Yellow belt

Yellow belt overview

Yellow Belt is the first stage in learning our Krav Maga curriculum. If you attend class at one of Krav Maga Worldwide’s certified schools, you will start here at Yellow Belt, or “Level 1.” The average training time for this level (assuming at least two training sessions per week) is four months.

The curriculum at this level introduces basic strikes such as straight punches, elbows, front kicks, and knees—the meat and potatoes of a street fight. You’ll also learn how to deal with common chokes and headlocks. In addition, the techniques here offer a clear representation of the principles of Krav Maga—ideas such as explosive movements, instinct-based responses, and simultaneous defense-and- counterattack.

Material introduced at this level includes the following.

Combatives

Krav Maga defines “combatives” as the ballistic techniques used both in fighting and in self-defense. The bulk of these techniques involves punches, kicks, elbow strikes, and knees, but Krav Maga never excludes other combative actions such as biting and scratching. Think of combatives as tools to help you in a fight. They are an integral part of self-defense. Even if you’re interested in Krav Maga only for self-defense and have no interest in fighting, you must learn basic combatives. While Krav Maga self-defense techniques address the danger, combative techniques are vital in order to eliminate subsequent threats. The combative techniques described here are designed to cause sufficient damage to the attacker in order to remove further threats, while keeping you relatively safe.

Hammerfist punches are made using the meaty part of the fist as a contact point (with the pinky side outermost, toward your opponent). The fist is the head of the hammer, and the forearm is the handle. Good targets for hammerfist punches include the nose, throat, temple, and side of jaw.

Elbow strikes are used when your opponent is very close. Practice elbows in relation to punches by studying the distance continuum: punches are for medium to long range, elbows are for close range. Practice elbow strikes in seven directions, as detailed in this section. Practice solo, facing a mirror. Practice pivoting to strike in any direction.

Kicks give greater reach and are generally more powerful than punches because they are both longer and stronger. Kicks are also sneakier and add more weapons to your arsenal. Krav Maga emphasizes low kicks because they are much more practical for the street. Later in the system we add high kicks to improve our athletic ability, but we always prefer low kicks to the groin or legs. Our motto is: “If you want to kick him in the head, kick him in the groin first; when he falls down, then you can kick him in the head!”

Once you’re comfortable with the basic combatives, you should start practicing combinations at various levels and using various strikes. Kick/punch combinations also introduce the idea of a distance continuum. It’s important to develop a sense of the most appropriate attack for any given range as that distance changes (in other words, as you move in or out).