COMBAT KRAV MAGA

the magazine 02/13

History

Est. 1920

Edition

THE BIG, FAT HIJACK

So, who is the real source of Krav Maga? Depends whom you ask.
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BEST WEAPON: Fix your vocal chords?

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INTRODUCING: Lehima Meshulevet

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TRAINING GEAR: Sweat like its the IDF

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AT THE OFFICE
What a month! First, please accept our apologies for the delay in receiving this newsletter. During the last few weeks - and months - we have gone through a number of organizational changes and they have had a quite visible affect on all our operations. The rst months of 2013 have been the most rewarding months in our (short) history. We broke records: over 70 students attended our 2-day seminar in Italy with the Krav Maga Academy (KMA). Two instructor courses for 2013/14 are in the nalizing phases and our selection of professional courses is increasing. This spring we have also received a record number of seminar bookings. On the other hand, the rst months of 2013 have also been the most challenging ones. We began our London classes in February. However, before we even got started we ran into severe, completely unforeseen logistical issues. When our venues were nally lined up for a more permanent schedule, immediately after that we suddenly became short staffed. We were looking at having to change the schedule/instructors on a weekly basis. We!d rather do anything but let our students down without our students we are nothing. Hence the only fair option seemed to be to suspend the classes for now instead of switching schedules weekly. This is not to say we won!t be back. We are working hard on it as we speak and we!re not used to having it easy anyway, but...bare with us, because we won!t be back until our troops are watertight. We will keep you posted. In the meantime, please remember that no debate, opinion or topic is meaningless. If there is something specic you would like us to cover or if you!d just like to send us some feedback, please let us know via email at info@combatkm.com. We have a lot to say this month which is why we saved some of our articles till the next issue. It!s out in April, so till then - enjoy! Combat Krav Maga Team HECPO (Hostile Environments Close Protection Operations) 7-12 May Close Protection Specialist 12 April - 12 May Israeli Certi cate in Close Protection 12-18 April and 7-12 May Pistol&Carbine Advanced 7-8 May 2013 O ensive - Protective - Evasive Driving 13 May 2013 Upcoming Professional Courses/April and May 2013

....and much more! For locations and price details please email info@combatkm.com. Complete list of our seminars and courses can be found on our Facebook Events page, www.facebook.com/CombatKravMaga

FINALLY AVAILABLE! IDF Training Gear We recently added a selection of authentic IDF training gear onto our online store. All products are made to order and shipping is included in the price. For more info please visit: shop.combatkm.com.

In This Issue At the Ofce: What a month!" " Debate: The Big Fat Hijack" " Introducing Lehima Meshulevet"" If all else fails...scream!"" " Coming up next"" " " Page 2 Page 3 Page 7 Page 7 Page 7

COMBAT KRAV MAGA the magazine

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DEBATE

THE BIG, FAT HIJACK

Are you the source of Krav Maga? Play your cards right and you could be.

I AM the source of krav maga. No! I am! I was there too. No, you weren!t. He held my hand when he developed the machine gun technique. Yeah, but he gave me that belt rst. No, I stood right next to you. Yeah, but you got it after me. OK, but I touched his forehead when his health was getting worse. I touched it too! So I am the source. No, I am! OK, this conversation really never happened (we hope), but this is what it sounds like when a student, a Regular Joe of krav maga, seeks information on where the system came from. We know, because this is exactly what we did. We spoke to people, we read articles, we read advertisements. Inside our heads an image was developing: in simple terms, a heroic man, ghting masses with his bare hands and an unforgiving attitude.

This special knowledge developed during those hard times (and for the IDF) was then passed on to a few - or one, depending on whom you!re listening to - dedicated students. We bumped into this version of events on the majority of the over 11 million pages a Google search ("krav maga") coughs up. Anywhere we went online, the narrative was already there. The only variant was the man whom the hero of the story, "the source! may his soul rest in peace, Imi Lichtenfeld - named as his successor or was closest to. The late Mr Lichtenfeld has very little to do with the current situation: each krav maga master appears to be The Source or at least very close to it - hence basing their expertise on this connection. Some have been extremely successful and with time developed a near religious

base of followers. Some are less known and appear to prefer it that way. Some, on the other hand, ruthlessly use any opportunity to advertise their connection to "the source! while often not having any actual skills. That being said, to us this really is not a popularity contest. We just want to cut the c--p and nd the facts. While we criticize the hype (and the religion, when that is the case), we respect all involved. And it is for this reason we wanted to let the experts explain what really happened. What is this "source! everyone wants to be attached to and how relevant is it being close to it? And how watertight is it - where did krav maga really come from and was it really invented by one man? Let!s hear it from Noah Gross, author, historian and an expert on Israeli Martial Arts.

