History of Krav Maga

Krav Maga is the official combative training for all Military personnel, Police and security forces in Israel. It was founded by Imi Lichtenfeld (Sde-Or). After declaring its independence in 1948, IDF (Israel Defence force) approached Imi and requested him to develop a system of self defence and fighting based upon his experience and his work with special forces units as the ‘Hagana’, ‘Palmach’ and ‘Palyam. Krav Maga works on integrating simple and instinctive moves accessible to all. During his tenure as the Chief Instructor Imi worked on refining methods of Krav Maga base on the doctrine that both fit as out of shape soldiers should be able to practice it successfully .

After his retirement from Israeli military in 1964 Imi worked on adapting Krav Maga to suit civilian needs. The techniques were formulated so everyone irrespective of age, body type, size or gender to could use it effectively to survive an attack while sustaining minimal harm. He established two training centers in Israel (Tel Aviv and Natanya). The teams of Krav Maga instructors trained here were accredited by him and the Israeli Ministry of Education. He formed an International Krav Maga federation with the support of his instructors, among which Is the current IKMF chairman Avi Moyal.

About Avi Moyal

Avi Moyal has been studying Krav Maga since childhood and has been teaching Krav Maga for the last 35 years. Avi is one of the highest ranking Krav Maga Masters in the world. Among Avi’s instructors were Eli Avigzar (Rest in Peace) and of course Imi Lichtenfeld (Rest in Peace). Avi was Imi’s direct and most trusted student as demonstrated by the fact that Avi is the former Chairman of the ‘Aguda’ (the very first Krav Maga organization).
IKMF has been growing and is now the largest and most appreciated Krav Maga institution worldwide. It has locally active schools in Israel, Asia, Australia, North America, South America, Central America, Europe and Africa.

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