- A deadly hybrid martial art designed to kill or otherwise incapacitate foes as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli security forces, Krav Maga borrows techniques from aikido, boxing, judo, karate, and wrestling. The style removes many of the formal, or stylized, aspects of the component martial arts focusing instead on real world situations and street fighting. A civilian (e.g. toned down) version of this style has seen a growing popularity over the last twenty years.
Krav Maga embraces a parallel philosophy when it comes to conflict. Conflict should be avoided whenever possible. Conflict should be resolved with maximum physical aggression. The word physical is important to note, as Krav Maga actually teaches practitioners to avoid heightened emotional states, anger, and recognizing instinctive responses to stressors. In combat, martial artists focus on the most vulnerable parts of the body such as obvious targets like the eyes, throat, and groin, and less obvious targets like feet, fingers, and the liver.
Associated Weapons: Combat Knife, Glock 17, M-16 (as a blunt object), and improvised weapons. (Nunchucks and such, but only for fun… – Moshe Katz)
When in a fight, Krav Maga practitioners transition from an open neutral stance to a deceptive high guard, with arms in tight, and squared off legs allowing them to quickly defend and counter. This stance allows the fighter to protect vital areas and quickly pivot moving into or out of range shooting in to take down a foe before they can react.
Author’s Note: All builds presented in this series should not be taken as the only way to interpret a given style. Players and GMs are encouraged to treat these as a framework to build their own character’s style.
Fighting Style: Krav Maga
- Parent Attribute: Strength or Intelligence
- Primary Role: Offensive
- First Secondary Role: Defense
Common Specialties:
- Active Defense (or Counter Strike Combos)
- Crippling Strike
- Grappling
- Improvised Weapons
Common Combos:
- Counter Grapple: Active Defense – Grapple
- Counter Strike: Active Defense – Attack
- Counter Break: Active Defense – Grapple – Crippling Strike
- Maximum Aggression: Bypass Armor – Attack – Attack – Attack
Key Talents:
- Discipline
- Forensics
- Perception
- Scrounging
- (S) Improvised Weapons
- Street Smarts
- Study: Military History
- Tactics
Additional Boons
- Critical Skill: Bypass Armor
- Languages: Arrabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Yiddish
- Forensics Supports Crippling Strike
- Street Smarts Supports Improvised Weapons
- Tactics Supports Defense
Super Style Krav Maga
Due to its origins, there are not a lot of supernatural or superhuman abilities associated with Krav Maga. However, it is designed to turn a soldier into the ultimate warrior, so let’s use this as a starting point. To do this, we pair this with the Ultra-Human power from the core book.
Super Krav Maga enhances the practitioner’s physical Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Senses.
Example (Classic Power Level)
Krav Maga 12
- Strength/Offense
Secondary Role (Full Role): Defense MA2
Secondary Role: Support: Strength MA
Added Support: Dexterity, Constitution, Senses MA3
(S) Counter Break 4
(S) Crippling Strike 10
(S) Grappling 7
(S) Improvised Weapons 4
Those who devote themselves to Krav Maga are, simply put, stronger, faster, tougher, and more aware of their surroundings than the uninitiated. While they lack a lot of the specialized abilities of other master martial artists, they are often able to power through by shear force of will.
Cost 1 Power + 12 Selections + 11 AP
Boons
Combo: Counter Break TY
Combo: Counter StrikeTY
Critical Skill: Forensics MA
Languages: Hebrew, Urdu, Yiddish TY
Forensics Supports Crippling Strike TY
Street Smarts Supports Improvised Weapons TY
Tactics Supports Defense MA
Cost 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 2= 9 AP
Use In Conflict
You may be stronger and tougher than a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean you are the strongest or the toughest. There’s no need to go looking for a fight. Let your opponents come to you. When one of them throws a punch, let them know why that was a bad idea. Counter Strike to feel out combatants, Hold your Counter Break and Crippling Strikes until you’ve Bypassed a foe’s Armor to maximize your chances to break them. Outside of a fight, your near ultra-human status can be a major advantage allowing you to run faster, jump higher, and perform feats of strength normally reserved for superhumans.
