Q : why is IKMF krav maga different from all other martial arts?

A: because it doesn't take 20 years to study like the traditional martial arts. Anybody who practices it up to six months can easily defend him / herself on the streets.

B: all martial arts have a certain distance. In judo you need to stay close to your opponent and throw him or her. in aikido you need to be at a distance to grab your opponent's wrist. In karate you must be at a distance for kicking or punching. In kendo the distance is further due to the use of sticks. In krav maga there is no certain distance because we can handle all distances.

C: most martial arts teach people how to fight one unarmed person approaching from the front. in IKMF krav maga we teach how to defend against three armed people from all directions.

D: all martial arts have stance and mental & physical preparation before sparring. in reality everything happens by surprise, so there is no time for mental or physical preparation. That is why we always teach from a natural defensive stance (i.e. no stance position).

E: there are no fancy techniques in IKMF krav maga. Everything is simple, realistic and very effective. for example, some martial arts teach fancy and fast kicks to the head of an opponent. Trying something like this on the street would be foolish because in training everybody wears flexible clothes (e.g. karate or taekwondo). In daily life people wear jeans and it is not really suitable for kicking somebody in the head. Another reason is usually before training everybody does a warm up, stretching, and preparation. If you are attacked on the street you don't have time to do such preparations and if you try to kick suddenly it can cause injury to your muscles, tendons or joints. One more reason is that outside conditions are different from the dojo's training floor. Inside it is made of soft mattress or clean and dry flooring, but outside nobody promises a soft or dry floor. It could be a rainy day and the surface may be slippery. if you try to lift your leg you may slip and hit your head on the concrete.

F: even the top martial artists get surprised when they are threatened from behind or when there is a knife or stick threat. In IKMF krav maga we teach the most effective techniques to defend against all kind of street weapons and from all directions.

G: every martial art has its weak point. in aikido and boxing no kicking, in judo no punching, in karate no grabbing, in kendo no getting too close ... in IKMF krav maga we teach people to be flexible and use everything as a weapon if it is necessary to defend themselves.

H: IKMF krav maga's basics don't rely on physical strength, but on basic physics, so anybody can do it. you don't have to be Schwarzenegger to do martial arts. Even inexperienced men and women can study it.

I: we don't just teach people how to fight but the first thing we do is to develop the way of thinking. it is possible to prevent dangerous situations by small actions. For example, carrying a bag on the outer side of the pavement will prevent a thief from grabbing it and escaping on a bike or any other vehicle.

J: the teaching system is based on learning per lesson. (This is the complete education system.) this means if you attend one lesson and you study defense against threats from behind, after that lesson you will be able to immediately handle that situation outside. You don't need to do continuous training for months or years before being able to defend yourself.

For all the reasons above and more, IKMF krav maga is highly popular in the world. From FBI agents in US, to the Hungarian police, to the Israeli military and the French police; thousands of civilians in the world are studying IKMF krav maga.