Krav Maga, literally "the touch of the fighter", is a term that has unquestionably acquired spectacular renown in the past years. As always happens with these things, "boyfriends", "lovers", and "financées" have come out all over the place, but the paternity of the style cannot be argued. Imi Lichtenfeld developed its bases and the teacher and Martial Master Moni Aizik, who today we bring to our cover, restructured it along with the founder for its application and teaching in the Israeli army. This is, then, a reason hard to equal for those interested in going more deeply into the subject. As always, we don't like to use words only and we have prepared a DVD for those who intend to go further. In the following article, we relate the origins and history of this magnificent teacher, with tremendous and long experience in many of the fields that make up our martial world, from coach of an Israeli Olympic medallist and UFC fighters to officer and survivor of one of the hardest episodes in the recent history of the Israeli army. A friendly and accessible man who enjoys sharing his knowledge with others, a rich treasure that we are honored to present to you.

COMBAT SURVIVAL

 

Moni Aizik, cofundador del Krav Maga moderno

Popularity of Krav Maga
Krav Maga is one of the most popular and recognizable Martial Arts in the world today. This perception most likely stems from the reputation of the Israeli armed forces and the fact that it's easy to learn and implement. In Israel, Krav Maga is ubiquitous; men, women and children of all ages train in Krav Maga, and it has even been integrated into many Israeli schools, from elementary grades through high school.
Krav Maga was designed to be a fighting system, not a sport. Students are taught to target vulnerable parts of the body and continue the attack until the threat is neutralized. There are no contests, unnecessary forms (katas) or any other elements that detract from its original goals to be an easy to learn and useful method of self-protection.
Variations of Krav Maga are used by the Israeli Defense Forces, Israeli Special Forces, Israeli Internal Security units, and police. In addition, certain law enforcement groups in Europe and North America have also implemented Krav Maga into their training curriculum. The chief advantage of Krav Maga is its simplicity -- it takes a relatively short time to learn and use. This is particularly appealing to military and police units since they need to train their recruits in a limited period of time, but still demonstrate quantifiable fighting skills.

History of Krav Maga
The roots of Krav Maga can be traced back to the birth of Israel in 1948, when Imi Lichtenfeld began teaching hand-to-hand fighting to the newly created Israeli Defense Forces. In those early years, Israel was literally fighting all the time with its neighbors for its existence and needed men with combat experience to teach its forces. Imi, an accomplished boxer and wrestler, had recently immigrated to Israel from Europe and was appointed to teach Kapap (hand-to-hand fighting) and physical conditioning. In those days, techniques were limited to very simple and basic moves. However, as the Israeli military machine matured, the need for a more comprehensive type of training was realized.
Late in 1973, The Israeli Army began re-assigning soldiers whose units were decimated during the recent Yom Kippur War. One officer, Major Moni Aizik, was appointed to update Krav Maga. Moni was one of only six survivors (out of 64 men) when his commando unit was attacked by a thousand Syrian troops. Because of his extensive experience in combat and as an expertise in Jujitsu and Judo (he was Israeli champ), the Israeli army assigned Moni the task of revamping Krav Maga. Moni teamed up with Imi Lichtenfeld, who came out of retirement to add his contributions, and over the course of the next year they developed the next generation of Krav Maga.
Imi and Moni worked hard during that time to make Krav Maga more effective by eliminating complicated and superfluous moves and adding additional defense techniques for knife, firearms, ground, and striking. The resulting collaboration became the foundation of what the Israeli Special Forces practice to this day.
Around this time Krav Maga began to split into three groups: military, police/security, and civilian; each group emphasizing concepts and tactics to meet their specific threat levels. Also, as more people trained in Krav Maga, the new generation of instructors started adding their own set of martial experiences to the system. Instructors with backgrounds in Karate, Judo, Aikido, Jujitsu and Arnis introduced these elements into Krav Maga.
Krav Maga as an organized system or style was not really recognized before the early seventies. It started out as a concept, absorbing and incorporating the best of the then existing Martial Arts. The word krav means (fighting) and the word maga means (touch). Today, because of the influence of Hollywood, the term Krav Maga has become synonymous with all types of Israeli fighting methods, but that's not the whole story; there are other styles, not as well known, that have co-existed with Krav Maga, side-by-side since the early 70s. These styles have only been taught to elite military units.
A major misconception about Krav Maga today is that it's governed by one ruling body, however, it is not. Krav Maga, like many other well-established Martial Arts, is plagued by dozens of political factions, each claiming that they're the original one! Another fallacy is that many civilian Krav Maga schools claim their program is the same version taught to the military; this is not so. The military version of Krav Maga is quite different than what civilians are taught; and there are very few individuals teaching the military version to the civilian sector.

After the Military
In 1976, after Moni completed his task of revamping Krav Maga for the military, he left the army and opened up his own school, "Maccabi Tel Aviv" where he taught Krav Maga, Judo and Jujitsu. Here, Moni had a chance to teach more advanced techniques beyond what was required for the regular army. They included: gun disarms, striking tactics, knife defense, takedowns, control techniques and finishing techniques. It was at this time that Moni came up with the name of his new system: "Combat Survival / Commando Krav Maga."
Using the Israeli army and Special Forces as a test bed, Moni experimented with concepts and techniques until he was satisfied with their efficiency and practicality. These experiments included matching opponents of different sizes and weights, fighting under stress, complex vs. easy-to-perform techniques, and other vital criteria. These concepts and techniques were extensively field- tested in military engagements and are taught today to his students in the Combat Survival program.

