Attacks are aimed at the most vulnerable parts of the body, and training is not limited to techniques that avoid severe injury some even permanently injure or cause death to the opponent.

If this is impossible or unsafe, it promotes finishing a fight as quickly and aggressively as possible. Like most martial arts, Krav Maga encourages students to avoid physical confrontation. US Air Force and British Royal Air Force security personnel during Krav Maga training. The term krav maga in Hebrew is literally translated as 'contact combat' – the three letter root of the first word is k-r-v ( קרב), and the noun derived from this root means either 'combat' or 'battle' whereas the second word is a participle form derived from the verb root n-g-'a ( נגע), that literally means either 'contact' or 'touch'. Additionally, there are two forms of Krav Maga, with one type adapted for Israeli security forces and the other type adapted for civilian use.

Closely related variations have been developed and adopted by Israeli law enforcement and intelligence organizations, and there are also several organizations teaching variations of Krav Maga internationally. It has a philosophy emphasizing aggression and simultaneous defensive and offensive manoeuvres, and it has been used by Israeli special forces and regular infantry units alike.

įrom the outset, the original concept of Krav Maga was to take the most effective and practical techniques of other fighting styles (originally European boxing, wrestling, and street fighting) and make them rapidly teachable to conscripted soldiers. After his immigration to Mandatory Palestine in the late 1940s, he began to provide lessons on combat training to Jewish paramilitary groups that would later form the IDF during the Israeli War of Independence. Hungarian-born Israeli martial artist Imi Lichtenfeld, who made use of his training as a boxer and wrestler to defend Jews in Bratislava against fascist groups in the mid-to-late 1930s, developed Krav Maga through his experiences in street fighting. It is known for its focus on real-world situations and its extreme efficiency.

Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and wrestling. 'contact combat') is an Israeli martial art. Krav Maga ( / ˌ k r ɑː v m ə ˈ ɡ ɑː/ KRAHV mə- GAH Hebrew: קרב מגע, IPA: lit. Krav Maga course at an Israeli Paratroopers school in 1955

Mossad training exercises