Weighing the worth of a krav maga school / instructor?

I am interested in taking up a martial art, and have been looking into military styles like Krav Maga. I have heard some dubious things about the way the art is taught here in the states, though, so I am wary of signing. I want to learn to fight and to compete with people who are around my age, strength level, and fitness ability. I%26#039;ve heard mixed reviews overall on a martial arts school near my school but nothing but glowing praise about the krav maga program. Without giving too much away, here are the head instructor%26#039;s stats:





Black belt in Krav Maga (association not indicated)


Six years in Army 3rd special forces group (airborne)


Black belt in Chung Do Kwan.


%26quot;Extensive experience%26quot; in Muay Thai Kickboxing and Chi Na.


Certified in the US Army Level 2 Combative Program, several years of teaching experience in same





Does it sound reputable? I am wondering why he is only a Level 2, and I am not sure how to verify his credentials. I would appreciate some input into this.

Weighing the worth of a krav maga school / instructor?
sounds to me he is a martial artist but out side of the muay thai nothing else really impresses me chung do kwan and chi na are fine but can you really use the stuff is is it just preety names leval army combative is ok but most places require a level for to teach it plus its preety much just a trimed down version of brazillan jiu jitsu,army special forces they are tough guys but can he giht hand to hand and i did not even know krav maga had a belt system





Krav maga the isreali art is great it workd very well for the isreali defece force %26quot;army%26quot; but in general street fighitng cases just take up boxing or kick boxing braziallian jiu jitsu traditional jiu jit su somehtign like that krav maga is military trianign program it would probably help you but to me seems like overkill like the attacking wiht the rifle creating space and shooting stuff like that is not realisitic unless your in the militray in war zone
Reply:This is a hard question to answer with any real merit as the worth of an instructor is truly in their ability to impart information, lead, and provide guidance to students.





Too many people believe that rank grading implies an ability to teach or lead, which it does not. Rank grading simply indicated the individual achieved a level of proficienty recognized by the system issuing the grading. If you%26#039;re trying to evaluate their ability as an instructor you need to look at two things 1) Instructor certification and 2) the way they handle their classes and impart information.





I%26#039;ve met many highly ranked martial artists who reallly didn%26#039;t know the first thing about teaching or the concepts of teaching and leading. They were pretty poor instructors, despite having a lot of knowledge and experience. They simply dind%26#039;t inspire and provide that knowledge in a useful or accessible way. I%26#039;ve also met some outstanding instructors who have very little rank grading, but they either intuitively knew how to teach or they learned.





The bottom line with any school and instructor is, you have to take your time to see them in their own enviornment, then make up your own mind based on what you see and seek. Visit the classes, talk with the instructor/s and go with your gut feeling.





With the grading listed, the instructor should be able to discuss a philosophy of defense that spans many arts and situations. They should not quanitfy one over another to a novice student such as youself, but should recommend entry into a basic course to see if you like it. Many martial artists switch disicplines because what they thought they would enjoy turned out later to be %26quot;not their cup of tea.%26quot; Any instructor worth the weight of their belt will understand this and will allow a great deal of flexibility for new students to find their way.





Chung Do Kwan grading should be able to be verified though the Chung Do Kwan association, as should Krav Maga if you ask the instructor where the grading was received from. I didn%26#039;t realize any systems were grading it, but it is always possible someone is. Special forces exprience will certainly have exposed the instructor to some combat defensive systems, but they don%26#039;t necessarily always translate well into civilian defensive systems.





Good luck to you,





Ken C


9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do


8th Dan TaeKwon-Do


7th Dan YongChul-Do
Reply:OK, just a small rant, Krav Maga is for the bad situations such as street fights, knife fights, being held at gun point, etc. If the instruction is good, they spar, they use props to demonstrate, they go at varying speeds and at least full speed, then good. Check out Human Weapon on the history channel (you can find it on youtube as well) as they did a review on the combat system. If you are looking for fighting in the ring, Krav mag isn%26#039;t a bad system but you want to train for the cage/ring. Just from my exerience Chung Do Kwan does not impress me for a UFC fight or for a street fight. I have reasons that extend beyond this question.


Muay Thai goes along with Krav Maga. Armed forces ususally teaches gross body movement attacks and defenses which is what you want.





My basic feeling is this. Goto the school, watch a class or two. See if they spar, go at speeds, see if they get suited up and drill, drill, drill. If they do, you got a good school. If the instructor explains why things are happening, what is a good or bad idea and backs it up. Good. You are looking for full speed.


I wish you luck.
Reply:Go to the place, talk to the guy, observe a class, and ask to try a class out. You can%26#039;t judge everything by credentials alone. The guy could be great, or he could be an a$$. You%26#039;ll never know by reading his website, so go talk to him. I suggest you do the same for the other dojo%26#039;s you are considering.
Reply:He%26#039;s got a black belt in Krav so hes a complete bad a s s. The black belt test is a multi day bust butt test.





your instructor is a hard core guy.





Any besides, you know NOTHING about the sport and this guy has like 20 years of experience. he has more experience in his little finger than you will in a year..








any trainingis better than no training. go give the school a try and see what%26#039;s what.