Complete Krav Maga - Book review

“Darren Levine has my unqualified support and gratitude for his contributions to Krav Maga.”
--Imi Lichtenfeld, founder of Krav Maga

This was the book recommended to me by when I took my instructor training course in 2011, I now have over 60 books in my Krav Maga and Selfe defence training library and I still feel that it's one of the best out there. 

A little about the authors: Darren Levine is a 6th-degree black belt and is the U.S. chief instructor of Krav Maga Worldwide. He is also a deputy district attorney serving on an elite unit with the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. John Whitman is a 4th-degree black belt and president of Krav Maga Worldwide, training civilian, military and law-enforcement agencies nationwide. They both live in Los Angeles.

The first point I need to make is that although this is a thick book, it is far from "Complete". But it is still probably the best single guide to the Krav Maga style that is widely available.

The first couple of chapters are spot on. They cover the history and philosophy in enough detail to keep the reader satisfied and links the logical flow of the "rules of Krav Maga" to real life (not just self defence, but as a daily guide to problem solving). It actually reads like a genuine guide for Krav Maga before it leads into descriptions of technique training.

The actual movements and techniques are well described and have photos to clearly illustrate the process. The layout is clear and text is easy to read and understand. The first copy I brought of this book has my original training notes in. There are occassions where I felt I needed to add in points to describe the motion better or add in extra detail.

There is warm up and fitness advice included too. Essentially the book covers a lot of ground, touching in many of the important areas so I can give an honest recommendation that you have this book at home. But it is not complete, as an example it is severely lacking in weapons training and multiple attacker scenarios, and there is not enough in power generation or speed training. (Visit the Krav Maga online shop to view books that go into those subjects in more detail).

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Other books in the series might see...

Krav Maga Beginners is a lightweight version of Complete. It's not worth getting if you already have Complete Krav Maga, but if you are on the move and fancy something slimmer in your travel bag for the airport lounge then its a good option. It is designed as a real beginners version with simple text and very few complications. In reading it I felt that it was directed to someone who doesn't work out or have any training at all, a true beginner.

Black Belt Krav Maga details out a few techniques and gives background information for advanced weapons training. I found it useful as an instructor as I used it as a blueprint for training drills but it wasn't that impressive in content.