'We do bad things to bad people' – Krav Maga's German career in the light of social systems theory

Abstract

Despite its worldwide popularity, Israel originated Krav Maga is still remarkably unexplored. With regards Krav Maga´s global spread, the article focuses on the social career of Krav Maga in Germany and asks about the conditions for its success. Beginning in the 2000s, Krav Maga has rapidly resonated throughout Germany, nowadays showing a high degree of social connectivity and differentiation. Analysed through the lenses of social systems theory, Krav Maga´s German career appears not least being an effect of globalised streams of communication – in particular realized through the marking of relevant differences to existing practices and systems of self-defence and serving of contemporary social and individual needs and expectations (e.g. the ability to effectively defend oneself). Following initial analyses of the spread of Wing Chun in Germany, this case study makes a further contribution to an understanding of the socio-cultural evolution of self-defense systems in Germany.