Krav Maga is a military combat system developed in Israel, which assumes no quarter will be given.
Note: looking for krav maga blog writers - send us your news or article. please register!The Israeli government asked Imi to develop an effective fighting system.
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Some martial arts systems really get mystified and have a ’secret’ labled on them. And Krav Maga is one of these and another is DIm Mak. Krav Maga probably becomes interesting because of its Military birth and reputation and also if its good enough for the Israeli Defense Forces and it was born from the streets. WOW it must be good. And it is..
Any style brought forth from a need to protect ones self and in the modern age will reflect into a deadly looking art. Here is its foundations.
A Martial art developed in Israeli, Krav Maga means “contact combat” in Hebrew.
This martial arts style is currently used by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and their military Special Forces. In the United States Krav Maga is used by members of the NYPD, FBI and the US Armed Forces. Many other elite military and police units around the world incorporate Krav Maga.
Krav Maga is becoming a popular martial art if the U.S.
Today, Krav Maga is taught to men, women and children of all ages. In Israel this martial arts style has become part of the educational system.
Imi Lichtenfeld the founder of Krav Maga was born in Hungary and grew up in Bratislava. As a young adult he won national and international awards in gymnastics, boxing and wrestling.
Imis father was a police officer and self defense instructor. During the 1930s Imi honed his fighting skills on the streets a Bratislava, protecting himself and Jewish neighbors against anti Semitic thugs. These fights sharpened his awareness of the difference between sport and street fighting.
In the 1930s Germany was a dangerous place for Jews. Imis fighting to protect his family and neighbors became unpopular with the local police. He was ordered to leave his homeland in 1940.
He traveled for several years finally ending up in Israel which was then Palestine. Imi soon joined a paramilitary organization known as Haganah and fought to create the state of Israel.
During this period he began teaching soldiers martial arts and basic self defense techniques. The Israeli government asked Imi to develop an effective fighting system. Imi became the chief instructor for the military school for physical training. Imi continually developed and refine this unique system combat system. Israel was in a constant state of war with its neighbors. The techniques he developed were constantly being put to use and tested in real combat scenarios.
After his retirement from the military, Imi devoted his time and energy to adapting Krav Maga to everyday life. The system spread rapidly to the civilian population and is now rapidly being accepted through out the world.
Krav Maga Martial Arts displays at Reston Virgina festival
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You’re munching falafel or shwarma while watching a demonstration of Israeli martial arts known as krav maga. A spirited performance of Israeli dancing is under way nearby, not far from a troupe of unmistakably Israeli bicyclists that just rolled into view.
If the ambience of that scene is pure Tel Aviv, the actual locale is much closer to home ‹ Reston to be exact. The Reston Town Center will soon be the site of the “Israeli Street Festival: A Taste of Milk and Honey,” that will highlight the culture, food and many other aspects of the Jewish state.
The June 17 event, which will run from noon to 5 p.m., is being organized by the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia in Fairfax. It is the first large public event in the Washington area marking Israel’s 60th birthday, which takes place on May 14.
Anniversary programming will take place throughout the next year, and is expected to culminate with a still-to-be determined celebration. This month’s festival in Reston is expected to draw 5,000-10,000 people from throughout the Washington area. Admission and parking are free.
“The purpose of the program is to get people excited about Israel and celebrate Israel,” said Roz Engels, director of adult services and special events at the Northern Virginia Jewish Community Center. “It’s not negative; ‘oh poor Israel, they need us now.’ ”
Specifically, festival organizers are hoping to solidify public support for the Jewish state, bolster tourism there and even increase contacts between businesses based in the two countries. Funding for the $14,800 event is provided primarily by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Engels said. (WJW is a media sponsor.)
Featuring exhibits by more than 35 area synagogues and other Jewish organizations, the festival will showcase an array of Israeli-themed entertainers and Middle Eastern food, as well as Israeli dogs, a virtual tour of the Jewish state, pro-Israel speeches from a politician or two and even iced coffee donated by Starbucks.
“You’ll have the ambience of doing business in Israel; you sit down and have a little coffee and talk,” said Dan Wasserman, a member of the festival organizing committee.
The festival also will be a forum for promoting commercial contacts between Israeli and Northern Virginia businesses. Several Israeli firms that provide state-of-the-art, homeland security-related products already have Northern Virginia offices, according to Ralph Robbins, executive director of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, a gubernatorial organization.
Robbins, who is scheduled to make a pitch at the festival for even more Northern Virginia-Israel business partnerships, said he would like to see increased local participation in the 30-year-old Binational Industrial Research and Development program, a bilateral fund that provides grants aimed at stimulating research and development that benefits both Israel and the United States.
“This event will bring people out for Israel at a time when there’s too much controversy involving Israel, and that says a lot,” Robbins added. “It also says a lot that it’s taking place in Northern Virginia. Thirty, 40 years ago it was basically one big farm.”
Organizers and others associated with the festival said the event is a recognition that the Northern Virginia Jewish community is coming of age. That community, while highly dispersed geographically, is growing rapidly. As recently as 2003, it numbered 67,000, or 31 percent of the total Jewish population in the Washington area. In the meantime, the number of Jewish institutions there has grown steadily.
“Having a large Jewish public event of this type in Reston is definitely symbolic of a new step being taken in the development of the Northern Virginia Jewish community,” said Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk of Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation in Reston, which will have a booth at the festival.
To illustrate the community’s progress, Nosanchuk said that last summer, his congregation took its first group trip to Israel in the 40-year history of the synagogue. Of the 62 congregants who went, more than 40 were visiting Israel for the first time.
“Jewish awareness throughout Northern Virginia is being raised, including the recognition of our connection with Israel,” said Rabbi Sholom Deitsch, director of Chabad Lubavitch of Northern Virginia, which also will have a booth at the festival. “Plus, there’s such a sense of pride among Jews when an event of this type takes place in a public area.”
Other recent Jewish public events held in Northern Virginia include a 2001 Jewish festival in Reston that drew about 5,000 people, and a 2005 Israeli festival at George Mason University in Fairfax.
This year’s festival will also feature six bicyclists from Israel, who will be in the area for more than a week to promote two-wheeled tourism in the Jewish state. Their visit is being funded chiefly by the federation as part of the Partnership 2000 program, a joint effort with the Jewish Agency for Israel aimed at linking people and communities in Israel and the Diaspora.
The cyclists, who will be in the Washington area June 11-18, will explore several area bike trails, and will present two slide shows about cycling in Israel. One will be on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at B’nai B’rith International in Washington, and the other will be on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington in Rockville. At the Reston festival, the cyclists will have a table and will discuss Israel-related cycling. All local cycling events are free and open to the public.
Cycle tourism in Israel is growing in popularity, according to Beri Kravitz, a program assistant for the federation’s Israel@60 program.
“It’s much slower; you’re not zooming down the road in a tour bus,” she explained. “You get a better view of the scenery. When you come into Jerusalem, you really get a feel for the ups and downs of the hills and valleys. It’s a totally different experience.”
