Founder of Krav Maga, Imi Lichtenfeld
Krav Maga was founded by Imi Lichtenfeld (1910-1998). From childhood, Imi fostered a love for, and, excelled at sports such as wrestling and boxing as well as several different martial arts. He and his family were forced to immigrate to Israel when anti-Semite riots broke out in his hometown.
At the request of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) officials Imi drew on his work and experience in Special Forces Units’ to create a self defence and combat system which could easily be taught and quickly applied by military, police and security forces. Imi refined this combat system (known now as Krav Maga) through his 20 years of service as a chief instructor in hand-to-hand combat. As it is a system based upon utilizing instinctive reactions and simple techniques, Krav Maga has become well known as a combat system that is suited for any person who may see or have the need protect their lives or survive an attack while receiving as little harm in the process as possible.; irrespective of their age, gender, body type, or fitness level.