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DEBATE

The history of Krav Maga

The most common/copied narrative: ...in 1948 the State of Israel is formed and the edgling Israeli government asked Imi to develop an effective system of self defense and ghting, which later became the Krav Maga system. The Haganah (Jewish paramilitary organization) was eventually incorporated into the Israeli Defense Force, and Imi became the Chief Instructor for the military school for Physical Training and Krav Maga.

So...what is being implied?

Upon the inception of the state of Israel in 1948 a government was formed. This government was directly involved in micro managing the military and therefore commissioned a man named Imi Lichtenfeld to develop a self defense system to replace the ineffective unnamed systems used up until that point. The system was developed and at a later stage was called Krav Maga. A military school for Physical Training and Krav Maga was formed and Imi became the chief instructor of this school.

Noah Gross:
Please note the lack of mention of dates in the process. This allows the condensing of time periods and the switching of the order of events. At this point we must stop and ask are these statements and their implied meanings true and accurate? The answer is no, they are not accurate. A government was indeed formed, but was not involved in micro managing the military and therefore it is unlikely that individuals within the government would ask someone to develop a self defense system. This system was supposedly developed for military use, as there was no other purpose at the time. Military hand to hand combat is not about self defense and this sort of language is conceptually wrong. The reference to this self defense system also implies that whatever system was being used at the time was ineffective. The omission of Kapap is convenient and thus no conict is created regarding its existence prior to Krav Maga. The chronology of events or lack of correct chronology also poses problems. The proper order of events should be as follows: founding of the state of Israel formation of the military on the foundation of the Hagana forces formation of a school for physical training formation of a Krav Maga branch within that school appointment of Imi as chief of the Krav Maga branch

To critically analyze the events and properly organize them, two elements were necessary. The rst, knowledge of historical events in their chronological order and, second, a familiarity with the biographical background of the person about whom this information is being delivered. To be fair to the authors of this above paragraph (the most common narrative), they often do provide background information on Imi regarding the years preceding the events describe. From this article they have been omitted. However, it would have been just as revealing to dissect the preceding paragraphs. Sadly, we would nd them to be rife with the same kind of mistakes and distortions. To nd the answers we are looking for, we need to compare these dates to Imi's personal biography. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (Bare with! Continues on next page)

COMBAT KRAV MAGA 02/13

DEBATE
A General Timeline Meanwhile...

1920. The Hagana is formed. From this moment (and even before), there is a constant exploration of hand to hand combat and training methodologies. January 1941. Hand to hand combat disciplines such as boxing, knife ghting, stick ghting and jujutsu are taught separately with guiding principles and uniform methodologies under the name Kapap. The rst Hagana Kapap instructor!s course takes place. The courses chief instructors are: Maishel Horowitz, Menashe Harel, Gershon Koer, Yitzhak Shtibel. May 1941. The Palmach is formed jointly with the British military mandate forces. Shortly after its formation, the Palmach goes underground and becomes the Hagana's standing military force besides its militia forces. Maishel Horowitz is brought to the Palmach to teach his stick ghting method as part of the rst Kapap instructor's course for the Palmach. Moshe Pinkel Zohar is appointed chief instructor of physical training in the Palmach and remains in this position until 1948 when the Palmach is incorporated into the IDF where Moshe Pinkel Zohar continues to ll this position. November 1947. The UN General Assembly passes Resolution 181 which is a Partition Plan for Palestine, a two state solution. As a result of this and the rejection of the plan by the Arab leadership, civil war broke out between both communities in Palestine. May 1948. The state of Israel is formed. The Arab states respond with a military invasion of the state of Israel, turning the conict into a full blown war. Within two weeks of the declaration of Israel's independence the IDF (a conscript army) is formed, integrating the three Jewish underground organizations Hagana, Palmach (Palmach was part of the Hagan and not an independent organization. It was the Hagans standing army) and Etzel and Lehi into one military body. May&June 1948. The service for physical training (Sherut Leimun Gufany) in the IDF is formed and the head of the service is Moshe Pinkel Zohar. Within the service a school for physical training is formed and its chief ofcer is Mairon Avramson. September 1948. The rst documented use of the term Krav Maga is used interchangeably with Kapap. The rst instance shows up in the documents of an ofcer named Amos Golani, whose job is to supervise the physical training in the combat eld units. June 1949. The service for physical training is decommissioned and replaced by the branch of physical training. The school and its staff all continue in their same capacities only as part of the branch. 1954. The terms Kapap and Krav Maga are still used interchangeably in ofcial documents.

