The following is a guest post by Jason Maine from Full Contact Way.

Film and TV are always advancing their fight scenes, having characters incorporate a variety of martial arts to get the job done. Whether it’s a martial arts film or not, adding the fighting arts to a fight sequence sets a thrilling tone.

For years now, several films have turned to the brutally efficient Krav Maga to be used during fight sequences. First developed for Israeli security forces and the IDF, it’s one of the best self-defense systems that deal with real-world situations. For this list, we’ve narrowed down five films that make good use of Krav Maga.

The Debt (2010)

First off, this is a remake of a 2007 Israeli film. It’s an espionage thriller that deals with three Mossad agents and the fallout from a mission they thought they accomplished.

Two of the main actors, Jessica Chastain and Sam Worthington, spoke in interviews about the Krav Maga training they underwent for the role as their characters made use of it during combat scenes. Chastain mentioned how she trained for four months. It can be seen in a number of fighting scenes such as the training sequence.


Salt (2010)

Actress Angelina Jolie takes on the role of a CIA agent and Russian sleeper spy in this action film. Throughout the movie, she deals with being on the run. As such, there are plenty of combat sequences.

Jolie has done action films before, but in this one, she talked highly about how she, the stunt director, and his team made use of Krav Maga in order to come up with the character’s fighting style. Some of it can be seen during her corridor fight sequence where she utilizes several weapon techniques as well.


Enough (2002)

Out of all of the films in our list, this one highlights the usefulness of Krav Maga for pure self-defense and getting out of a dangerous situation the best. The storyline follows an abused woman who no longer can be on the run from her obsessed, abusive husband.

Jennifer Lopez portrays the lead character in this film. She trained in Krav Maga both outside and inside the film. There’s a thorough training scene that shows some of the best uses of self-defense you can gleam from Krav Maga when dealing with an opponent that’s bigger and stronger than you.


Collateral (2004)

The film follows a cab driver who becomes hostage to a contract killer as he continues to make his rounds to complete his job. Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx play the leads in the film.

Cruise went through extensive Krav Maga training for over three months. You can check out some footage of both the training and the scenes used in the film. The movie does well at showing the counterattacks and how to disarm an opponent, techniques that Krav Maga focuses on.


Casino Royale (2006)

Fast-paced fight scenes and James Bond go hand-in-hand. This time, actor Daniel Craig portrays Bond on his first mission as a 007 agent.

Craig made excellent use of Krav Maga skills for this movie and even in the sequels that followed. He trained with Darren Levine, founder of Krav Maga Worldwide, in order to develop the techniques. You can catch instances of the techniques in a number of scenes as the character frequently engages in hand-to-hand combat.

Daniel Craig learning Krav Maga for his role as James Bond - photo from 007.com

Daniel Craig learning Krav Maga for his role as James Bond – photo from 007.com


There are several other films where Krav Maga has been used to enhance combat scenes. There is such a variety to the fighting style that it’s no wonder actors, directors, and crew members are eagerly lining up at the chance to learn it.

Written by Jason Maine

Jason MaineJason Maine is the founder of FullContactWay, a blog dedicated to provide best martial arts advice and information. Jason helps his readers with martial arts training by sharing personal tips and thorough research. Check out fullcontactway.com to get more about Jason’s work. You can find him on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

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