Krav Maga Vs Aikido

Krav Maga and Aikido are both highly-effective martial arts forms with differing principles and methods. Selecting one over the other would be personal preference, in most cases. Krav Maga tends to be favored by military and law enforcement for its to-the-point methods and lack of fanciness, while Aikido is favored by many who want to learn the form purely for martial arts experience or for competitions.

Aikido. Aikido was founded in Japan by Morihei Ueshiba. It involves a philosophical blend of traditional martial arts with Zen Buddhist beliefs and focus. The goal of Aikido, when created, was to defend against attack while being able to limit damage caused to an opponent. This shows the Buddhist influence of refraining from harming or killing others.

Akidio has katas like other martial arts forms, as a means of learning, perfecting, and practicing moves. There are also tournaments for Aikido practitioners, with people competing based on belt rank, gender, or skill set such as katas or weapons or sparring.

Krav Maga. Krav Maga was developed in Israel in the 1940s. Though popular among military and law enforcement, Krav Maga is available to learn in the civilian sector as well. The goals in Krav Maga are significantly different from Aikido in that the basic underlying premise is to neutralize threats. Anyone who attacks a Krav Maga practitioner is perceived as a threat, and the attack is met by a fast and accurate combination of defensive and offensive moves.

Unlike Aikido and other martial arts, however, Krav Maga does not have any official tournaments or competitions and there are no set rules for such events. Many schools offer a colored belt system for rank advancement in Krav Maga, but these colored belts hold different value without the competition rankings. Essentially, the belts denote the skill level.