The history of Krav Maga is as exciting as the system it self. The founder of Krav Maga was Imi Sde-Or. The history is closely linked to the development of the state of Israel and the need for the Israeli military to protect is country in one of the worlds most hostile areas.

Given Imi`s extensive self defense skills, Imi was recruited by Isaac Sadeh, the commanding officer of the Haganah in 1942. Two years later he began to teach Kapap (hand to hand combat) and physical exercise to the most elite special forces units of the Haganah, Palmach, and Palyam. During this period, firearms were outlawed and in very scarce supply. They were hidden away from the British and only used for special missions. The fact that firearms could not be used had a great influence on the development of the style. Unarmed combat was absolutely essential for the success of the military.

In 1948, when the State of Israel was founded and the IDF was formed, Imi became Chief Instructor for Physical Fitness and Krav Maga at the IDF School of Combat Fitness. He served in the IDF for about 20 years, during which time he developed and refined his unique method for self-defense and hand-to-hand combat. It was his job to see to it that the troops of the IDF including the special forces units were expertly skilled in hand to hand combat. During this time, Imi further refined his face to face fighting techniques (now referred to as Krav Maga).

Upon retiring from the IDF in the early 60`s, Imi began adapting the style for civilian use. He established two schools, one in Netanya and one in Tel Aviv.

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