Krav Maga
What is it?
Defence for the real-world
Krav Maga (Hebrew for “contact combat”) is a modern self-defence and close-quarters combat system originally devised for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and later adapted worldwide for civilian and law enforcement use.
It is not a traditional martial art with long rituals or sporting rules, instead it is engineered for real-world survival, with techniques drawn from boxing, wrestling, judo, karate and other combat systems, prioritising speed, simplicity and effectiveness.
Unlike combat sports (e.g. MMA) or traditional systems (e.g. Karate), Krav Maga focuses on practical self-protection techniques usable in unpredictable, violent encounters where rules don’t exist. There are no competitive rulesets, weight classes, or judges, only survival and safety.
Origins
Early Development
The system’s main founder, Imi Lichtenfeld (also known as Imi Sde-Or), was born in 1910 in Bratislava and became a skilled boxer, wrestler and judo practitioner.
During the 1930s, he defended Jewish communities against rising fascist violence, experiences that reshaped his understanding of hand-to-hand combat outside the rules of sport.
After emigrating to what became Israel, Lichtenfeld became chief instructor for physical fitness and combat at the IDF’s School of Combat Fitness during the formative years of the nation. Drawing on his mixed combat background and battlefield realities, he developed a system that was easy to learn quickly, effective under stress and unrestricted by sporting conventions.
Development
From Battlefield to Civilian Life
Following his retirement from the IDF in the 1960s, Lichtenfeld began adapting Krav Maga for civilians, stripping out certain lethal battlefield elements and structuring the curriculum around common urban threats such as muggings and street assaults.
Today, Krav Maga is taught globally in civilian environments: gyms, community centres, schools and specialised self-defence programmes.
Civilian Krav Maga remains highly pragmatic: students learn straight forward responses that can be drilled and remembered under intense stress.
Importantly, Krav Maga also teaches awareness, avoidance and de-escalation – skills essential to preventing violence before it occurs.
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