In Krav Maga, there are no hard-and-fast rules. It is not a sport, and there are no competitions. All the techniques focus on maximum efficiency in real-life conditions. Krav Maga generally assumes a no quarter situation; the attacks and  defences are intended to inflict the most pain possible on the opponent. Groin strikes, headbutts, and other efficient and potentially brutal attacks are emphasised should the situation require such measures.

The guiding principles for those performing Krav Maga techniques are:

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• neutralise the threat

• avoid injury

• go from defending to attacking as quickly as possible

• use the body’s natural reflexes

• strike at any vulnerable point

• use any tool or object nearby

The basic idea is to first deal with the immediate threat (being choked, for example), prevent the attacker from re-attacking, and then neutralise the attacker, proceeding through all steps in a coherent manner, despite the rush of adrenaline that occurs in such an attack. The emphasis is put on taking the initiative from the attacker as soon as possible.
Although Krav Maga shares many techniques with other martial arts, such as Boxing, Savate and Muay Thai (for the punches, kicks, elbows and knees) or Ju-Jitsu, Judo and Wrestling (for the grappling and disarming techniques), the training is often quite different. It stresses fighting under worst-case conditions (for example multiple armed assailants, when protecting someone else, carrying injury or disorientated).

Training in Krav Maga is  can involve solo practice, dynamic partner work, pad work and scenario training. 

As well as the reactive skill set we focus on the pro-active skill set to avoid violence whenever possible are taught.

A typical Krav Maga session in a civilian school is about an hour long and mixes aerobic training with self-defence teaching.