Elbow Strikes — Eight Angles

Elbow strikes are the answer to attackers at touching range — where punches lose power and kicks are impossible. The point of the elbow is small, hard, and capable of cutting skin against bone.

The eight angles

Most Krav Maga lineages number elbow strikes 1–8 by angle:

• 1 — horizontal forward: across the jaw or temple, lead-side.
• 2 — horizontal forward, rear: same line, rear hand.
• 3 — vertical upward: under the chin or jaw.
• 4 — vertical downward: on the top of the head or base of skull.
• 5 — backward horizontal: elbow strike to a rear attacker's face.
• 6 — backward downward: straight back into the groin or solar plexus.
• 7 — backward upward: rising elbow to a rear attacker's jaw.
• 8 — sideways: lateral elbow across the temple of a side attacker.

How they're drilled

Elbows are introduced individually, then drilled in sequences — for example, 1-2-3 (horizontal lead, horizontal rear, upward) becomes a standard close-range combination. The elbow flow drill chains all eight angles in a fluid sequence, used as both a warm-up and a movement-pattern primer.