Imi Lichtenfeld                                        Imi Training                                          Imi and Darren

Born in 1910, Imi Lichtenfeld was raised and educated in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. He was a natural athlete, earning national and international awards in gymnastics, boxing, and wrestling. It was, however, from his father, Samuel, a police officer and self defense instructor, that Imi learned many tips and techniques in street fighting tactics that he would later incorporate into the Krav Maga system.

Samuel started his career as a circus acrobat and wrestler, but later entered the Police Department and served for three decades as Chief Detective Inspector. He became well known for his considerable arrest record, particularly of dangerous criminals.

Besides his duties as a detective, Samuel became involved in teaching various self defense techniques to the local policemen, constantly emphasizing the importance of proper moral conduct, whether dealing with criminals or law abiding citizens. Samuel often taught self defense classes at the gym he opened, which was the first gym in Bratislava, called "Hercules."

Inspired and encouraged by his impressive father, Imi learned many fighting techniques from his father. During the 1930's, Imi honed his fighting skills in the streets of Bratislava, protecting himself and his Jewish neighbors from local fascist thugs. He took part in numerous brawls, which sharpened his awareness of the basic differences existing between street fights and the sport contests that were so familiar to him. It was at this time that many of the principles, which were later to constitute the foundation of Krav Maga, began to crystallize. As the situation in Imi's homeland deteriorated, his fights to protect his family and neighbors became rapidly unpopular with the local authorities. As a result, Imi had to leave his home, family, and numerous friends in 1940. After several years of traveling, Imi eventually reached his destination of Israel, then called Palestine. He joined the Haganah, a paramilitary organization of the Jewish community, and fought for the independence of Israel.

During his service in the Haganah, Imi began teaching solders basic self defense techniques. After the formation of the fledging State of Israel, the Israeli government asked Imi to develop an effective system of self-defense and fighting, which later became the Krav Maga system. The Haganah was eventually incorporated into the Israel Defense Forces, and Imi became the Chief Instructor for the military school for Physical Training and Krav Maga.

In the twenty years that he served in the army, Imi developed and refined his unique system of self defense and hand to hand combat, training the instructors and the fighters of the Israeli Defense Force's elite units. After his retirement from the service, Imi devoted both his time and energy to adapting Krav Maga to everyday life. The system was adjusted so that it would supply solutions to ordinary men, women, and children who might be facing an aggressive encounter.

Since 1964, when Krav Maga became available to the civilian public, its teachings have rapidly spread within the Israeli population, thanks to a team of Imi's qualified graduates. These instructors were personally chosen and trained by Imi and accredited by the Israeli Ministry of Education as teachers of Krav Maga.

In 1978, Imi and several of his students established the Krav Maga Association, a non-profit public benefit organization, aimed at promoting the teaching of Krav Maga in Israel and throughout the world.

Imi's system of Krav Maga was founded on moral and human values, emphasizing personal integrity, non-violence, good citizenship, and humble conduct. These principles have been, and will continue to be, the guiding force for the students ofKrav Maga. Sadly, Imi passed away in 1998, but his legacy continues on. To date, Krav Maga has been taught to thousands of civilians, law enforcement, and military personnel in Israel, Europe, Scandinavia, and the United States. Through his efforts, Imi has saved numerous lives and has helped many more to "walk in peace".


Krav Maga's History in the U.S.

In 1981, the Krav Maga Association of Israel, headed by Imi Lichtenfeld, and the Israeli Ministry of Education held the first International Instructors Course for Krav Maga through the Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sport. A generous philanthropist in New York, S. Daniel Abraham, sponsored a delegation of 23 members from various cities in the United States to attend the course, which was supervised by Imi himself, who was 71 years old at the time and retired from his military career. The course was taught by Krav Maga lead instructors Shike Barak, Eyal Yanilov and Ruevin Moimon.

Darren Levine was selected to be part of the delegation because of his martial arts and boxing background as well as his involvement in the physical education program at the Heschel Day School in the San Fernando Valley.

The instructors course was an intensive 6 week course, consisting of 8 hours of training during the day and additional hours of training at night. The students trained 6 days a week.

During the 6 weeks, Imi befriended Darren. At the conclusion of the course, Imi told Darren that he would spend the following summer in Los Angeles teaching and training him. It was a strenuous and exhausting 6 weeks, and by the end of the course, only a few members, including Darren, passed.

After he returned home from the instructor' s course, Darren began teaching Krav Maga at the Heschel Day School as an elective class. By 1982, the class had become so popular that it was incorporated into the physical education program. In the summer of 1982, true to his word, Imi came to Los Angeles and spent many weeks with Darren and his family while instructing Darren in Krav Maga.

Every summer after Imi' s visit, Darren would either go to Israel to train in Krav Maga, or Imi himself would return or would send a top military or civilian instructor to the United States to train Darren. At the end of I984, Darren received his first degree black belt in Krav Maga. At Darren's belt award ceremony Imi's black belt was passed onto him. Also in 1984, he received his full instructors teaching certification from the Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sport and the Krav Maga Association of lsraeI.

At the request of Imi, Darren, with the help of his student, Joel Bernstein, and-other prominent members of the Jewish community, formed the Krav Maga Association of America, Inc. in 1983 to regulate and promote Krav Maga in the United States. Another goal of the KM Association was to help promote good relations between the United States and Israel. Through the KM Association, Darren and his top students began teaching Krav Maga to law enforcement in the United States and adapted Krav Maga to suit the needs of peace and military officers. Even Imi came back to the United States in 1987 to help Darren teach Krav Maga to the Illinois State Police.
Darren continued teaching Krav Maga at Heschel until 1987 when he moved the classes to the University of Judaism. Classes at the University of Judaism continued until 1996 when demand for Krav Maga grew so great that the Krav Maga National Training Center was opened in West Los Angeles in February of 1996. It was the first center of its kind, blending Krav Maga with a fitness program and establishing a training ground for civilians and law enforcement personnel that previously had never existed anywhere in the world.

Imi was proud of the gains Krav Maga had made in the United States. In 1997, shortly after Darren received his 6th degree black belt in Krav Maga, Imi awarded Darren a Founder's Diploma for Special Excellence in Krav Maga. Imi gave this diploma to only 2 individuals, Darren, and Eyal Yanilov, the Director of the International Krav Maga Federation. These diplomas were given to the people that Imi wanted to be the leaders of Krav Maga.

Krav Maga continues to thrive in the United States with the help of Darren, the talented Krav Maga instructors, and the many dedicated students of Krav Maga. In January, 1999, Krav Maga Worldwide Enterprises was formed to facilitate the expansion of the Krav Maga system throughout the U.S. and around the world- Krav Maga Worldwide Enterprises expects to eventually have a Krav Maga training center in every major city in the country. We thank everyone for their continued support of the finest self defense and fighting system in the world.