Krav Maga vs Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu: Which Is Better for Portland Residents?

When considering self defense Portland options, two names tend to be related: Krav Maga and Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. They’re both both very practical, they are both constructed for actual fighting, and they are both targeted towards individuals who take a genuine interest in protecting themselves and family. They are not identical, however, and most certainly do not refer to the same thing; what the difference means to you, depends enormously on what you are searching for.

Here, we delve into the practicalities of krav maga vs bujinkan, what each system offers and what it’s like to train in on a day to day basis, and which option might be more in line with the needs of Portland locals.

What Is Krav Maga?

Hence Krav Maga was designed for the military and law enforcement applications and is known as being immediate, aggressive and dynamic. Typically, the central concept from which the krav maga Portland seekers start is straightforward – aim to thwart an aggressor as soon as possible with instinctive and vigorous body actions.

Many Krav Maga systems are based upon the flinch response which is the reflexive response the body has when a person is surprised, more specifically, when the body is tense, hands have to be raised, and the body reacts in the appropriate way. Training is where that instinct is refined and honed to form a swift counter-attack. This makes Krav Maga very attractive to those who want to study it, as you feel it right away and feel that you can do more upon completion of your first few classes.

The cons are that Krav Maga is reaction oriented. You’re reacting to the attacker’s actions. I suppose this has its own merits, but it also means that you are also on the back foot because your training begins after theirs.

What Is Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu?

Budo Taijutsu, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu or Ninjutsu is an old Japanese martial art whose history spans several centuries and has its origins in the fighting arts of Ninjas and Samurai. It is not based on a few contemporary combat drills, but is a combination of several schools of the past (ryu) and is premised on six principle ideas:

• Control: Learn, you can maintain your body and mind, even before facing any opponent
• Muto Dori – The ability to defend from an armed person not with force, but by using time, awareness and distance
• San Shin – Is the basic movement or the merging of structure, breath and balance
• Kihon Happo – Refers to the eight basic methods that are all the skills built upon
• Women’s Self-Defense – Strategy first, techniques first, without relying on strength and size
• Community – Train with partners that hold each other accountable

Unlike Krav Maga, the Bujinkan has never been created for sport or competition. Bujinkan training is not a training of flinching, but a training of turning a flinch into a control, which is a training of finding the timing and staying calm.

Krav Maga vs Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu: The Core Differences

If people compare krav maga to bujinkan budo taijutsu they will typically only cite three differences: pace, the philosophy, and the ceiling.

1. Training Pace
   

Krav Maga is quick and fast right from the get-go. Bujinkan begins slower and instead, it simply means that it takes time to train the structure of your skill, your balance and your awareness, before the technique starts to come into play. Veteran students of Krav Maga will notice this straight away and feel uncomfortable, just because it’s not the same beat that they are accustomed to.

2. Reaction vs. Control
   

Krav Maga enhances reflexiveness, making you faster than who is threatening you. With Bujinkan you are completely escaping the pure reaction, thus reading the distance, time and intention before a conflict has even happened. For real violence, the man in charge will have the upper hand regardless of who acts faster, as long as there is somebody being the man in charge.

3. Strength and Athleticism
   

The use of fast, powerful strokes, can give an advantage to those who are strong, fit or athletic. Unlike Bujinkan, however, Bujinkan relies more on the distance, timing, and energy redirection-in other words, more on the height, weight, and physical strength of the push. This makes this especially useful to those people who do not wish to use their muscles to dominate an attacker, such as a lot of the people who attend reality based self defense Portland training expressly for this purpose.

Which Is Better for Self-Defense?

When they ask me about krav maga vs bujinkan for self-defence, the straight answer is both are good, both are combat-based, not sport based, and both will help you to become a useful human being in regards to safety.

They have differences in ideas of ‘better’ which are what you feel it is to you:

• If you’re looking to behave with confidence on a quick time-scale then Krav Maga’s flinch based approach is a good starting point if you want an intensity of training similar to what is required in military self-defence classics.
• For anyone who wants to learn something over the course of years – building a calm demeanor in the face of pressure, situational awareness and the ability to dodge or dodge and counter a threat so it doesn’t become physical – Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu tends to provide a more deep and sustaining skill set.

Those who may have been searching for Krav Maga in Portland often find themselves actually learning Bujinkan, since it actually has the same bite level philosophy, but a potentially higher level of achievement over a more extended period.

Krav Maga vs Traditional Martial Arts

Additionally, it’s important to note that this is separate from the general comparison of krav maga vs Karate, taekwondo, or MMA. Rules regulate the sport-oriented martial arts which ensure safety for the participants – weight class, no eye strikes, no groin strikes, referee. It’s good to have those rules for competition but when it comes to the real world, no one abides by them.

The martial arts of Krav Maga and Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu are not part of that sport category. They are both not made to score with. Which is the reason both keep resurfacing when Portlanders are looking for martial arts Portland classes which do far more than just provide a trophy to win and more than a belt to contemplate.

Bujinkan Training in Portland: What to Expect

Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu has been taught in the Portland area since 1991 by Instinct Defense Academy, with Chief Instructor Peter Kramer, a 15th Dan Bujinkan Daishihan, taught directly by Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi from Japan.

Classes are designed for actual people and never athletes-in-training. Experience of martial arts and fitness is not a requirement, nor is this do or not do for the body. Students train twice a week, generally once in learning some basic technique, and one second time applying the same technique to realistic, pressure tested situations.

If you have thought about doing Krav Maga classes but didn’t want to because you were wondering the difference between this style of Krav Maga and control based instructors, you can attend your first class free of charge and you are welcome to just sit back and observe without joining in.