A Maker of Champions
Close-quarter-combat had always felt natural for Moni, having studied Judo and Jujitsu from an early age in Holland. Moni continued to practice the sport when his family returned to Israel -- eventually becoming Israel's top Judo champion. Moni's expertise wasn't a fluke, but a product of hard work and determination. He often traveled to Japan and trained extensively with world Judo and Sambo champions and legends, like Isao Okano and Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki.
Back in Tel Aviv, Moni was producing a number of Judo champions, most notably, Yael Arad, Israel's first medalist in the Olympics and World Championship (she won a silver medal in both events), and she also won a Gold medal at the European Championships. Another successful student of Moni's who has emerged as an expert in his own right is Avi Nardia, the former senior instructor of Yamam, Israeli's top counter-terrorism unit, and former head instructor of hand-to-hand combat. More recently, he introduced Lotar and Kapap to California and is a major influence in Israeli fighting systems in the United Sates. Avi says, "Moni taught us that Martial Arts are more than just fighting, it's a way of being. He taught us to be professionals and not to look for excuses."
In 1985, Moni handed his school over to his top students and immigrated to Canada to start spreading Combat Survival internationally. In 1986 he opened a school in Toronto called the Samurai Club. This club was wholly responsible for pioneering the popularity of Jujitsu, no-holds-bared fighting and reality-based-training in Canada. Moni's students dominated the competition, his stable of fighters included UFC champ, Carlos Newton, Japan Shooto champ, Joel Gerson, and Jujitsu champs Mark Bocek and Omar Salvosa. Unbeknownst to most people, the root discipline that provided the foundation for all these champions was Moni's Combat Survival system. Moni's system provided the base of their future success in professional fighting. In 1998 Moni sold the Samurai Club and moved back to Israel to accept a major contract with the Israeli Special Forces.
Moni Returns to Canada
In 2003, Moni returned to Canada, and in the fall of 2004, he and his top Canadian student, Joel Gerson, opened up their new school, "Edge Combat Fitness," in Concord, Toronto. This is also home to Combat Survival's international headquarters. The school was not a new concept but an evolution of Moni's proprietary fighting system. First and foremost, Combat Survival was designed to be a complete reality-based system for everyone, regardless of experience or ability. The purpose has always been to prepare students to deal with any eventuality, including unarmed and armed attacks from single as well as multiple attackers.

The System
In Combat Survival, Moni has blended elements of his combat experience, Olympic level Judo expertise, Jujitsu and no-holds-barred mixed Martial Arts. As he often tells his students, Combat Survival techniques have been field-tested and work, regardless of size or strength. One of Moni's former students, Doran Kay, senior partner of Global Impact, an international security consulting firm, recounts how Moni's early combat experience provided the basis of Moni's Combat Survival system: "In an intense basic training course [in Israel] we were taught about the valuable lessons learned in one of the bloodiest battles of Israel's history. Those lessons were learned by the blood of Moni and his fallen comrades."
There are eight rank levels in Combat Survival and they include: yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and three levels of black. What I find most refreshing is that there are no traditional belts or uniforms worn. The only required clothing is a black Combat Survival T-shirt (worn over street clothes). Rank is indicated by the color of the fonts of the Combat Survival logo on the T-shirt. For example, the letters Combat Survival in yellow indicates a yellow belt.
The curriculum at Combat Survival is also innovative. Level #1 (yellow belt) consists of defense and attacks against the head, that is, from the front, the side and the rear; Level #2 (orange belt) adds defenses and attacks to the midsection, or upper body; Level #3 (green belt) adds defenses and attacks to the remainder of the body. From blue belt on up, the defenses and attacks become progressively more comprehensive and intensive.

There are many points that set Combat Survival apart from the competition
1) No traditional Martial Arts weapons are taught, only modern weapon defenses; improvised weapons are also heavily emphasized; 2) strong ground skills are taught, but the emphasis is to prevail and escape; 3) there are no specific stances; 4) only low kicks are taught, below the midsection; 5) surprise attack scenarios are an integral part of the training; 6) establishing strong verbal and physical boundaries before the physical engagement; 7) learning to work in different ranges and closing the gap quickly; 8) no uniforms or belts are used; 9) training of mental and physical abilities.
Even though Combat Survival teaches people to protect themselves, Moni also stresses that students have a positive outlook in every facet of their life, even under the worst conditions. He strongly believes this is the key determining factor between surviving or losing in any endeavor; whether it is on the battlefield, in the ring, or on the street. Self-mastery and self-control can best be achieved by overcoming physical and mental obstacles. That's why he urges students to train as much as possible.

Combat Survival Today
In addition to running Combat Survival, Moni travels to Israel about once a month to teach elite units of the Israeli military, and he also presents Combat Survival seminars throughout the world. Instructors wishing to be licensed to teach Combat Survival in their schools and/or regions may do so by attending an intensive training program in Toronto. Special arrangements can also be made to have Moni and/or his instructors train you at your facility.
To become a certified instructor in Combat Survival, you must first take levels #1 and #2. Once completed, you will be licensed and granted a territory where you may teach those two levels only. To move to a higher level, you must learn the next two levels, and again, once completed, you may then teach those additional levels. In the near future, Moni has plans to publish his authorized schools and representatives and refer students to them.

Texto: WR Mann
Fotos: © www.budointernational.com