Jujitsu vs. Krav Maga

Black Belt Magazine always enjoyed doing articles on "Battle of the Arts", Tiger Claw kung fu vs. Ninjitsu, and so forth. It was interesting stuff and enjoyable reading. I do not intend to do a comparison of techniques but I would like to explore two styles; Krav maga and jujitsu. As our Arizona IKI rep, Tim Hillis, points out, our IKI – Israeli Krav International logo is a triangle that includes Krav Maga, Kickboxing, and Jujitsu. That should already tell you that to us it is not Krav Maga vs. Jujitsu but rather that Krav, jujitsu and kickboxing/Thai boxing, are all part of a whole, we use them all together.

In fact Krav Maga itself is simply a collection of the best and most practical techniques from other styles, mixed in with Israeli attitude and experience. It is not a question of choosing one style over another but of taking the best each has to offer.

So what is it that Krav Maga adds to jujitsu, what is the difference between traditional jujitsu and Krav?

The answer does not lie in examining an individual technique or two, although here too one will indeed find some differences. The critical difference is found in the application.

You may look at two individuals and say, "What is the difference between them? They both have two legs, two arms, 10 fingers and 10 toes, two eyes and a nose etc. so why do you say they are different?"

They are different in how they use those limbs; they are different in how they see things. In order to understand the difference you must see them in action. Seeing a photograph will not give you the answer.

Jujitsu has wonderful techniques. I must say there are many different schools of jujitsu and one can not lump them all together, some are more flowing, others practice their techniques more like kata; pre-arranged choreographed robot like movements. Nonetheless, they are more about technique than attitude, they have lost much of their vitality and many many of the techniques are very difficult, if not impossible, to apply in street like situations where one is nervous, tired, or over powered. Herein lays the main difference, in my humble opinion.

Krav Maga is totally designed for the worst, I meant worst, sh_t hits the fan, all hell breaks lose, situation. Because that my friends, is what we call the Middle East. Krav Maga does not focus on techniques but on concepts. It does not focus on fine motor techniques or on fancy applications. It does not matter precisely how you grab the person and a technique cannot depend upon an exact application because in a real situation you cannot expect it to happen in a text book fashion.

It has to work even if you do it a bit wrong, it has to work even if you are overpowered. It has to work even if you do not remember the exact details. It depends on attitude, intensity, aggressiveness, and will power more than technique. This is the difference between Krav and jujitsu.

We apply Jujitsu concepts all the time, but we do not depend upon Jujitsu techniques. We do not depend upon wrist locks but only use them when the opportunity presents itself and even then only as a bonus. I am about 6 feet tall, and in fairly good shape and have lots of training under my belt and I cannot get some Jujitsu techniques to work on non-cooperative partners. So how on earth can you rely upon that on the street?

If you cannot see the difference between Krav Maga and Jujitsu you probably have no concept of what a real fight is like. If you cannot see the difference between them you are like an alien who looks at two photographs of human beings and cannot understand why there would be a difference between the two.

Wake up man and smell the coffee before someone spills it on you.