Krav Maga (Contact Combat)
What is Krav Maga?
Krav Maga, meaning in Hebrew "contact combat", is the official system of self defence and hand-to-hand combat of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Israeli National Police and other security services. Krav Maga is also taught extensively in public schools and educational centres affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Education.
Krav Maga is a modern, practical and proven system of self defense, carefully conceived for today's volatile world. It is not a martial art or combat sport. Instead, it is a highly refined survival system designed for the personal safety of ordinary people. It is characterised by a logical and coherent approach to self defence that enables one to achieve a relatively high level of proficiency within a short period of instruction.
The system has consistently earned the praise of experienced fighters, martial arts experts, and military and police officers for its highly practical applications, but in essence it also appeals to beginners because of its simple, no-nonsense and realistic approach to personal safety.
All the Krav Maga techniques have been thoroughly tested in real-life situations, improved upon and refined accordingly. With training methods proven effective under the harshest conditions on the battlefield and on the street, Krav Maga is widely regarded as one of the most credible self defence systems available in the world today.
What problems does Krav Maga train to solve?
The emphasis of Krav Maga is on pragmatic self-defence for the civilian and efficient defensive tactics for security and military professionals. Training places heavy emphasis on defending against the full range of real-world threats: from common strikes, grabs, chokes, headlocks and other holds through to high risk situations involving weapons including knives, sticks and firearms.
Krav Maga students train in using common, everyday objects as weapons, such as chairs, backpacks, pens, coffee mugs, etc. Training contains many exercises and drills to put students under physical and psychological stress in order to acclimatise the student to the stressors of real self defence.
Krav Maga and Reality SDC
The Head Coach has been training in Krav Maga since 2002 and achieved Expert Level 1 (11th Level) civilian instructor whilst completing the Expert Level Camp in Israel in 2012. Unlike other "Reality Based" instructor programs that can take up to only 5 days to complete, all Krav Maga instructors have had a minimum of 5 years experience training in other systems and undertake a grueling 4 week full time instructor course.
Where does Krav Maga come from?
Krav Maga was founded by Imi Lichtenfeld, a fighter and a gentleman, who was born in 1910 and raised in Bratislava, Slovakia. Imi won numerous championships in wrestling, boxing and gymnastics and gained vast experience of real-life violent confrontations during the Nazi uprising in the 1930's.
With the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the Israel Defence Forces were formed and Imi was appointed Chief Instructor for physical fitness and Krav Maga. He served in the IDF for about 20 years, during which time he developed and refined the Krav Maga system.
Today the Krav Maga system is governed worldwide by the International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF), based in Netanya, Israel. The Chief Instructor is Eyal Yanilov, who was Imi's closest assistant since the early 1980's.
The Head Coach receiving his Graduate Level 5 Certification in 2007 from Worldwide Chief instructor of the International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF) - Eyal Yanilov.