The Israeli Martial Arts

Krav Maga Books By Gershon Ben Keren

Krav Maga Yashir Boston Head Instructor

Krav Maga & the Israeli Martial Arts in Boston

There are some people that are under the impression that Krav Maga is the only Israeli martial art or system of self-defense. This is not the case and there are two other notable systems, though one is no longer in existence. Krav Maga was an evolution of KAPAP, a system that was first developed and recognized in the 1930’s, as the Jewish resistance and protection movement in Palestine – the Haganah (meaning “defense” in Hebrew) – looked to train its members in hand-to-hand combat; this also involved the use of the short stick, as well as the knife. The stick was an important weapon in Palestine, as the Arab population favored knives as weapons, and sticks and batons – when used correctly – can be good tools for defending and countering knife attacks. The short stick or truncheon was also a weapon that was used by the British led Palestinian Police Force, which included many members of the Haganah. Imi Lichtenfeld – who later named his development and adaptation of KAPAP as Krav Maga – was originally a KAPAP instructor with the Haganah. When the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) was formed (largely with members of the Haganah), Imi went on to become one of eight hand-to-hand combat instructors in it. It was during the sixties that he began to create a syllabus from the KAPAP program that would become identifiable and known as Krav Maga. To read more about the history and origin of KAPAP, please click here. To learn more about the origins and development of Krav Maga click here.

One of Israel’s other martial arts/fighting systems is Hisardut, or more specifically Dennis-Hisardut (Dennis Survival); the first name of the founder/creator is often added in Israeli systems to the distinctiveness of a particular system, from others. Hisardut, is taught widely within the military (especially within specialist and elite units), as well as the Israeli school system. The system being formally recognized by the Israeli government in 1993. The system was in many ways the first MMA or Mixed Martial Arts, approach to fighting, using techniques from other specialized martial arts e.g., grappling and groundwork from Judo, punching and kicking from Karate, and locks and controls from Ju-Jitsu etc. The system also took body conditioning from Kyokushin Karate, training practitioners how to absorb blows and kicks on the body, so that the hands can remain free for offensive purposes etc. Hisardut is still used today by the IDF – unlike KAPAP – and its founder Dennis Hanover continues to evolve and develop the method. To learn more about Dennis Hanover and Hisardut, please click here.

There are of course many versions of Krav Maga, with different organizations and instructors developing and evolving the approach to better served the needs of those they teach and instruct. One notable variation is Krav Magen, meaning “Combat Shield”, that was developed by Imi Lichtenfeld’s successor in the IDF, Eli Avikzar. Eli, recognized that Krav Maga as both a term and an approach, was extremely generic and open for interpretation, and wanted to make sure that what he taught was easily identifiable and distinct from other systems of Krav Maga, in a similar way to Karate, being an umbrella term, with distinct systems of Karate, such as Shotokan and Goju-Ryu being recognizable as being distinct and different, even though they are both systems of Karate. It is for this reason that Gershon Ben Keren refers to what he teaches, as Krav Maga Yashir, rather than simply as Krav Maga. If you are interested in taking a beginner class at Krav Maga Yashir Boston, please use the button below.

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