History of Krav Maga 

 The following information is taken directly from www.krav-maga.com/founder.html, the headquarters of the International Krav Maga Federation, the source of Krav Maga.

Founder of Krav Maga

Imrich ("Imi") Sde-Or, founder of Krav-Maga, was born in 1910 in Budapest, which at the time was one of the centers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He grew up in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, in a home where sports, law, and Central European education were equally respected. Samuel Lichtenfeld, Imi's father, was undoubtedly quite a unique figure. At age 13 he joined a traveling circus, and for the next 20 years engaged in wrestling, weightlifting, and various demonstrations of strength. For him the circus was also a school, where he met people involved in a wide variety of sports, including some quite unusual ones. 

With his father's encouragement, Imi became active in a wide range of sports. He first excelled in swimming, and subsequently in gymnastics, wrestling, and boxing. In 1928 Imi won the Slovakian Youth Wrestling Championship, and in 1929 the adult champion- ship (in the light and middle weight division). That year he also won the national boxing championship and an international gymnastics championship. During the ensuing decade, Imi's athletic activities focused mainly on wrestling, both as a contestant and a trainer.

In the mid thirties, conditions began to change in Bratislava. Fascist and anti-Semitic groups appeared, determined to upset the public order and harm the city's Jewish community. Imi became the un-crowned leader of a group of young Jews, most of them with a background in boxing, wrestling, and weightlifting. This group attempted to block the anti-Semitic bands from entering the Jewish quarter and wreaking havoc there. 

In 1940, having become a thorn in the side of the anti-Semitic inclined local authorities as a result of his activities, Imi left his home, family, and friends and boarded the last immigrant ship that succeeded in escaping the Nazis' clutches. The vessel was an old riverboat named Pentcho, that had been converted to carry hundreds of refugees from Central Europe to the land of Israel (then called Palestine). The gripping story of the Pentcho and its passengers is told in detail in the book Odyssey by John Birman (published by Simon & Shuster, New York, 1984).

In 1944 Imi began training fighters in his areas of expertise: physical fitness, swimming, wrestling, use of the knife, and defenses against knife attacks. During this period, Imi trained several elite units of the Hagana and Palmach (striking force of the Hagana and forerunner of the special units of the IDF), including the Pal-Yam, as well as groups of police officers. In 1948, when the State of Israel was founded and the IDF was formed, Imi became Chief Instructor for Physical Fitness and Krav-Maga at the IDF School of Combat Fitness. He served in the IDF for about 20 years, during which time he developed and refined his unique method for self-defense and hand-to-hand combat.

After he finished his active duty, Imi began adapting and modifying Krav-Maga to civilian needs. The method was formulated to suit everyone - man and woman, boy or girl, who might need it to save his or her life or survive an attack while sustaining minimal harm, whatever the background of the attack - criminal, nationalistic, or other. To disseminate his method, Imi established two training centers, one in Tel Aviv and the other in Natanya.

Even during his last years, Imi continued to personally supervise the training of those who  attained high ranks in Krav-Maga, and spent time with the instructors in Israel and abroad. Imi monitored the trainees' progress and achievements, captivating them with his personality and imparting them with his knowledge and unique personality.


Imi, a teacher, a fighter and a great human being, passed away on the 9th of January 1998, early in the morning, in the hospital just 5 hours after he got there, and with Eyal Yanilov. at his bed-side.

 The International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF)

The following information is taken directly from  www.krav-maga.com/ikmf-history.html the headquarters of the International Krav Maga Federation, the source of Krav Maga.

The need for the IKMF originally arose in the early 1990's, when the teaching of Krav Maga (KM) was starting to spread beyond the borders of Israel. At that time the initial KM Association was divided and not functioning efficiently due to dissension amongst the higher graded instructors. As a result, Imi (the founder of Krav Maga) asked Eyal Yanilov, his closest assistant, and the chief instructor of the Krav-Maga, to assist him in forming a new international KM federation. The formation of this new organisation was delayed till after the initial Association broke apart in 1995.

With Imi's consent and support, the IKMF was founded in early 1996 by Eyal Yanilov, Gabi Noah, Avi Moyal, Eli Ben-Ami and several other respected instructors. All Expert and Master Diplomas, grades and levels issued by the IKMF, the new and leading organization, were authorized by Imi. The IKMF curriculum was first organized by Eyal, who for 10 years had been the responsible for the modern curriculum of the KM system, as head of the "Professional Committee". Imi approved this new curriculum at the time of formation of the IKMF as well as subsequent changes made in 1997.

From its formation in 1996, the IKMF has grown to be the largest and most professional KM organization in the world. The IKMF now successfully operates in Israel, most EU countries, ex-communist countries (such as Poland, Russia and Hungary), Australia, North America, South-east Asia and the Far-East. Generally in each country with an active IKMF branch, there are local instructors at different grades and levels assisting a director who is responsible for the growth of both the KM system and the local IKMF organization in that country.

The IKMF trains and educates civilian students and instructors (with KM and/or other martial arts background), law-enforcement officers and instructors, military personnel and instructors, as well as security and close protection officers and their instructors. All such individuals are accepted into the ranks of the IKMF.

The IKMF is run by Eyal (chairman and head instructor), Gabi, Avi and Eli as directors. All four have assigned responsibilities including countries, professional and management areas.