1920 Imi Lichtenfeld is 10 years old in Bratislava.

1939. Imi is head of a Jewish self defense group in Bratislava. At this time he has experience as an accomplished sports wrestler and boxer and knows jujitsu.

1940. Imi leaves for Israel.

1941. Imi is in active duty in Czech Legion under the command of the British military and he serves for a year in Egypt, Libya and Syria.

1942. Imi arrives in Israel, and upon the recommendation of former comrades of his self defense group is conscripted into the Palmach.

1942-1948. Imi functions as a Kapap instructor teaching knife, jujutsu and boxing according to the Palmach curriculum.

1948. With the integration of the Palmach into the IDF and the formation of the school for physical training Imi is commissioned as one of the eleven instructors on staff at the school.

1956 -1958. Some time during this period Imi becomes the chief instructor of physical training and perhaps the head of a new branch formed, the Krav Maga branch. It is yet undetermined when this branch was formed, it is however known to have existed as early as 1958. Documentation conrming earlier dates has yet to be found. Review of documents from the period 1956-1958 is still pending. No witness accounts have been found to conrm any earlier dates.

1964. Imi retires from the IDF and opens his civilian Krav Maga club in Netanya.

Source: Noah Gross

So what? Bare with! Weve combined all these facts with the information usually presented when talking about the history of Krav Maga - that popular narrative from earlier. Next page, please.
COMBAT KRAV MAGA 02/13 5

DEBATE
The Results of the Intergrated Timelines
In 1948 the IDF was formed and the forces of the Palmach were incorporated into it. As a result, Imi Lichtenfeld, a talented Kapap instructor, was commissioned alongside his fellow instructors and ofcers to keep teaching and training soldiers in the hand to hand ghting disciplines known at the time as Kapap. Imi was in active duty as a hand to hand and physical training instructor in the IDF for 15 years. During those 15 years he was part of the process of developing the hand to hand combat disciplines in the IDF. Imi rose in rank and responsibility until in the last ve years he headed the newly formed Krav Maga branch in the IDF. This period seems to be the time frame during which Krav Maga began transitioning into an integrated system made up of Kapap!s structure group of hand to hand combat skills and using Kapap!s guiding principles.

Finally - What Are We Trying to Say?

There was no commissioning of any persons to develop a system, but a known group of people are responsible for a recognizable process of evolving the existing system, adjusting it to the times and organizations using it. There was no unnamed ineffective system to replace, but rather the known system of Kapap, its disciplines, principles and methodologies were used as the foundation. There was no head position and no branch for Imi to be the head of until a much later period of time. Kapap was the precursor of Krav Maga. Krav Maga, at its outset, was simply a new version of Kapap. Even though Krav Maga has sprouted many different civilian versions, one can still recognize the roots of Krav Maga as reected in historical Kapap. Modern Kapap, on the other hand, can be recognized as being true to the approach and philosophy of Kapap but not based on its physical attributes. When we are willing to reexamine what we believe to be the story of Krav Maga and Israeli Martial Arts, then we will be able to appreciate the contributions of all those gures, such as Imi Lichtenfeld, who helped develop Israeli Martial Arts. We have looked at the unfolding of historical events around the development of Israeli Martial arts as accurately as is possible at this time. We recognize the various stages of it!s development and therefore we can attribute changes and adjustments to all those who played a role in the process of developing Israeli Martial Arts. In light of historical facts, we see Imi for who he was, a pivotal gure in the transition from Kapap to Krav Maga and he is the originator of civilian Krav Maga.
Source: Noah Gross

