What is Krav Maga?

The #METOO movement sent Lacy cascading down a rabbit hole.  One bad memory after another permeated to the forefront of her mind.  The insulting catcalls and unsolicited touches from male teachers began to bubble to the surface.  She remembered being pinned to the ground by a boy slightly older than she was.  Then there were all the well meaning men in her life who claimed they loved her but only wanted to possess her.  Once she even had to call the cops.  Lacy was determined that she would never be physically vulnerable again.  That’s when a friend introduced her to Krav Maga.
 
Contact Combat
When Lacy’s best guy friend told her about Krav Maga, she wondered aloud, ‘What in the hell is Krav Maga?  Her confidence had been waning.  She knew it but didn’t realize that other people could see it.  Her friend explained that Krav Maga is a Hebrew word that means contact combat.  Ultimately, it gives those that practice it, confidence against their attackers.  It was formally developed as a self defense fighting system for the Israeli Security Forces and Israeli Defence Forces.  Krav Maga is a formidable cocktail comprised of European boxing techniques, wrestling, aikido, judo and karate.  It teaches you have to defend yourself in realistic situations.   
 
Avoid Physical Confrontation
All Lacy wanted to be a force of good on the planet and live her life in peace.  It seemed that everywhere she turned there were strange men groping her in clubs, grabbing her wrist on the street or putting their hands on the small of her back in social and professional environments.  Krav Maga teaches its participants to avoid physical confrontation whenever possible.  Lacy attempted to wear baggy clothes to limit the amount of attention she received to no avail.  She would soon learn to fight quickly and aggressively to protect herself against attackers.  In a few months, she would become an expert at attacking the most vulnerable body parts in an effort to keep herself safe.
 
Global Impact
It’s quite ironic that a Christian woman from Calgary, Canada would eventually master a civilian fighting technique that was first developed in the Jewish quarter of Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.  Krav Maga is an ideal form of self defense for billions of people.  It is also used to train law enforcement officers around the world.  This technique is instrumental during the arrest and detaining process.  Krav Maga made its first major impact as a training tool for the Israeli military.  Once its founder, Imi Lichtenfield retired, he modified his teachings for civilians and opened up two studios in Israel.  The rest, as they say, is history.   
 
Imi Lichtenfield
As a young Jewish man growing up in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in the 1930s, Imi was heavily involved in sports.  He boxed, wrestled and practiced martial arts.  At that time, Fascists began to gain support and traction in Europe.  The people that Imi knew and loved were under constant attack by anti-Semites and Nazis.  Not one to lie down for anyone, Imi banded together with other like minded men and began to fight back.  He quickly realized the techniques that allowed him to win in sports wasn’t very helpful in real life.  Krav Maga was developed as a tool of defense in real life situations, for extreme efficiency.  Lacy saw herself as an underdog and identified with Imi’s story.  She eventually became a Krav Maga expert Imi would have been proud of.