Krav Maga is a self-defense system originally developed for the Israeli military. It consists of a wide combination of techniques sourced from Boxing, Combat Sambo, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Judo and Jujitsu. Krav Maga’s speciality is its focus on real-world situations and its simple, efficient, yet brutal counter attacks. Krav Maga is literally translated from Hebrew as “contact combat”.

Krav Maga was founded by Imi Lichtenfield in the 1930s who had a need to defend Jewish quarters against fascist groups in Czechoslovakia. Imi was a proficient boxer and wrestler. Following his immigration to Israel in the 1940s, he began teaching this form of self-defense to the Israeli Defense Force which then became known as Krav Maga. It has also been further developed for civilian and police applications and become a popular global self-defense system. Today, Krav Maga continues to be taught to the Israeli Defense Force, along with police and military forces around the world.

Krav Maga encourages students to avoid confrontation. If confrontation is inevitable, then the objective is to finish the fight as quickly as possible. This is achieved by use of strikes to vulnerable parts of the body and utilizing the surrounding environment to one’s advantage. Students learn to defend against a variety of attacks including weapons and multiple attack situations, and are taught to counter in the quickest and most efficient way possible.

Krav Maga has a philosophy emphasizing threat neutralization, simultaneous defensive and offensive maneuvers, and aggression.