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| General Information |
Krav maga is an Israeli self-defense and fighting system. ‘Krav maga’ is Hebrew for contact combat. Like most martial arts, krav maga encourages students to avoid physical confrontation. However, if this is impossible or unsafe, it promotes finishing a fight quickly and aggressively. Attacks are aimed at the most vulnerable parts of the body, and training is not limited to techniques that avoid severe injury; some permanently injure or cause death to the opponent.Krav maga borrows techniques from Western boxing and several styles of grappling (Tausk 2001). The result is an easy to learn and effective fighting art. There are no sport variants of krav maga. |
| History/Development |
Krav maga was developed in the 1940s for use by the Israeli military and intelligence services by Imi Lichtenfeld (Tausk 2001). In the mid-1930s anti-Semitic riots began to threaten the Jews of Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Lichtenfeld became the leader of a group of Jewish boxers and wrestlers who took to the streets to defend Jewish neighbourhoods against the growing numbers of anti-Semitic national socialists (Tausk 2001). Lichtenfeld quickly discovered that actual fighting was different from competition fighting, and although boxing and wrestling were good sports, they were not always practical for the aggressive and brutal nature of street combat. It was then that he started to re-evaluate his ideas about fighting and started developing the skills and techniques that would eventually become krav maga. |
Transmission
(Policies/institutions) |
Krav maga has gained popularity worldwide as an effective fighting method and is now the official martial art of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and many police departments and special operations units in the United States. It is also the martial art of choice for many special military units and antiterrorist teams in European countries, including France, Finland, Sweden, and Germany (Tausk 2001). |
| Relevant Organisations |
- International Krav Maga Association (IKMF)
https://kravmaga-ikmf.com/
- Israeli Krav Maga Association (IKMA)
www.israelikrav.com/israeli-krav-maga-association
- Kapap Krav Maga - Avi Nardia Academy
https://avinardia.com |
| Additional Materials |
- “Krav Maga: A New Twist on Street Fighting.” 1998. Let’s Live, November, 68.
- Lichtenfeld, Imi, and Eyal Yanilov. 1998. Krav Maga: Self Defense and Fighting Tactics. Tel Aviv: Dekel. |
| References |
- Tausk, G. (2001). “Krav Maga”. In Green, T. and Svinth, J. (eds.) Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. |
*also see kapap | |
