REALISTIC

Krav Maga uses practical self defence techniques against weapons, holds, grabs, and how to deal with multiple attackers whether you are standing or on the ground. 

PROVEN

Krav Maga teaches military units and law enforcement officers from around the world are using to help saving lives on the battlefield as well as on the streets.

Effective

Krav Maga is a complete self defence and fighting system developed in the IDF and brings the average civilian to a competent level of self defence in the shortest possible time. 

Our world has grown desensitised to violence. We enjoy watching the latest action movie or buying the next shoot’em up video game. Some of us buy our children fake guns and swords and say “Have fun!”, after all, violence isn’t real, it’s a game, it’s make believe. It is never actually going to happen to us. We are impervious… I won’t be part of the statistics... of women who are raped every year… it won’t be my movie theatre, office building or tourist attraction that gets attacked… it won’t be my children’s school that the gunman chooses to target. Violence is real! It is not something that we only see on television or in the movies. It is not something that we just hear about happening across town, or happening somewhere across the globe. Hopefully violence will never be fall us; unfortunately we live in an imperfect and unpredictable world, and we must be prepared. The moment we start taking violence seriously, is the first step we take in defending ourselves and our families. 

Krav Maga is known for a few main principles in its teaching:

How is it different?

Most attacks do not occur in the comfort and regulated environment of a formal dojo or training hall. Krav Maga training is therefore predicated on the fact that attacks and life threatening situations can occur anywhere and in an instant.

Attacks happen when we least expect them, when we are most vulnerable, in areas congested with furniture and other objects, on uneven ground, in low light areas, in car parks and many other environments where we live, move through and work. Therefore, our training is structured to allow for these and other variables that occur during violent attacks.

You will train to overcome and/or compensate for the effects of shock, deterioration of fine motor skills, tunnel vision and other factors such as time distortion etc. Our techniques and other skills have been developed and refined in real world situations and, have been used successfully by civilians, police and others trained in the system.

What will you learn?

• The self confidence to identify, avoid and, if necessary neutralise an attack
• How to function effectively under the stress and shock of a sudden attack
• How to defend against a number of common attacks such as chokes, bear hugs, punches, attacks on the ground and weapons such as guns, knives and sticks
• Increase your fitness level

Krav Maga’s Behavioural Code

Imi emphasised good citizenship and a strong sense of morality. The following pillars of Imi’s system help summarise his teachings.

1 - Good citizenship

Treat your fellow-citizens with respect and obey the law. Imi sought to install “a sense of self worth”.

2 - Train properly to avoid injury 

Do not injure your partner or yourself by training haphazardly.

3 - Act humbly

Do not show-off your skills or provoke others to test your mettle. Act courteously toward others. As Imi said, “The most necessary thing, is to educate you– and that is the hardest thing–to be humble. You must be so humble that you don’t want to show him that you’re better than him. That is one of the most necessary things for pupils. If a pupil tells me, ‘I fought him and beat him,’ it’s no good.”

4 - Avoid confrontation 

Avoid or deescalate a potential violent situation whenever possible. When asked about a hypothetical confrontation that could be avoided, Imi responded, “Know what I told you – to be humble. I don’t want to get beaten. I don’t want to beat him. My purpose in learning Krav Maga is not to get hurt. If you beat him, you want to show him you can beat him. If you turn away, you have enough confidence.”

Do not use unnecessary force. Respond to a threat or attack with only the necessary amount of force to neutralise the attack. Imi underscored, “That is most necessary and difficult thing in Krav Maga – that I must be so good that I don’t must kill.”

With his father’s encouragement, Imi became active in a wide range of sports. He first excelled in swimming, and subsequently in gymnastics, wrestling, and boxing. In 1928 Imi won the Slovakian Youth Wrestling Championship, and in 1929 the adult championship (in the light and middle weight division). That year he also won the national boxing championship and an international gymnastics championship. During the ensuing decade, Imi’s athletic activities focused mainly on wrestling, both as a contestant and a trainer. 

In the mid thirties, conditions began to change in Bratislava. Fascist and anti-Semitic groups appeared, determined to upset the public order and harm the city’s Jewish community. Imi became the un-crowned leader of a group of young Jews, most of them with a background in boxing, wrestling, and weightlifting. This group attempted to block the anti-Semitic bands from entering the Jewish quarter and wreaking havoc there. 

In 1940, as a result of Imi’s activities he become a thorn in the side of the anti-Semitic local authorities; Imi left his home, family, and friends and boarded the last immigrant ship that successfully escaped the Nazis’ clutches. The vessel was an old riverboat named Pentcho, that had been converted to carry hundreds of refugees from Central Europe to the land of Israel (then called Palestine). The gripping story of the Pentcho and its passengers is told in detail in the book Odyssey by John Birman (published by Simon & Shuster, New York, 1984). Imi’s private odyssey aboard that ship and afterwards, which was filled with thrilling episodes which took about two years.

In 1944 Imi began training fighters in his areas of expertise: physical fitness, swimming, wrestling, use of the knife, and defences against knife attacks. During this period, Imi trained several elite units of the Hagana and Palmach (striking force of the Hagana and forerunner of the special units of the IDF), including the Pal-Yam, as well as groups of police officers. In 1948, when the State of Israel was founded and the IDF was formed, Imi became Chief Instructor for Physical Fitness and Krav Maga at the IDF School of Combat Fitness. He served in the IDF for about 20 years, during which time he developed and refined his unique method for self-defence and hand-to-hand combat. 

After he finished his active duty in the 1960′s, Imi began adapting and modifying Krav Maga to civilian needs. The method was formulated to suit everyone – man and woman, boy or girl, who might need it to save his or her life or survive an attack while sustaining minimal harm, whatever the background of the attack – criminal, nationalistic, or other. To disseminate his method, Imi established two training centres, one in Tel Aviv and the other in Natanya. 

Even during his last years, Imi continued to personally supervise the training of those who have attained high ranks in Krav Maga, and to spend time with the instructors in Israel and abroad. Imi monitored the trainees’ progress and achievements, captivating them with his personality and imparting them with his knowledge and unique personality.

Imi, a teacher, a fighter and a great human being, passed away on the 9th of January 1998.