No-nonsense, reality-based self-defence…
…So One May Walk in Peace
Proud to be IKMF UK Club of the Year 2024
So, what is Krav Maga anyway?
Krav Maga is not a martial art in the conventional / traditional sense - this is not your everyday Karate class. It is a singularly focused self-defence combative system, developed in Israel throughout the latter-half of the 20th Century as a hand-to-hand combat method for military personnel. It is this military connection that gives the style its ferocious reputation, but in more recent decades it has been refined and adapted (note, not watered-down) to be more relevant to a civilian context, such as we are learning it today.
The system originated with Imi Lichtenfeld, a multi-talented athlete and martial artist from Bratislava. During the rise of Fascism during the 1930's, Lichtenfeld used his skills to defend his neighbourhood against gangs of anti-Semetic thugs before he escaped to Palestine in 1940. These early insights into real (rather than sporting) violence informed the initial development of what would become Krav Maga. Upon arriving in Palestine, Imi trained the nascent Israeli Defense Forces in his hand-to-hand combat system, which in time matured into present-day Krav Maga.
It should be understood that Krav Maga is not a sport. There are no competitions. No katas. No bells or referees. If you want to learn to fight in the ring one-on-one with a ref and rules and a time limit, then mega-respect to you, but this might not be the right place for you. In layman's terms, Krav Maga is no-holds-barred dirty fighting - do what you need to do to survive sudden, unrestricted violence, and get away safely. However, it shares much with and borrows extensively from more conventional martial arts - Imi himself was a champion boxer and Judoka - including the aforementioned boxing and judo, as well as Muay Thai kickboxing and old-style combatives.
That sounds pretty brutal. Are you sure this is for me?
Krav Maga is intended for everyone: man and woman, young and old, large and small. The system offers a very flexible arsenal of attacking and defensive choices that do not demand immense strength or acrobatic levels of agility in order to be effective. The beauty of it is that the style can adapt to the practitioner, rather than the practitioner having to adapt to it. Efficiency of movement and a minimalist approach to technique is central to Krav Maga, and with time the practitioner comes to see the same basic movements showing up time and again in different applications, what we might describe as ‘one technique to solve many problems’ - why learn a dozen different ways to deal with a choke when one technique does the job just fine?
Training in Krav Maga is not a death match. Sure, we train hard and up-close and personal, but we go to great lengths to walk the fine line between realistic, spirited training and not hurting one another - ultimately, injuries are useless, and don’t teach you anything. Training is ultimately about learning, not competing (Krav Maga is not a sport, see above!), so we leave our egos at the door and come together in that spirit. One does not even need to be especially fit to get something out of a Krav Maga class, so don’t presume you must be a strong(wo)man or marathoner to train - just show up and get stuck in!
…And while Krav Maga training is predominately about the physical, hitting stuff is not all there is to it. In fact, violence is always a last-resort, and this is something we take pains to emphasise: no-one truly wins in a street fight. Therefore we will talk a lot about awareness, that is to say being conscious of what's going on around you (rather than walking along staring at your phone – we all do it!) and responding appropriately, and ‘soft’ skills such as verbal de-escalation - in short, pre-empting or defusing a developing situation before it ever becomes violent.
OK, so why should I train with Pentagon Krav Maga?
What sets Pentagon Krav Maga apart from so many so-called ‘Krav Maga’ schools is our association with the International Krav Maga Federation, the original and still the World’s foremost Krav Maga organisation. The IKMF traces its heritage to the very foundation of the system, and takes maintenance of its legacy very seriously, holding its students and instructors to a very high standard. Gradings are highly-demanding even at the lowest levels, with no credit given for ‘time served’ or money paid, and every instructor goes through a specialised and extensive training course so that the IKMF can guarantee quality. Therefore, by training with Pentagon Krav Maga, you are getting the Real Thing, not a pale (and ineffective) imitation.
Membership of the IKMF allows access to the grading pathway (not that one has to do gradings), and also seminars with the very best in the business. This can include sessions with visiting Israeli instructors, and classes on more challenging subjects, including dealing with weapons, and fighting in constrained spaces such as a bus or a train carriage. And of course, there is the jewel in the IKMF events crown: yearly bootcamps held in Israel! The Federation goes from strength to strength in the UK, with more events and opportunities for world-class training coming every year, both within the UK and abroad, and an ever-growing community of passionate students and instructors ready to welcome you to the IKMF family.
This all sounds good! How do I join?
The recommended path is to sign on to one of our monthly beginners’ classes, which are specifically designed to give novice trainees a low-risk, low-pressure introduction to Krav Maga. Alternatively, if you already have some experience in Krav Maga or martial arts, or are simply eager to just dive right in, you can book directly into our of our regular classes. Click here to sign up!
Training with Pentagon Krav Maga is on a contract-free subscription basis, with no hidden costs and multiple tiers of membership to give you maximum flexibility for your training. See the ‘memberships’ page for more information.
We look forward to welcoming you to a class in the near future!
About Our Instructor
Hi, I'm Chris, owner of and head instructor at Pentagon Krav Maga.
I started my Krav Maga journey in 2012. I had dabbled in various martial arts since I was a teenager (karate, kendo etc.) but nothing really stuck - I kept getting bored or disillusioned, especially after I was ambushed in the street one evening when I was 18 and learnt very quickly that katas are no use at all in real-life violence.
I was drawn to Krav Maga's utilitarian, practical philosophy, and I was not disappointed. Before qualifying as an instructor, I trained under Dave Stevens and his team in Nottingham. Dave is an internationally acclaimed instructor within the IKMF and it has been a great privilege for me to train with him all these years.
Now I have the great fortune and privilege to make my living bringing you the very best in modern, proven self-defense. Krav Maga has given me both a huge amount of confidence and purpose, but also humility and a desire to make our world a little safer and less daunting.
Before moving to full-time teaching in Krav Maga, I worked as a mechanical engineer for a high-profile automotive company. Outside of work, I love good eating, heavy metal, lifting weights - I occasionally compete in amateur strongman (lower weight-classes, obviously!) - travelling when I can(!) and my little cat family.
Qualifications
IKMF rank Graduate Level 3
IKMF Lead Civilian Instructor
IKMF Women’s Instructor
IKMF Kids’ Instructor
IKMF Combat Fighter Instructor
Trojan Workout Instructor
e-DBS checked
Safeguarding Level 2 certified
(Just in case you’re interested…!) Engineering Masters’ degree and PhD