History Of Krav Maga
In 1978, Lichtenfeld founded the non-profit Israeli Krav Maga Association with several senior instructors. The Israeli Krav Maga Association has existed continuously from that day and is still located in Netanya Israel. Grand Master Haim Gidon was elected President of the IKMA by an assembly and a vote of over twelve hundred members and still serves as President, Grand Master and 10th dan black belt. Imi Lichtenfeld died in January 1998 in Netanya, Israel.
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History Of Krav Maga
Expansion to the USA
Prior to 1980, all experts in Krav Maga lived in Israel and trained under the Israeli Krav Maga Association. That year marks the beginning of contact between Israeli Krav Maga experts and interested students in the United States. In 1981, a group of six Krav Maga instructors traveled to the US to demonstrate their system, primarily to local Jewish Community Centers. The New York field office of the FBI and the FBI’s main training center at Quantico, Virginia saw it and expressed interest. The result was a visit by 22 people from the US to Israel in the summer of 1981 to attend a basic Krav Maga instructor course. The graduates from this course returned to the US and began to establish training facilities in their local areas. Additional students traveled to Israel in 1984 and again in 1986 to become instructors. At the same time, instructors from Israel continued to visit the US. Law enforcement training in the US began in 1985.
Krav Maga is currently being taught as a primary hand-to-hand combat technique at some police departments in the United States.
Current usage
There are 3 levels of practice: for the army, for the police, and self-defense for civilians. Those 3 levels feature differing techniques due to their specialized applications (i.e. attack, threat-neutralization, or self-defense).