The Founder of Krav Maga - Imi Lichtenfeld

In the late 1930s, anti-Semitic riots threatened the Jewish population of Bratislava. Together with other Jewish boxers and wrestlers, Lichtenfeld helped to defend his Jewish neighborhood against fascist gangs. He quickly realised that sport has little in common with real combat and began developing a system of techniques for practical self-defense in life threatening situations.

In 1940, Lichtenfeld fled the Nazi occupation of his homeland, heading for Palestine. He arrived there in 1942.
He began to teach his combat techniques to the members of the Jewish underground organisations Haganah and Palmach.

After the establishment of Israel in 1948, he became the Chief Instructor of Physical Training in the Israel Defense Forces. It was during this time that his system came to be called Krav Maga.