The founder Imi Lichtenfeld (May 26, 1910 – January 9, 1998)

Imi inspired and created the a system of combat and self-defense, today known as Krav Maga. Imi was born in 1910 in Budapest, grew up in Bratislava and left his last breath in Netanya (a city of central Israel).

From his home he nourished himself in sports, justice and western education. At first, he lead in swimming, then gymnastics, wrestling and boxing. In 1928 he won the national teen wrestling championship in Slovakia and in 1929 the men’s championship. In the same year he won the boxing championship as well as an international gymnastics championship. In the following decade he turned his interest to wrestling as an athlete and coach.

Changes in interwar Europe did not take long to affect the city in which Imi lived. From 1936 to 1940, violence in Bratislava was endless. The need to respond to rising Nazi pressure led Imi to be organized with his fellow citizens in self-defense groups. At this point in his life he was forced to consolidate his knowledge of martial arts and sports and apply them to the “road”, to the daily struggle for survival. These were the beginnings of Krav Maga.

When the danger was now visible and developments were rapid, he was forced to emigrate to Palestine. He enlisted in the Jewish army and from 1944 began training soldiers and special forces. Soon after the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) asked Imi to create a combat and self-defense system that would prepare both trained and non-combatants. Imi, during his 20-year career as IDF’s chief body-to-body trainer, gradually developed the Krav Maga. It became the official combat system for all Israeli military personnel, police and security forces.

In 1964, Imi demobilized and began teaching Krav Maga to civilians, but also to special units of the police and army. Imi developed a comprehensible system based on simple, instinctive reactions easily applicable to everyone, not with difficult movements and techniques that require long training. The goal has been, and continues to be, to make training effective and in a short time to prepare the trainee for the challenges he or she will face.

Since then, Krav Maga is constantly improving and evolving, responding to the ever-increasing demands of our times.

IMI passed away on January 9, 1998, at the age of 88. He left behind the worthy pursuers of his vision, of the system and the values ​​he stood for.