Applied Krav Maga
Functional Self Protection
A pressure-tested, real-world self-protection system. The best of edged weapons survival, firearms survival, self-protection, ground survival, and combatives, packaged into one coherent programme. Quick to learn. Built to actually work. Certified Black Belt · Four Organisations · SunderlandSimple
Techniques you can execute under an adrenaline dump. No complex sequences, no fine motor skills that fail under stress. Everything built to work when your body is shaking.
Direct
The shortest line between problem and solution. No wasted motion, no unnecessary movement. Get in, stop the threat, get out.
Effective
Not what looks good on a demo. What actually works under alive resistance. Pressure-tested from day one, filtered ruthlessly for function.
What Is Applied Krav Maga?
Krav Maga was developed in Israel as a real-world combat and self-protection system, built for practical use by soldiers and civilians alike. Its principles are simple: neutralise the threat as quickly and efficiently as possible, using whatever tools your body and environment provide.
Applied Krav Maga is our version of that system. Not the commercial version taught in high-street chains. Not the choreographed version demonstrated on YouTube. Not the sanitised version stripped of the pressure that made it work in the first place.
It is Krav Maga trained the way Krav Maga was meant to be trained. Alive, honest, and under real pressure. That is the entire difference.
Simple. Direct. Effective. Three words that get thrown around a lot in the Krav Maga world. Here, they actually mean something, because everything on this programme has to earn its place under alive resistance.
This Is Not Commercial Krav Maga
Krav Maga has become one of the most watered-down martial arts in the world. Franchised schools with no real lineage. Chain gyms selling "Krav Maga fitness" that has nothing to do with self-protection. Instructor certifications awarded after a weekend course. If you've done "Krav Maga" before and found it disappointing, that is why.
Our approach is different, and it starts with the training itself. Every technique on this programme is stress-tested under progressive resistance. If it doesn't hold up when a partner isn't cooperating, it doesn't stay. That filter is the difference between what looks good on a demonstration mat and what actually works when someone is trying to hurt you.
Not the commercial version. Not the demo version. Not the sanitised version. The real thing, trained alive, taught by someone qualified to teach it.
The Instructor
Instructor Jeff Hollows holds Krav Maga certifications from four separate organisations, along with a certified black belt and expert instructor status. That combination is uncommon in the wider Krav Maga world, and it matters here for a specific reason.
Being tied to a single organisation means inheriting that organisation's blind spots. Every system, no matter how good, has gaps. Cross-training and cross-certifying across four separate lineages allows the Applied Krav Maga programme to draw from the strongest elements of each, filtered through the same alive training principle applied to everything else at Applied Martial Arts.
Separate Certifying Organisations
Certified Black Belt. Expert Instructor. Credentials from four independent Krav Maga bodies. Delivered by someone who has done the work, held to the standards, and earned every credential honestly.
Five Elements. One Coherent System.
Applied Krav Maga is designed to be a complete self-protection system. It doesn't stop at unarmed combatives. It integrates the elements that matter for genuine real-world protection, and it packages them into a system that can be learned within a realistic training timeframe.
Most schools that teach one of these elements teach it badly. Very few teach all five to a real standard. This programme puts them together into a single, coherent whole.
Edged Weapons Survival
Honest training against blades. What knives actually do, how attacks actually happen, and what genuinely works when pressed. No fantasy defences.
Firearms Survival
Practical response when a firearm enters the situation. Deflection, control, and getting out of the line of fire, trained realistically and honestly.
Self-Protection
Awareness, de-escalation, pre-fight indicators, and mindset. The soft skills that keep the hard skills from ever needing to be used.
Ground Survival
Standing back up, controlling distance from the floor, and handling the ground when there are no rules and no referee.
Combatives
Direct, decisive striking, grappling, and control. What you do when there is no more time for anything else.
One Coherent System
Five specialisms integrated into a single programme, trained under the same alive methodology, delivered by an instructor certified across four organisations.
Quick to Learn. Built to Retain.
One of the strengths of Applied Krav Maga is that it is designed to be accessible. It isn't a decade-long tradition to master. It's a system built to be quickly learned, retained under stress, and effective within a realistic training timeframe.
That is not a promise of instant mastery. It is a promise of honest, structured, functional progress. You start developing genuine self-protection skills from your first session, not after years of prerequisite training.
The techniques are simple. The training is honest. The progress is measurable. And every skill you develop is a skill you can actually use.
Simple techniques. Honest training. Measurable progress. Real skills you can rely on when you need them, developed in a realistic timeframe rather than a decade of prerequisites.
Why This Approach Works
Pressure Is the Filter
Nothing stays in this programme that hasn't been tested under alive resistance. That principle is applied ruthlessly, and it is the entire reason our Krav Maga looks different from most of what carries the name.
If a technique falls apart the moment your training partner stops cooperating, it doesn't matter how good it looks in a demonstration. It's gone.
Four Systems, One Curriculum
Cross-certifying across four separate Krav Maga organisations allows the programme to take the strongest material from each and discard the weaknesses. No single organisation's political constraints. No blind spots inherited from a single lineage. What actually works, wherever it comes from.
That is the same JKD Concepts principle applied to Krav Maga: absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and integrate honestly.
Real-World, Not Sport
Applied Krav Maga is not a competition system. It is not built for a rule set. It is built for scenarios that do not care about rules: attacks with weapons, attacks from behind, attacks in confined spaces, attacks with no warning.
That framing changes what techniques earn their place, and it changes how they are trained. The result is a system built for the situation you hope you never encounter, but trained honestly enough that if you do, the skills will be there.
What Sets Our Krav Maga Apart
Plenty of schools teach Krav Maga. Very few teach it with genuine credentials, honest standards, and alive training as the non-negotiable filter.
What We Offer
- Four-Organisation Certified InstructorCertifications from four separate Krav Maga bodies, black belt, expert instructor
- Complete Five-Element SystemEdged weapons, firearms, self-protection, ground survival, combatives
- Genuinely Pressure-TestedEvery technique earns its place under alive, resisting practice
- Quick to LearnReal skills within a realistic training timeframe, not a decade of prerequisites
- Small GroupsIndividual attention that real skill development demands
What You Won't Find Here
- Weekend-Certified InstructorsNo credentials awarded after a couple of days of training
- Fitness Marketed as Self-ProtectionNot a cardio class in a Krav Maga t-shirt
- Choreographed Demo TechniquesNothing that only works when your partner cooperates
- Watered-Down Commercial VersionNot the sanitised version taught to fill classes
Who Is This For?
Applied Krav Maga is open to all levels. Complete beginners find it accessible because the techniques are built to be simple and quickly learned. Experienced martial artists find it fills gaps in their weapons awareness and sharpens the honest edges of their self-protection game.
You'll Thrive Here If
- ✓You take real-world self-protection seriously, including weapons scenarios
- ✓You want a system that develops real skills within a realistic timeframe
- ✓You value verified credentials over marketing and franchise branding
- ✓You want your training tested honestly, not confirmed by compliance
This Isn't For You If
- ✕You want a fitness class with Krav Maga branding on the flyer
- ✕You're looking for choreographed techniques that look good in videos
- ✕You want fantasy defences that fall apart against a resisting attacker
- ✕You're not prepared to train with honesty and full commitment
The commercial Krav Maga world is full of noise. This isn't that. Pressure-tested Krav Maga, taught by a certified black belt with credentials from four separate organisations. Complete beginners are welcome.