Krav Maga vs. Systema
Quick answer
Krav Maga and Systema have no documented common root, and both present themselves as self-defense with a link to the army, but for Krav Maga teaching in the IDF is documented, while for Systema it is only a claim of organizations. Krav Maga has a curriculum of named defenses and grades according to the organization, while Systema is a collection of several Russian schools without belts and fixed kata, built on breath, relaxation, posture and movement. Neither has a sport competition.
At a glance
| Krav Maga | Systema | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Israel | Russia |
| Origin | 20th century (present form) | 20th century (present form) |
| Founder | Imi Lichtenfeld | – |
| Contact | Light contact · Full contact (depending on style) | – |
| Sparring | Light contact · Full contact (depending on style) | – |
| Competition format | No competitions | No competitions |
| Olympic status | Not Olympic | Not Olympic |
| Ranks | Yes (belts) | Yes (certificates) |
| Rank recognition | fragmented | fragmented |
| Attire | No specific attire | No specific attire |
| Weapons | Weapons optional | Weapons optional |
| Forms | No forms | No forms |
| Relative cost | medium | low |
Scales 1–5
Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.
What each art is built from
Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
History and relationship
We have not found a documented historical relationship between Krav Maga and Systema. For Krav Maga both the founder and the military teaching are documented, while Systema is a collective name for several Russian schools (Systema Ryabko, Systema Vasiliev, Systema Kadochnikova, Systema Talanov), whose year of origin or founder we have not documented beyond the claims of the organizations.
- 1944: Imi Lichtenfeld teaches in the Hagana, from 1948 he is the chief Krav Maga instructor in the IDF.
- 1983: Alexey Kadochnikov leads a laboratory of the Krasnodar military school, his method is later patented as a method of self-defense.
- 1993: according to his organization, Vladimir Vasiliev founds Systema Headquarters in Toronto.
- From the nineties Systema spreads to the West, and after 1998 Krav Maga splits among several organizations.
Vasiliev’s organization names Mikhail Ryabko as the founder of Systema and a colonel, and we have not found an independent biography. Claims about special forces come from organizations and schools, and we have not found independent evidence.
Technique
- Punches, forearm strikes and hammer strikes, elbows, knees and kicks.
- Hits to the eyes, throat, groin and knee.
- Locks, throws, chokes and ground fighting.
- Defense against a knife, stick and firearm.
- No fixed kata, training as a set of principles.
- Four pillars: breath, relaxation, posture and movement.
- Close combat, grappling, knife and firearms.
Krav Maga builds on simple repeatable reactions and simultaneous defense and attack, and the interpretation differs among organizations. In Systema the principles differ by school: Kadochnikov’s method works with evasions instead of blocks.
Training
| Krav Maga | Systema | |
|---|---|---|
| Training forms | stress drills, scenario training, sparring, slow-fight | according to school descriptions breath work, stretching, bodyweight exercises |
| Curriculum | curriculum and exams according to the organization | school descriptions state teaching without a fixed plan |
| Fighting in training | in some organizations up to G2 slow and light, then with protectors | we have not found the degree of resistance |
| Frequency | IKMF Netherlands: 9–18 months twice a week to the first exam | we have not been able to document it |
The Systema instructor Emmanuel Manolakakis from Toronto writes that Krav Maga lessons drill named defenses at high intensity, whereas Systema trains breath and relaxation under growing pressure. This is the view of one side, and we have not found an independent comparison of lessons.
Progression and ranks
| Krav Maga | Systema | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | IKMF patches P1–P5, G1–G5, E1–E6 and Master, elsewhere belts based on judo with 1st to 9th dan | no belts or ranks, the student progresses at his own pace according to the school |
| Before the first exam | IKMF Netherlands: at least 45 lessons | we have not found exams of students |
| Instructor | IKMF Netherlands: from G5 to E1 at least a year and the CIC course | Systema Headquarters states examination and certification of instructors at a camp led by Vasiliev |
Krav Maga measures progress by exams, and at IKMF Netherlands part of the grades is examined by one’s own instructor and part centrally. Black Belt notes that without a curriculum progress in Systema is harder to measure.
Physical load and risks
- IDF soldiers (Farkash et al., Military Medicine 2017): 946 injuries in 916 soldiers, mostly mild, fingers, hands and wrists 31%, shoulder 16%.
- Civilian practitioners (Yaacobi et al., Cureus 2024, 109 questionnaires): most often the lower limbs 38.5%, the data are in places contradictory.
- We have not found an injury study or contraindications.
- We have not found the degree of contact and resistance in sparring in the sources.
Who it suits
| Krav Maga | Systema | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults | IKMF Netherlands: from 16, elsewhere from 18 years | we have not found an age limit |
| Without previous experience | IKMF and Krav Maga Worldwide state that it is for everyone regardless of gender and age | FightClub Toronto states it is open to all ages and fitness levels |
| Women | Stay Away course (IKMF Netherlands) | we have not found a program for women |
| Professional groups | documented civilian, police and military branches | police officers, soldiers and security staff only according to older descriptions without a citation |
Children
| Krav Maga | Systema | |
|---|---|---|
| Age of programs | IKMF Netherlands: Kiddies 5–7, Kids 8–11, juniors 12–15 years | FightClub Toronto has a children’s program, the age is not stated |
| Progress of children | Kids partial exam every 2 months, 5 K-levels, juniors one exam a year | no belts, we have not found exams of children |
| Protection | IKMF Netherlands for exams a mouthguard, at K-levels boxing gloves | we have not been able to document it |
| Children’s competition | does not exist | does not exist |
| Studies and medical opinions | we have not been able to document them | we have not been able to document them |
Self-defence
- Verbal and physical de-escalation, attack only as a last resort.
