[Wakey]

I got my P3 in KMG and honestly I got very tired and disillusioned with it. I thought I wanted to join a Martial Arts club for the fitness which tbf Krav Maga is very very good at. But when you are the only 19 year old in room full of guys in their 30's/40's there comes a point you want to hang out with kids your own age; and being a broke 19 yo already paying £30 a week for one lesson that I often couldn't get to because of work commitments and seeing a classroom of guys pay extra money for more classes from the same dude in different towns it got kinda exhausting tbh.

I think though the main thing that made me quit was that no-one really got to know each other, so here I am now 10-ish years on in a TKD school with a lot of people who are honestly very supportive and all get along, I don't care that TKD is a "less effective" Martial Art because I'm honestly enjoying it a whole lot more.

[DaanSnqn]

This whole "military martial arts" thing just seems like bs to me. Aren't soldiers supposed to rely on their guns for the most part?
You're in trouble, what do you do? Shoot your gun. You're in big trouble, what do you do? Call in an A-10 warthog (plane with big gun). Hand to hand should be your last resort when you already fucked up several times.

[clubkravmagabetxi]

He explains what happens when you paid to have a belt or diploma (the fast way, 2 years). Instead to training the right years (5-6 years or regular practice), and understand the system to become a legit krav maga instructor. Also, a SENIOR instructor was a person who has achieved a 5th or 6th dan (or upper), and he has +/- 15 years of teaching experience.
Mcdojos and mcfederations exist in KM and in others martial arts or combat sports; it's nothing new.

[ShaneGoodson]

I came here to poo poo the video based on the title, but what the guy says is totally on point.

[Kagemusha]

Live, unscripted drills and sparrring are always the focus in effective martial arts schools. Scripted, pre-rehersed drills have their place to refine techniques but if they're the core of training they almost always reinforce bad habits and fail to give people any confidence in their ability to actually fight (you know, the entire point of studying a "martial" art).

[MyPSGaming]

I have to disagree on getting others to quit. Go find yourself a quality instructor and learn for as long as it takes to get it down and spar to put it to the test

[TI-rgsn]

Imho the whole idea that civilians who have never had real fight teach other civilians who become instructors themselves and teach others blindly is not working. There is no feedback in the system, can't try anything on a non-compliant partner, no evidence of anything is actually working. Yeah, there was that guy who figured out some techniques 20-30-40 years ago and you have to believe he was right. Anytime I asked my trainer what if the attacker won't do what we are expecting the answer is always 'you have already pucnhed him in the face so he will', but of course it can't be tested. And it applies to any self defense system where they're selling this magic techniques...

[furiousfellow]

I think krav maga is pretty effective, if you are a soldier, I mean if you also have the strenght, stamina and other complementary combative training krav maga technique can be very beneficial, but for us civilians just casually drilling some exótic technique, wont do much to teach you fighting

[blacksheepincorporated]

I train in Krav Maga, I'm hardly an expert, but in general, I feel like I'm training in a decent place-- I've watched a few videos like this, and in the cases where someone points out some version of "if you're doing A, B, and C, in your training 'good'. If you are doing X, Y, and Z, then 'bad'" I can honestly say the place I train at has at least ~70/80% of the stuff on the 'good' list, and in the case of the 'bad' I haven't come across anything yet. In any case, my mindset is that 1) it's a convenient place to train because it's close by, 2) it's a good workout, and 3) I am not 'married' to either Krav Maga, or the place I train-- they work for me, for now, and I can reassess as needed.

[rudai]

Any self defense system or martial art will have holes. BJJ and Wrestling suck on concrete and against strikers etc. Some Krav associations still train hard and instructor training takes years and to be certified, it takes a lot of time, bruises, and swear equity. The problem is that Krav has become a term similar to "karate" or "king fu", which can mean almost anything. Pick the right Krav org, and you will not be disappointed.