Krav Maga
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Krav Maga is a noncompetitive eclectic self-defense system developed in Europe that involves striking techniques, wrestling and grappling. Relative to other systems, Krav Maga is known for its focus on real-world situations, efficient and versatile counter-attacks, and ease of learning.
It was derived from street-fighting skills developed by Imi Lichtenfeld, who made use of his training as a boxer and wrestler, as a means of defending the Jewish quarter against fascist groups in Bratislava in the mid- to late-1930s. In the late-1940s, following his immigration to Israel, he began to provide lessons on combat training to what was to become the IDF, who went on to develop the system that became known as Krav Maga. It has since been refined for three applications: civilian, police and military. The military version is taught to regular and special forces in Israel, FBI and CIA in the United States, Air Force units in Macedonia, and also to many other military, police and special forces around the world.
Krav Maga has a philosophy emphasizing threat neutralization, simultaneous defensive and offensive maneuvers, and aggression. Krav Maga is used by IDF Special Forces units and several closely related variations have been developed and adopted by law enforcement and intelligence organizations, Mossad and Shin Bet. There are several organizations teaching variations of Krav Maga internationally.
