In this post, I will be comparing the main tenets of Krav Maga's fight philosophy against the political realist philosophy.
Pre-emptive attack: This rests on the assumption that the defender is weaker and needs the element of surprise. Another assumption is that the attacker is indeed aggressive enough to take action. But then again on the other hand, no action may mean harm to the defender.
From another angle of analysis, a pre-emptive attack is one method of power maximization, the quinessential asset to a realist player in order to ensure his survival.
“Fast in and out”: The amount of damage dealt to the attacker stops once attacker is unable to attack anymore. In essence, this is a ethical use of strength and power with limits.
Multiple assailants: Humans, being pack animals, can and will gang up on the Krav Maga defender. By being aggressive against one of the multiple assailants first, the Krav Maga defender is creating an tactical opening and is also striking at the unity of their collective will, Their collective unity would have to be tested against the individual “fight of flight” and it would make them question if it is worth it to attack such a pugnacious defender.
“Borrowing from the best”: Everything works so long as it works. The over-arching philosophy behind Krav Maga's choice of style and combatives is efficiency, not ideology.
“A creature of its environment”: Having been born out of the aftermath of the WW2 and Yom Kippur war, the original creators of Krav Maga would find that reality is harsh and so too the combat system must be. When transferred to the anarchic reality of the street, we find that the Krav Maga defender must play by the rules (or lack of) in order to survive.
“I am no superhero”: the Krav Maga defender will attempt to de-escalate the hostility of the situation because the defender knows full well the dangers of combat.
“An elusive creature”: This is where the value of verbal disarming comes into play as the Krav Maga defender appears submissive and the neutral stance which he adopts can explode into bursting combatives at any second. All these means that the Krav Maga defender is an elusive creature for the attacker to read.
“The chain is only as strong as its weakest link”: Krav Maga combatives are all aimed at the weakest spots in the human anatomy because that is the fastest way to end a fight and the attacker is always assumed to be stronger. This is another method of power maximisation.
“Tragic Realism”: as witnessed by point 1 and 3, Krav Maga operates on a level of “pessimistic realism” which is important to understand. Because merely looking at the dangers ahead and resigning oneself to it inevitability is cynicism. Looking at the dangers ahead and preparing accordingly is pessimism.
