Krav Maga - “fight with contact” in Hebrew - is a self-defence and military hand to hand combat system developed in Israel.
Its founder, Imi Lichtenfeld, developed it to train members of the Jewish community in Bratislava to resist the German occupation in the run-up to WWII. At the time, this had to be fast, simple and effective. Gradually set of separate techniques evolved into an integrated system.
Krav Maga is now known worldwide as an ultra realistic self-defense system. You learn to defend yourself efficiently and you are taught to respond to all kinds of aggression, threats and attacks. Its efficiency speaks for itself as it is the official law enforcement and defense system in more than 50 countries.
For Imi, the main reason for developing the system of Krav Maga was that anyone - man or woman, young or old - would be able to defend themselves when necessary.
His main motto was: 'So that one may walk in peace'.
The techniques are based and developed on the basis of that motto - meaning, for example, that Krav Maga is less limited by any "sporting rules". This also forms the biggest difference between a (combat) sport and a self-defense system. When you train on rules, you train on limitation. Krav Maga was developed for the street. There is no referee who intervenes and there are no rules that say 'that is not allowed, that is dangerous'. Krav Maga is not a sport.
The only rules to which we are bound are of course the rules of the law. And after all, the aim of Krav Maga isn't to always seek the path of violence.
The International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF) was founded in 1996 by leading Krav Maga experts to promote the Krav Maga self-defense system worldwide. Today, IKMF is the largest federation in the world.
The IKMF is lead by chairman and head instructor Avi Moyal and represented by the highest ranking Krav Maga experts in the world, known as the Global Instructor Team (GIT). It has 95,000 members and is active in 90 countries on 5 continents.
Minimal timing, maximum damage.
Krav Maga is therefore not a 'beautiful' system. We know no graceful motion, no separate style forms, no unnecessary movements. It is a no-nonsense system where only effectiveness counts. Most of the techniques are based around natural reactions and reflexes. This means that you can get the hang of it in a (relatively) short time.
It is a very complete system and we teach you techniques for (verbal and physical) de-escalation - depending on the level of aggression you are confronted with.
Being relatively a young system (most martial arts date back in time much further) the techniques have been developed to deal with the danger of a modern society. Several techniques will focus on necessary defence against knives, sticks, firearms and multiple attackers.
Although gradings aren't the necessary end goal of student progression, they do provide an indication of the student’s ability to defend themselves at that period of time. The Krav Maga grading system is divided into 3 main categories. Each level has its own badges of merit which are colour coded as described:
PRACTITIONER
Grades P1 through P5 are the student levels and make up the majority of the Krav Maga community.
The Practitioner Levels of Krav Maga are the core of the system. Students learn how to defend against the most common attacks, as well as building on their fighting skills and learning how to avoid a situation or what to do after a confrontation. Training also improves fitness, strength, flexibility and mental determination.
To reach the graduate level, the student must master a skill in all P-level techniques. The majority of instructors hold a Graduate level and are Civil Instructors.
Achieving a graduate level does not automatically mean you are an instructor. To become an instructor, you must successfully complet the instructor training course.
The expert levels mainly cover more advanced military techniques and advanced sparring and combat skills.
People who hold an expert level often also teach in other sectors such as defense and law enforcement in addition to civilians.
To reach expert level one must demonstrate proficiency in all practitioner and graduate techniques and have excellent fighting skills.