- Defense against a knife, stick, firearm and multiple attackers.
- Partner resistance limited in some organizations up to G2.
- According to Systema Headquarters strikes, defense against multiple attackers and a training knife.
- Defense against a takedown as a survival situation (Secours, 2012).
- For Kadochnikov’s branch critics state demonstrations in slow motion and without a resisting opponent.
For Krav Maga the military teaching is documented, while for Systema it is only a claim of the organizations. In 2024 BJJEE wrote about criticism of demonstrations in which people fall after the instructor’s touch, and about Rigan Machado recommending Systema nevertheless for its movement, breath and calm. We have not found a study of the effect against full resistance for either of them.
Practical use
| Krav Maga | Systema | |
|---|---|---|
| Motor learning | 16 female university students (Di Bacco et al., PeerJ 2020): 15 minutes of instruction improved the direct punch and the defensive kick | we have not found a study |
| Fitness load | 16 recreationally active people (ACE): a lesson averaged 8.8 MET and 78% of maximum heart rate | we have not found a study |
| Army and police | IDF, Israeli police, since 2008 a paratrooper school in Upper Bavaria | Átlátszó (2022): Russian instructors trained Hungarian soldiers and police officers |
Krav Maga studies examined small groups and a single lesson, and for Systema studies with numbers are missing entirely. General suitability cannot be inferred from them.
Competition
| Krav Maga | Systema | |
|---|---|---|
| Sport competition | does not exist | we have not found an organization with competition rules |
| Other forms | the IDF has held an annual competition since 2013, rules not documented | we have not found any |
| Fighters in other competitions | Moti Horenstein in UFC 10 and UFC 14 | we have not found any |
| Forms and sets | IKMF states a system without stylized forms | without kata and forms |
Gear and costs
| Krav Maga | Systema | |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing | IKMF for exams a gray T-shirt and black trousers with a grade patch, combat trousers are not allowed | we have not found a prescribed outfit |
| Equipment | mouthguard, groin guard, shin guards, boxing or MMA gloves | the Systema Headquarters camp requires a training knife of hard inflexible material |
| Relative costs | medium | low |
Availability and organisations
| Krav Maga | Systema | |
|---|---|---|
| Organizations and branches | IKMF, Krav Maga Global, Krav Maga Worldwide, IKMA and others | Systema Ryabko, Systema Vasiliev, Systema Kadochnikova, Systema Talanov |
| Licenses and certification | IKMF instructor course CIC, Krav Maga Worldwide licenses schools | Systema Headquarters certifies instructors, affiliated schools are listed on its website |
| Recognition when moving | we have not found recognition of grades between organizations | we have not found recognition between branches |
Krav Maga split in disputes over succession after 1998, while Systema has carried the names of teachers from the start. When moving between Krav Maga schools, the grades of the new organization decide, and in Systema there are no grades to transfer.
Switching and combining
- Defense against a knife and multiple attackers has a counterpart in the topics of Systema.
- Instead of named defenses, work with breath, relaxation, posture and movement.
- Exams and patches or belts fall away.
- Experience with a knife and multiple attackers remains.
- Added is a curriculum with named defenses and exams according to the organization.
- Added are stress drills, scenario training and in some organizations sparring with protectors.
- Added is equipment: mouthguard, shin guards, gloves.
On the left the transition from Krav Maga to Systema, on the right from Systema to Krav Maga. We have not found a personality who would demonstrably combine the two arts. The difference in lesson intensity is described only by a Systema instructor, and an independent comparison is missing.
Philosophy
- Motto according to the IKMF: So that one may walk in peace.
- Surviving an attack with minimal injury through simple techniques (IKMF).
- Without Zen elements, ending the fight quickly (Jewish Ideas Daily).
- Principles of non-destruction and “know yourself” according to the FightClub Toronto school.
- In the Systema Ryabko branch, according to Átlátszó, a strong influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Training culture
- With the IKMF a gray T-shirt and a grade patch on the trousers, elsewhere belts based on judo.
- Children at the IKMF have passport entries with stamps.
- We have not been able to document the bow or the form of addressing the instructor.
- The creators of the series The Americans (2013) used Systema in the choreography of fights.
- James Norton prepared for the series McMafia (2018) at a Systema school in London.
- In the game Street Fighter V the character Kolin has the fighting style Systema.
Which to choose
Frequently asked questions
Do Krav Maga and Systema have a common origin?
We have not found a documented relationship. Krav Maga was developed by Imi Lichtenfeld in the Hagana and the IDF, while Systema is a collective name for several Russian schools whose beginnings we do not document beyond the claims of the organizations.
Does the Russian army use Systema?
Claims about the army and special forces come from organizations and schools, and we have not found independent evidence. What is documented is that Russian Systema instructors trained Hungarian soldiers and police officers (Átlátszó, 2022). For Krav Maga, teaching in the IDF is documented from 1948.
Can one compete in either of them?
Neither has a sport competition. The IDF has held an annual Krav Maga competition since 2013 and we have not found its rules, and for Systema we have not found a competition at all.