I run a Krav Maga gym in San Francisco (Forge) and have been thinking about this a lot after seeing Ryan Hoover's instagram reel on handfighting.
In my experience, we do train parts of handfighting in Krav; Wrist releases, some clinch work, basic control of the arms. But it’s often taught as one-off solutions to specific problems.
What I’ve been noticing more (especially when things get a little more live or resistant or you can't just run away) is that it doesn’t really play out that cleanly. It feels more like a constant back-and-forth. You clear a grip, they re-engage. You get control, they fight it.
I'm curious to hear from other instructors and practitioners. How does this show up in your training? Are you all doing much live handfighting? Is it mostly technique-based responses to one specific problem (ex: same side wrist release)? Do you have specific handfighting skill bulilding drills you like and find effective?
I wrote a longer breakdown on my (admittedly emerging) point of view if anyone’s interested:
https://www.forgekravmaga.com/forge-krav-maga-blog/why-handfighting-is-the-most-important-skill-in-self-defense-especially-in-san-francisco
Would genuinely love feedback. I write a lot of stuff and am 100% to making it better with community inputs.