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Krav Maga: The Newest In MMA

Although Krav Maga boasts zero competition, no rules, and doesn’t even technically qualify as a sport, it still remains one of the most highly-regarded and respected martial arts today. A mix of some of the most effective styles (karate, muay thai, and boxing, just to name a few), Krav Maga utilizes its fluidity of regulations to an advantage, encouraging practitioners to use any and all methods available to win a battle. As the student gets more advanced, more complex methods of training will be introduced, from knife fights to hostage situations.

Similar in theory to other martial arts, Krav Maga has the student focus on first neutralizing the threat and then offering some offensive gain. Think of the clinch in Muay Thai as the neutralization and the knees as the offense when trying to visualize an appropriate comparison. Learning Krav Maga insists that students build up to its most lethal forms, first emphasizing “civilian self-defense” eventually followed by levels of understanding and a semi-traditional belt system. You can use our school finder to locate the school which is most appropriate for you ability level.

Krav Maga is an excellent start for any prospective student of martial arts. It offers a basic understanding of many of the more popular martial arts, making it easier for a new student to decide which he should eventually master. Additionally, the classes are intense aerobic and anaerobic workouts, giving the student a cardiovascular workout that he or she might only find in boxing.

Even law enforcement agencies all over the world have begun to adopt these methods, including the FBI, ATF, and CIA. Word of Krav Maga’s advantages have filtered down through the ranks and now are used in local law enforcement agencies as well. If you’re looking to be the next Jack Bauer or just be able to protect yourself at night, Krav Maga might be right for you.

Muay Thai Is Here To Stay

These days, if you’re looking to pick up an MMA discipline, it’s hard to justify learning any other than the one employed by current Middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Muay Thai techniques have been used in MMA before (see Wanderlei Silva’s wins over Quinton Jackson), but never before Silva has a fighter used such strict Muay Thai technique to this level of success. He’s clearly the most talented Middleweight in the world and has a good chance of being labeled the most talented of all time.

His picture perfect Muay Thai technique works so well for two reasons. First, it uses more striking points (8 in total) than any other martial art. This allows for Anderson to unleash a quick knee or elbow in between his usual repertoire (or any fighter’s repertoire) of punches and kicks. Examining his last fight at UFC 77 against Rich Franklin, Silva uses long strikes to find the clinch, and then mixes knees in with his usual bag of tricks. The knees to the midsection, while damaging in their own right, also disable Franklin by disrupting his breathing, something that no other techniques can boast. Once one fighter can change the breathing patterns of his opponent, it’s usually not far from the end.

Second, the technique is almost impossible to defend against. If a fighter chooses to trade punches with a Muay Thai expert, he’ll drop him with a few quick punches or leg kicks. Anderson featured this in his fight with Chris Leben, unleashing roundhouse kicks and uppercuts like he was putting on a demonstration. His striking was so accurate, he didn’t need to rely on the clinch to lead him to victory. If the fighter wants to clinch, however, he should prepare to have a barrage of knees jammed into his midsection. Both fights against Rich Franklin are a more than clear example of this reality. The last choice is the ground, but that’s no good either as most Muay Thai experts have a working knowledge of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well. Silva submitted the Machado BJJ Black Belt Travis Lutter for the only the second time in his long career. Submission master Matt Lindland accounted for the other Lutter submission. In Silva, you have a fighter who can grapple like Lindland, clinch like Wanderlei, and strike like Arlovski. When Muay Thai is at its best, it embodies the strengths of all disciplines.

Fighters all around the world have begun to take note and have since popularized the learning of Muay Thai, starting schools all around the country. While the United States Muay Thai Association has been in existence for the last sixteen years, it has just started to catch fire, now offering a variety of resources for the budding Muay Thai expert. A simple google search for “Muay Thai Schools U.S.” now offers 771,000 search results. In my hometown alone, I can count nine different schools, a sure sign that the art of the eight limbs has arrived, and more importantly, is here to stay.

Fedor's Martial Arts Styles

On baseball fields all around America, you'll find pitchers mimicking Alex Rodriguez's swing down to every last detail. High school quarterbacks watch hours and hours of Peyton Manning tape each week, dissecting how every move and decision is made. When it comes to Mixed Martial Arts, there's only one fighter complete enough to bother copying. Do I even need to reveal his name?

Okay, so we know it's Fedor, but what is his technique exactly? To the casual fan, it just looks like a good old fashioned beat down. It's actually a little more complicated than that. A combination of Sambo, Judo, and a little Muay Thai lead this man to be called the most dangerous in the sport. Unlike other sports, where a motion or stance can be copied easily, it'll take more than that to master what Fedor does so expertly. The United States is filled with schools that will train you in these disciplines, but before you jump into the Red Devil camp, take a second and see which of the master's styles suit your abilities best.

Sambo is one of the four main competitive wrestling styles practiced internationally and varies slightly depending on which Sambo rules you are using. The basic elements, however, remain the same. The word Sambo is an acronym for the Russian phrase "Self defense without a weapon," and as such, it makes sense that the sport is mostly composed of throws, specific body control, and arm or leg locks. Fedor uses these elements perfectly in all his fights due to the fact that his striking is not as developed as many he would like it to be. Every fight that Fedor has taken to the ground has been won by the Russian, a testament to his ability in the discipline. It is designed to give smaller fighters an advantage against larger competitors, similar to the methodology behind Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The main difference between Sambo and BJJ is that Sambo uses throws whereas BJJ uses traditional wrestling take downs. While Sambo doesn't use the wrestling take downs, much of the sport is derived from wrestling, making it an excellent choice for anyone with some grappling background.

Sambo is recognized as being derived from a larger umbrella of Judo, a form in which throws and locks are again emphasized, but with certain versions where striking is permissible. The major difference is that in most forms of Judo, choke holds are legal, whereas in Sambo, they are not. Any mixed martial artist with knowledge of chokes would be smart to choose Judo over Sambo as he would be able to polish and utilize his strengths to a greater degree. Again, striking is at a minimum so if a fighter is looking to base his attack on striking attacks, he'd be smart to steer away from Judo and towards a more aggressive martial art.

Fedor's final element of martial arts training is his most recently-acquired as well. His ground work has always been superb, but his striking was suspect. How does the greatest fight of all time go about fixing this problem? He adds the most explosive striking discipline, Muay Thai, into his repertoire and mixes it seamlessly into his fights. Known as the art of the eight limbs (two hands, feet, elbows, knees), Muay Thai is the most dangerous of striking repetoires as those who master it can literally strike from any position or angle. Fedor is able to use this to his advantage when combatants are so reluctant to go to the ground with him, they choose to strike instead. Anyone with boxing knowledge and great cardio would fit well into a Muay Thai program.

No matter which of Fedor's disciplines you choose to study on your own, two facts remain. First, you can't go wrong. All are highly successful martial arts and different initial strengths will lend themselves to different styles. Second, no matter how much you train, you still won't be able to beat Fedor.