Reddit reviews Complete Krav Maga: The Ultimate Guide to Over 230 Self-Defense and Combative Techniques

Slow down. When you train, challenge yourself to move smoothly, instead of quickly. You'll train a faster response by learning to move smoothly through your techniques than by rushing through the individual strikes and then having to pause and reset between each component. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. Internalize that. Learn to slow things down.

Read. Pick up some Krav books if you haven't already; they're invaluable for reference. I use Complete Krav Maga and Black Belt Krav Maga by Worldwide, but there are several variations out there. Pick up Meditations on Violence by Rory Miller, as well. His insights are sobering and will help you learn to be a better fighter. It'll also strip away some of the ego you will inevitably start to develop a few months in.

Train with people who are better than you are, regardless of size or gender, as frequently as you can. You probably already know who these people are. Train also with people who are bigger and stronger than you are. Understand the difference between the two, and learn how it changes the dynamic.

And take care of your body. We don't talk about this enough, but your technique means nothing if your body is too weak from overtraining or undertraining or poor diet or lack of sleep to keep going to class. Make sure you're fueling your body so you're not getting injured.

And welcome to Krav.

Well, I'm just a beginner, so take what I say with a grain of salt...

That said, this book is what my instructor recommends. He's trained with the authors, and they use that book at my studio (the instructors do). I bought it, and it's quite well laid out. Shouldn't be too complicated to follow.

Also, there are a lot of good videos here to go along with the book so you see it it action.

Really you're going to want a partner if possible. If you can find one buy a couple pairs of gloves, a tombstone and a kickshield (my studio uses all revgear products, rebranded as krav maga worldwide) and practice. I actually have bought a tombstone and kickshield and I do some practice on weekends when I can convince my girlfriend to stop doing forms (she's a TKD BlackBelt) and hit or hold things.

The studio instruction helps immensely, but you could progress significantly without it.

Complete Krav Maga is the book that I have, and very good it is too.

Try to get a curriculum list, which you can then use to look up youtube videos that demonstrate each listed technique. Sometimes you'll find a video from a different federation which will offer a variation on how your federation does a particular defense, which is always cool.

For KMW there is a book. The curriculum was heavily updated recently, so I would expect to see a new edition soon with all the updates. Still most everything KMW tests on is in it.

I'll sometimes browse through it at night to recap a technique we did that day, or to look up something I haven't done in awhile.

Not much else though. The best stuff is on Youtube, like AJ Draven's series he does for KMW.

Thanks for the advice, and as for learning Krav on your own-- There is a book available written by Darren Levine, called Complete Krav Maga that I have have, which is great; especially for review. Darren does a great job thoroughly going through the curriculum, but like anything else, could never match having an instructor. I'm sure teaching yourself some of the level 1 techniques, such as basic combatives and proper fight stance correctly is possible. However, any of the more advanced techniques such as ground fighting and especially weapon defenses/combatives, having a teacher's supervision is crucial.

Are there any Krav Maga books that you would recommend?

I used to do Tae Kwon Do (for fitness, flexibility etc not self defense) I am looking to get back into something but with more of a focus on self defense.

How about:

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1569755736?tag=kramagtorfigf-20&camp=213385&creative=390985&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1569755736&adid=0FEAABCS2DVJZEMH21MH&

Complete Krav Maga - Darren Levine

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Krav-Maga-Self-defense-Techniques/dp/1569755736/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312127017&sr=8-1

And my instructors are a part of Krav Maga Global, but their website doesn't give too much info:

http://krav-maga.com/exclusive-krav-maga-training/grading-system

I second corduroyblack's advice. If you want some reading material to review techniques between classes, I recommend Complete Krav Maga and Black Belt Krav Maga.

Again, nothing beats practice, and you won't learn by reading alone.

As a Christian, I am obligated to mention the Bible.

Complete Krav Maga is very good as well: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Krav-Maga-Self-Defense-Techniques/dp/1569755736/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334774982&sr=8-1