In Hebrew Krav Maga means Contact-Combat.

It is a military self-defense and fighting system developed for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Krav Maga grew out of Kapap – the original self-defense system in Israel. The terms were used interchangeably for several years and by the 1960’s Krav Maga became its own system.

Hungarian-born Israeli martial artist Imi Lichtenfeld greatly contributed to Krav Maga when he was a Kapap instructor and then became head of the Krav Maga division. When he retired, Imi established the first civilian school of Krav Maga.

Krav focuses on real-world situations, practicality, efficiency, and instinct. It was initially a blended system of boxing, wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, Judo and Karate. The emphasis in Krav Maga is a philosophy of aggression, simultaneous defense and offense and continuous movements until the opponent is unable to continue. The other facet of Krav Maga that makes it different from most martial arts is its emphasis on simplicity of movement and that it is easy to teach and quick to learn. There are many organizations, associations and federations. Most have similar techniques.