iKRAVMAGA
Excellence. Empowerment. security.
The above picture is the official Krav Maga stamp of the State of Israel. It expresses the history of Krav Maga as part of the history of the State of Israel. The stamp was created in collaboration with Aviad Segal.
A History of Krav Maga
The history of Krav Maga is a story about an Israeli invention that can be found in every city in the Western world. The invention happened by chance and quite a few people claim to own it. While it is part of the history and identity of Israeli-Jewish culture and world's best method of self-defense and face-to-face combat, most Israelis are unaware of its existence or significance.
What is special about this method? How did this method come into being and why did so many people in the world choose Krav Maga? How was it distributed at such a speed? Why is it such a big brand that gets over 30,000,000 mentions on Google, how come we Israelis don't appreciate it and aren't aware of it?
If it were not for Imi Lichtinfeld, the civilian Krav Maga as we know it today would never have existed. Krav Maga, however, began even earlier than that in a combination of events and historical processes.
In the Second Zionist Congress in 1898, Max Nordau, and everyone without hesitation, takes to the stage the melancholy of the Jewish people's physical weakness, and talks about the need to design a new Jew, capable of founding a state, and what New Judaism calls "muscle Judaism." This call inspires many Jews to change their way of life, and to turn to places that were previously assigned. The "new" Jew finds himself in the boxing and wrestling centers that spread in Europe, and some during the 20th century head toward Jujitsu's study, which began to reach the mainland.
מקס נורדאו, ממנהיגי תנועת הציונות הוגה רעיון "יהדות השרירים"