Meet The Expert:

Noah Gross, ACT (Armed Combat Tactics)
Noah Gross has been practicing martial arts for most of his life. Over twenty of those years were dedicated to studying and teaching Bujinkan Ninjutsu in which he holds the rank of sixth Dan. In the late 1990's he became involved with Western Martial arts and at the same time began doing research on the development of hand to hand combat in pre-state Israel. Western martial arts led Noah to Alexander Zhelezniak together with whom he co-founded ACT - Armed combat and Tactics. In 2010 he published his research in a book titled "Kapap: From the Field to the Battleeld" and is currently working on publishing it in English. Noah can be contacted at Noahsarc3960@gmail.com.

COMBAT KRAV MAGA 02/13

CURRENT
Introducing: Lehima Meshulevet Lehima Meshulevet (Combined Martial Arts) originated in Israel in 1985. It was founded by Eli Elimelech who trained in full contact Karate for many years. Lehima Meshulevet, which is only formally taught in Israel, differ from other Israeli martial arts by not limiting itself to one way of thinking. Whereas the others have a set method of training, thinking and moving, Lehima Meshulevet encourages its trainees to keep their eyes and ears open and absorb any new skill and information they think is valuable from other sources. Simply put, take and learn from all the other martial arts out there and try in a best way possible to merge only the best elements from all those martial arts into Lehima Meshulevet. Aside from the obvious physical benets of becoming stronger, faster and more able, be it for day to day physical labor or simply for self-defense, the main benet is a mental/spiritual one, say two LM Black Belts, Ronen Edelshtein (pictured) and Nir Ainbeender. The most important thing for any Combined Martial Arts sensei is to teach his students to be better human beings rst, and only then better martial artist. Our students can attest that training in Combine Martial Arts have helped them face mental challenges not only during their training, but also in facing tests at school, pressure at work and other obstacles and struggles one faces in his life.

Lehima Meshulevet: Ten Commandments 1. 2. 3. 4. It is not shameful to fear before a match. Fear is the best friend for any reasonable athlete. A professional is he/she who keeps doing what he needs regardless of what he feels inside. Use your fear. Let it re your resolve. In the ring, only one can win. When you enter the ring you must know that you are the winner because you have woken up earlier, ran farther, fought harder and trained better than your opponent. 5. If you allow yourself to lose your concentration, you allow yourself to fail. 6. Victory starts the moment you truly decide you are deserving of it. 7. The strong and the weak are discovered during the hardest battles, and only you decide how you will be discovered. 8. A champion is he/she who can overcome himself during his hardest moments. 9. The re in the eyes, this is what differ those who come to participate in the competition from those come to win it. 10. What is the difference between a hero and cowards? On the surface there is no difference; both are afraid of getting hurt or die. But on under the surface, the rst takes the initiative and acts, which makes him the hero; while the latter does nothing, which makes him a coward.

The Scream - A Womans Best Weapon? According to the American National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, one in every four women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime. This statistic prompted the Ohio State Police to create a specic self defense training program for women, the Rape Aggression Defense. It is a program of realistic self-defense tactics for women...that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance, while progressing on the basics of hands-on defense training", writes The Lantern, the Ohio State University magazine. According to Ohio State Police 90 percent of self defense is mental and being aware of surroundings can often prevent attacks. Additionally, while the usual arsenal used in Krav Maga as well - awareness, sts, elbows and knees - are fantastic tools, the greatest, most natural weapon is actually your voice. If you!re yelling, you!re breathing. If you!re breathing, you!re alive", advises Police Ofcer Cassandra Shaffer.
COMBAT KRAV MAGA02/13

Next Issue April 2013: All Those Things We Couldn!t Fit in Now -Edition Women and Krav Maga: Patronizing or Empowerment? How are you likely to be attacked on the street? We have the evidence. The Knockout: Punch v. Krav Maga technique. A real life story.