Today, Imi, the founder/creator of this great system would've been 100 years old if he were still with us.
I have had the luck of being able to train with/under various individuals who have had the pleasure, the privilege, and the honor, of training under Imi himself. I have had many stories told to me about Imi in the past years, and they all make me think what a great man he must've been, but they make me sad that I was unable to meet this great man...
Alan Feldman has told me numerous stories, some of how Imi always seemed to know what you were going to do (in a fight) before you even did it - he would seemingly know your exact reach, whether it be from your fist or your foot, and would always, somehow, read you perfectly and would be mere centimeters away from your fist while moving out of harms away, as he knew that was all the space he needed. Other stories involve how, at 78 years of age, Imi would be teaching while sitting in a chair watching the class, he would see people do a technique wrong and stop the students and say maybe two or three words to the class, then everyone in the room would seem to simultaneously smack themselves on the head while thinking "Of course! It's so simple! How could I have been doing that wrong?!?".
There's also many stories from when Imi was in the Haganah, and during World War II which I have been told. The one I quote the most, especially during teaching, is when Imi was being chased by Nazi S.S. units and lead them up into a stairwell where he could fight them one at a time - the number of nazi's chasing Imi seems to change every time I hear this story, however I believe it to be 5-8 soldiers - Imi knew that he would only have time to do one or two strikes to each attacker, and that each one must count and be effective, and so he moved his whole body weight into each strike, with each punch and every kick he struck with his entire body mass, and it worked, as he escaped and survived the encounter - this is how Krav Maga began to develop, and why we advance with our strikes rather than "hit and retreat" like most other forms.
A short biography on Imi Lichtenfeld:
"The founder of Krav Maga is Imrich Sde-or (Imi Lichtenfeld). Imi was born in Budapest on March 26th, 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 differences between street confrontations and competition fighting.
Forced to flee the area in 1940 at the age of 30, he caught the last immigration boat to Israel, the Pentcho. During the trip Imi's physical condition was very bad. He endured several operations and doctors did not expect him to live. But he recovered and proceeded to volunteer for service in a Czech military unit of the British armed forces. The unit served during World War II in Lebanon, Syria, Libya, and Egypt. This combat experience led him to further refine his martial art skills.
When discharged in 1942, he requested and was allowed to immigrate to Israel. 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 Krav Maga (Hebrew for "contact 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 Krav Maga. Unarmed combat was absolutely essential for the success of the military.
After the establishment of Israel in 1948, Imi became the chief instructor of hand to hand combat in the Israeli millitary, and when he retired from the IDF he set about making Krav Maga into a self-defense system for the people of the world. Imi was very active untill the end, allways happy to help his student and eager to find solutions to new problems.
Sadly on Jan 8th 1998, Imi Licthenfeld, aged 88, passed away."
(Click here for additional information about Imi)
I would like to end this thread with these things; If you take Krav Maga, thank Imi every time you walk onto your schools mat, and every time you hold your head up high when you are threatened. Imi was a great man, and not only because of Krav Maga, but because of his life's service to both his country and his people.
Lastly, Rick Blitstein has shared many quotes from Imi (which are now available on his website), and I would like them to be shared with all of you;
I have had the luck of being able to train with/under various individuals who have had the pleasure, the privilege, and the honor, of training under Imi himself. I have had many stories told to me about Imi in the past years, and they all make me think what a great man he must've been, but they make me sad that I was unable to meet this great man...
Alan Feldman has told me numerous stories, some of how Imi always seemed to know what you were going to do (in a fight) before you even did it - he would seemingly know your exact reach, whether it be from your fist or your foot, and would always, somehow, read you perfectly and would be mere centimeters away from your fist while moving out of harms away, as he knew that was all the space he needed. Other stories involve how, at 78 years of age, Imi would be teaching while sitting in a chair watching the class, he would see people do a technique wrong and stop the students and say maybe two or three words to the class, then everyone in the room would seem to simultaneously smack themselves on the head while thinking "Of course! It's so simple! How could I have been doing that wrong?!?".
There's also many stories from when Imi was in the Haganah, and during World War II which I have been told. The one I quote the most, especially during teaching, is when Imi was being chased by Nazi S.S. units and lead them up into a stairwell where he could fight them one at a time - the number of nazi's chasing Imi seems to change every time I hear this story, however I believe it to be 5-8 soldiers - Imi knew that he would only have time to do one or two strikes to each attacker, and that each one must count and be effective, and so he moved his whole body weight into each strike, with each punch and every kick he struck with his entire body mass, and it worked, as he escaped and survived the encounter - this is how Krav Maga began to develop, and why we advance with our strikes rather than "hit and retreat" like most other forms.
A short biography on Imi Lichtenfeld:
"The founder of Krav Maga is Imrich Sde-or (Imi Lichtenfeld). Imi was born in Budapest on March 26th, 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 differences between street confrontations and competition fighting.
Forced to flee the area in 1940 at the age of 30, he caught the last immigration boat to Israel, the Pentcho. During the trip Imi's physical condition was very bad. He endured several operations and doctors did not expect him to live. But he recovered and proceeded to volunteer for service in a Czech military unit of the British armed forces. The unit served during World War II in Lebanon, Syria, Libya, and Egypt. This combat experience led him to further refine his martial art skills.
When discharged in 1942, he requested and was allowed to immigrate to Israel. 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 Krav Maga (Hebrew for "contact 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 Krav Maga. Unarmed combat was absolutely essential for the success of the military.
After the establishment of Israel in 1948, Imi became the chief instructor of hand to hand combat in the Israeli millitary, and when he retired from the IDF he set about making Krav Maga into a self-defense system for the people of the world. Imi was very active untill the end, allways happy to help his student and eager to find solutions to new problems.
Sadly on Jan 8th 1998, Imi Licthenfeld, aged 88, passed away."
(Click here for additional information about Imi)
I would like to end this thread with these things; If you take Krav Maga, thank Imi every time you walk onto your schools mat, and every time you hold your head up high when you are threatened. Imi was a great man, and not only because of Krav Maga, but because of his life's service to both his country and his people.
Lastly, Rick Blitstein has shared many quotes from Imi (which are now available on his website), and I would like them to be shared with all of you;
"The leg of a baby is stronger than the balls of Muhamed Ali"
"You must be so good... that you don't need to kill"
"One not need make peace with friends, only with enemies"
"A strong man has many friends"
"Before courting a woman you would better know who her father is, who her brothers are, and sometimes even who her boyfriend is"
"Waiter, bring me two of whatever my doctor says I can’t have"
"Sometimes a man turns his head to look at a woman and it changes his entire life, and sometimes he does not turn his head, and that too changes his life”
"People respect power, and it comes in many forms, Krav Maga is power, and people will respect you for knowing it"
"Don’t expect your enemies to ever love you, or even like you, only respect you"
"So that one may walk in peace........"(the reason for learning IKM)
Last edited:
