Imrich Lichtenfeld , Founder of Krav Maga

  Imi (Imrich) Sde-Or (Lichtenfeld), founder of Krav-Maga was born in 1910 in Budapest and grew up in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. One of the major influences on Imi's upbringing was his father, Samuel Lichtenfeld.

As backgrounder on Imrich’s father, Samuel Lichtenfeld was part of a traveling circus since the young age of 13. He was into the events of weight lifting and wrestling. Samuel later joined the Slovakian police department, where he rose to the position of Chief Detective. In this position, he also trained his men in self-defense and ways to overcome violence assault.

From Samuel, these interests in athletic pursuits and self-defense were passed to Imi, who at the age of 19 became an international champion in gymnastics, wrestling and boxing. Until 1939 he was a member of the Slovakian wrestling team and was considered one of the top European contenders in his weight division.

In the mid-30s, political conditions changed across Europe with the rise of Fascism and anti-Semitic movements. Imi was an activist becoming an informal leader of a group of young Jews, most with backgrounds in boxing, wrestling and weightlifting, seeking to protect the Jewish quarter in Bratislava from anti-Semitic gangs.

Over a period of about four years, Imi and his friends took part in numerous violent clashes with the anti-Semitic thugs. It was in these street clashes that the ideas of developing a martial art, later known as Krav-Maga, were planted.

  In 1940 Imi fled Europe as the Nazi domination of Europe increased. His escape to Palestine (later to become Israel) was a journey that lasted almost two years.

After recuperating from a severe infection as a result of his journey to Palestine, Imi joined the Czech Legion, under the command of the British Army during World War II. Upon his release, in 1942, Imi requested and was granted an entry permit to Palestine. Imi joined the Hagana resistance and was later introduced to General Itzchak Sadeh, head of the Hagana, who asked Imi to train the members of that group in the art of Krav Maga.

Imi trained several elite units of Hagana and Palmach (the striking force of the Hagana and forerunner of the special units of the Israeli Defense Force [IDF]), including its marine commando unit, the Palyam, as well as groups of police officers.

With the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the Israel Defense Forces were formed. Eventually, Imi became the Chief Instructor for Physical Fitness and Krav-Maga at the School of Combat Fitness.

He served in the IDF (and the Resistance) for about 20 years, during which time he developed and refined his method. Imi personally trained the top fighters of Israel's special units and qualified many generations of Krav-Maga instructors, for which he gained the recognition of Israel's most senior commanders.

 Imi's method of Krav-Maga had to meet the varied needs of the IDF. It was easy to learn and apply so that a soldier, whether a clerk in an office or a fighter in an elite unit, could attain the required proficiency within the shortest possible training period.

  It was also important, that the soldiers' level of proficiency could be maintained with minimal review and practice. It was even more crucial that the self-defense and fighting techniques that Imi had devised could be readily applied under the most stressful conditions.
 

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