What is Krav Maga?
Where & When did it start? Where can I learn Krav Maga?
The History of Krav Maga
Krav Maga is a broad combat and self-defense system designed to provide a quick and effective response to diverse and realistic self-defense situations.
The method was created by Imi Lichtenfeld based on techniques from various self-defense methods such as Japanese JuJutsu, Boxing and others.
*the name of Krav Maga found Imi Licthenfeld translated to Hebrew can also be written as “Imi SdeOr”
The developer of the method, Imi Lichtenfeld, was born in Hungary in 1910 and grew up in Slovakia.
He studied wrestling and even competed successfully, while at the same time he also trained in boxing.
In 1928, Imi Lichtenfeld was the Slovak youth wrestling champion, and in 1929, he was the international champion in boxing. He continued to compete in wrestling until the age of 29 and during these periods also taught wrestling classes.
In the 1930s, with the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe, Imi naturally became the leader of a Jewish youth group that organized in Slovakia with the goal of protecting the Jewish neighborhoods in the capital city of Bratislava.
When the state of Israel was established in 1948, Imi Lichtenfeld was 38 years old and was appointed as the chief Krav Maga instructor in the IDF (Israel’s Army) where he served for 16 years and continued to develop the self-defense system he had put together.
Krav Maga was created as a method that combines self-defense techniques from a variety of martial arts, with an emphasis on short and effective techniques that can be applied quickly.
The Krav Maga method of self-defense is now widespread throughout the world, and contains hundreds of exercises and techniques for dealing with a variety of self-defense scenarios.
The developer of the method, the late Imi Lichtenfeld, defined the method as an evolving system, not a “frozen” one.
Today, KRAV MAGA is an globally known international term.
In Israel, there are many different organizations that teach Krav Maga, the largest of which is the “KAMI” – Krav Maga Israeli organization – K.M.I.
Krav Maga includes self-defense techniques such as…
+ Defense from punches and kicks
+ Releases from choke and hold positions while standing/on the ground
+ Self-defense against weapons such as knives, etc.
+ Use of improvised weapons for self-defense purposes
Krav Maga is not a martial art, but a method/system of self-defense.
Key topics in the Krav Maga training curriculum
- Fighting techniques: Dealing with opponent – one or multiple attackers, standing-fights and on the ground.
- Self-defense: Dealing with armed (cold/hot weapons) and unarmed (hands/feet) attacks.
- Third-party protection: Protecting another person in distress.
- Freeing from holds and chokes: Dealing with a variety of holds, chokes, locks and takedowns.
- Using improvised objects for self-defense: in order neutralize an attack.
- Physical training: Developing physical fitness, flexibility and strength.
- Developing fighting skills: Accuracy, speed, coordination.
- Self-confidence: Learning to deal better with stress and fear.
- Verbal De-Escalation: Learning to use words to cool-down various scenarios.
Krav Maga in various applications
In each of the following areas, Krav Maga is widely used, but adapted to the scenario and specific field:
+ Krav Maga in personal security
+ Krav Maga for self-defense for women
+ Krav Maga for children
+ Military Krav Maga that involves the use or handling of firearms
+ Police Krav Maga
+ And more…
The developer of the Krav Maga method – was the Slovak boxing and wrestling champion several times in his youth. He taught many self-defense techniques that were called “Face-to-Face Combat” (KAPAP) during the establishment of the State of Israel and later “Krav Maga”.
In the following picture you can see him with his student Yaron Lichtenstein:
The content taught in Krav Maga is designed to provide effective and fast tools for known scenarios from our world, and therefore the techniques emphasize practicality and speed for “street situations”. Due to this, in the past there were usually no Krav Maga competitions.
Today, there are Krav Maga teachers and Krav Maga organizations in Israel that do hold fights and sparring in various forms (with body armor or with certain restrictions) in order to give their students the opportunity to test their skills in self-defense under pressure – a worthy and important value.
Krav Maga training also includes the use of improvised weapons for self-defense purposes and learning how to defend against attacks with various weapons (knife/sword and sometimes firearms).
Krav Maga lessons for beginners
Click below to see:
Videos of Krav Maga self-defense techniques
Celebrities that practice Krav Maga
- Brad Pitt – The Hollywood star started practicing Krav Maga for a movie shoot and his wife at the time Angelina Jolie joined him
- Daniel Craig – The James Bond movie star also came to Krav Maga for a shoot
- Jennifer Lopez – The actress/singer trained in Krav Maga for her 2002 movie “Enough”
- Tom Cruise – He can be seen in his films performing Krav Maga techniques
- Sean Penn – The director/actor regularly trains in Krav Maga
- Tyler Perry – The American director/actor, said that Krav Maga training helped him a lot and also in losing weight
- Hilary Swank – The actress mentioned in an interview on the red carpet that she trains in Krav Maga and loves every moment
Key Figures in Krav Maga
- Haim Zot
- Eli Avikzer – Founder of the “Israeli Krav Maga” method – currently the largest Krav Maga organization in Israel
- Avi Avisdon – Currently the head of the “K.M.I” organization (kami) – and Director of Martial Arts Teacher Training at the Wingate Institute
- Haim Gideon
- Ilan Fadlon
What methods were created from Krav Maga?
Eli Avikzar, a veteran student of the method’s creator who was also the first to receive a black belt in Krav Maga, created the “Israeli Defense Fighting” (K.M.I) method in 1989.
Eli Avikzar trained in other methods such as judo, karate, Japanese jujitsu and aikido and combined techniques from these methods into the new self-defense system he put together – while making adjustments according to his worldview.
Today, there are many Krav Maga organizations in Israel and around the world, with each organization teaching according to its worldview.
For students beginning their journey in learning Krav Maga and practical self-defense, there is not much difference between the organizations. What is important is to learn the basic principles, which are almost always the same and very similar among all Krav Maga organizations – principles that allow each and every one to learn effective self-defense and deal with common situations.
More information:
training
Want to learn Krav Maga and self-defense?
Click here for all the options for Krav Maga classes
Private training in Krav Maga – One on One self-defense lessons
In the Israel Dojo trainer index you can easily find a variety of Krav Maga classes for beginners: adults, children and youth