The founder of Krav Maga is Imrich Sde-or (Imi Lichtenfeld). Imi was born in Budapest in 1910. Imi`s father Samuel was early a circus acrobat and wrestler, but got into the police force and acctually served for many years as Chief Detective Inspector. He became well known for his considerable arrest record, particularly of dangerous criminals.

In his youth Imi studied wrestling, boxing, and gymnastics. In 1928 Imi won the Slovakian Youth Wrestling Championship, and in 1929 the adult championship (in the light and middle weight division). That year he also won the national boxing championship and an international gymnastics championship. During the ensuing decade, Imi's athletic activities focused mainly on wrestling, both as a contestant and a trainer.

In the mid thirties, conditions began to change in Bratislava. Fascist and anti-Semitic groups appeared, determined to upset the public order and harm the city's Jewish community. Imi became the un-crowned leader of a group of young Jews, most of them with a background in boxing, wrestling, and weightlifting. This group attempted to block the anti-Semitic bands from entering the Jewish quarter and wreaking havoc there. In the following years Imi was forced to fight in streetbrawls and confrontations over and over again. It was in these fights Imi understood the differens between street confrontations and competition fighting.

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