Krav-Maga has been around for about fifty years longer than most eastern martial arts have been around in the US. Its origin stems from military combat and some of the most severe combat settings of this century ,amidst Nazi terrorism, and the violent military confrontations of the Middle East.

Krav Maga was created and developed by Imi Lichtenfeld, in the late1940’s while serving as Chief Instructor of military fitness and hand to hand combat for the Israeli Defense Forces.

Imi grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia. During the first phase of World War II he took part in numerous street fights defending the Jewish quarter against local fascists and Nazis.
After 2 years of travel, he immigrated to Palestine in 1942, which became the State of Israel in 1948.

In 1948 when Israel became a state it was immediately at war with its neighbors because of the political climate. Israel did not have a trained military and needed an effective hand to hand combat system that could be learned very quickly and would be very effective. This was the birth of Krav Maga.

Beginning with Israeli special forces units like the Palyam, Palmack, and the Haganah (underground), Krav Maga became the official combatives training for all military personnel, security forces and Israeli police.

Krav Maga has been tested, improved upon and developed extensively so that now its techniques are applied in elite military units, law enforcement VIP protection and civilian self defense programs in the US and abroad.