International Krav Maga Federation History

Krav Maga was developed by Czechoslovakian-born Imi Lichtenfeld, the son of a renowned police officer in Bratislava. Imi was a champion heavyweight boxer, an expert in Ju-Jitsu and Judo as well as a dancer and trapeze acrobat. Imi's family was forced to emigrate, eventually landing in what was then Palestine and is now known as Israel.

Soon after the Israeli state was established in 1948, Imi was asked to develop a system of fighting and self-defense for the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Imi carefully refined Krav Maga during his career as chief instructor of hand-to-hand combat for the IDF. Beginning with special forces units like the Haganah, Palmack, and Palyam, Krav Maga became the official combative training for all military personnel, Israeli police and security forces. Faced with the task of preparing both fit and out-of-shape soldiers, Imi developed a comprehensive system that relied on simple, instinctive moves rather than rigid techniques requiring years of training.

In 1964, Imi retired from the IDF and began teaching Krav Maga to civilians, law enforcement, and military applications. In 1978, Imi and several of his students created the Krav Maga Association, which was aimed at promoting the teaching of Krav Maga in Israel and throughout the world.

The need for the IKMF originally arose in the early 1990's, when the teaching of Krav Maga (KM) was starting to spread beyond the borders of Israel. At that time the initial KM Association was divided and not functioning efficiently due to dissension amongst the higher graded instructors. As a result, Imi (the founder of Krav Maga) asked Eyal Yanilov, to assist him in forming a new international KM federation. The formation of this new organisation was delayed till after the initial Association broke apart in 1995.

With Imi's consent and support, the IKMF was founded in early 1996 by Eyal Yanilov, Gabi Noah, Avi Moyal, Eli Ben-Ami and several other respected instructors. All Expert and Master Diplomas, grades and levels issued by the IKMF, the new and leading organization, were authorized by Imi. The IKMF curriculum was first organized by Eyal, who for 10 years had been the responsible for the modern curriculum of the KM system, as head of the "Professional Committee". Imi approved this new curriculum at the time of formation of the IKMF as well as subsequent changes made in 1997.

From its formation in 1996, the IKMF has grown to be the largest and most professional KM organization in the world. The IKMF now successfully operates in Israel, most EU countries, ex-communist countries (such as Poland, Russia and Hungary), Australia, North America, South-east Asia and the Far-East. Generally in each country with an active IKMF branch, there are local instructors at different grades and levels assisting a director who is responsible for the growth of both the KM system and the local IKMF organization in that country.

The IKMF trains and educates civilian students and instructors (with KM and/or other martial arts background), law-enforcement officers and instructors, military personnel and instructors, as well as security and close protection officers and their instructors. All such individuals are accepted into the ranks of the IKMF.

The IKMF is run by Eyal Gabi, Avi and Eli as directors. All four have assigned responsibilities including countries, professional

Get more info on Krav Maga

• Definition of Krav Maga
• History of Krav Maga
• Benefits of Krav Maga
• Principles of Krav Maga
• Curriculum of Krav Maga