History of Israeli Defense

Realistic, unbiased, non-partisan history from Krav Maga historians, experts, instructors and former IDF members Noah Gross (Field to Battlefield, 2010), Moshe Katz (Israel A Nation of Warriors 2012), Dr. Grinberg (History PhD).

Historical Kapap and Krav Maga

1880’s: Jewish defense took form in response to Arab/Turk violence against Jewish immigration to Israel. 1903: Maccabee Union formed, taught physical fitness; incorporated stick and rifle training. 1907: HaShomer (“The Guard”) formed, used hand-to-hand self-defense to defend Jewish settlements. 1919: civilian militia, Haganah (Defense) was formed to protect the Jewish community. Haganah explored hand-to-hand training and combat tactics, resulting in Kapap קפא”פ)) - krav panim el panim (face to face fighting).

January 1941: First Kapap instructor course (Haganah). Separate disciplines including: boxing, wrestling, jiujitsu, stick fighting, knife fighting, and firearms/gun disarm;- focus on physical conditioning, stone throwing, Bayonet, wilderness survival, explosives, etc. Course instructors: Maishel Horowitz (Short stick/Walking stick), Menashe Harel, Yehuda Markus (Jiujitsu/Judo), Gershon Kofler (Jiujitsu/Boxing) and Yitzhak Shtibel (Boxing). May 1941: Palmach went underground to become elite standing military fighting force for the Haganah. From 1941 until 1948 Moshe Zohar was Chief Instructor of physical training.

1942 to 1948: Imi LIchtenfeld was Palmach Kapap instructor, born in Hungary in 1910 and grew up in Czechoslovakia. Trained in boxing, judo, wrestling and gymnastics by his father, he integrated real world defense when faced with growing Nazi anti-Semitism. Served in British army and in 1942 moved to Israel.

1947: civil war broke out as UN General Assembly passed Resolution 181 – a 2-state Partition Plan for Palestine. May 1948: Israel became a State, Arab states began military invasion. IDF – Israeli Defense Forces or Tzava Haganah Le’Yisrael (Zahal) created, incorporating 3 underground paramilitary operations: Irgun, Lehi, and Haganah/Palmach with Moshe Zohar as Chief Instructor of physical training. Mairon Avramson was chief officer of physical training school and Imi Lichtenfeld as one of eleven Kapap instructors. 1949: physical training service became IDF branch and term Krav Maga (קרב מגע) or “Contact Combat” was used. Until 1958, terms Kapap, Krav Maga and Judo Shimushi (practical Judo) used interchangeably. Gershon Kopler and Yehuda Markus: two main Kapap instructors attributed with system forming basis of Kapap and eventually Krav Maga. 1953: committee formed to slim down hand-to-hand Krav Maga system to 35 main techniques. Imi Lichtenfeld was one of those responsible for determining the curriculum.

1958: Imi Chief Instructor of IDF Krav Maga branch. Krav Maga became more integrated system using the foundational basis and principles of Kapap. Imi retired from IDF in 1963 and opened first civilian Krav Maga club in Netanya. By mid 1960s: term Kapap no longer used. According to Israeli martial arts authority Noah Gross, military Krav Maga manuals from the 1970s were 90% identical to those found from 1964, 1960 and even 1953. No one person can be credited with “inventing” Krav Maga. After the death of Imi Lichtenfeld, many claimed leadership. In recent years, the number of Krav Maga organizations ballooned to over twenty-five associations, organizations and styles. The vast majority of these Krav Maga styles share many similarities as they were spin-offs of the original three to four civilian organizations.