Krav Maga Kapap

I am in contact with a lot of martial artists by way of the internet. Some of them have told me that Krav Maga hasn’t appeared in the Israeli army for regarding 10-15 years. They assert it isn’t taught any more. Others have asked what I know when it comes to Israeli martial arts, in general. Well, with the help of a good deal of subscribers to one of my ezines, here’s a little better understanding of Krav Maga.

Krav Maga Still Taught in the Israeli Army?

This is a good place to start: Let’s listen from someone who is there, Nigel Kersh. He wrote, “My son went in [the army] last week, and next week they’re getting Krav Maga lessons. Hopefully, his 11 years experience practicing karate will help.”

Phil Kouse added that “K.M. was invented … for the lower echelon troops … looks like WWll combatives to me.” He likewise brought up a higher level martial art, that a good deal of think is Krav. (Also, Phil provided the rectify term for a practitioner of this art, a “Kravist.”)

Hmm, another Israeli art?

Eric Duncan helped me tweak my search, when he said, “Is not the term Krav Maga a Hebrew term that means to fight or something along those lines, much like Kapap?”

Kapap, An Israeli Martial Art for the Elite

And Bingo, a quick look on the internet, and I found that the elite form of Israeli martial arts is in truth Kapap.

Note: Krav Maga means “contact combat.” And Kapap is an acronym for a Hebrew phrase, which means “face-to-face combat.”

So, I did a good deal of more exploration and found assorted pieces of interest regarding Kapap:

• Kapap is older than K.M.
• It was devised by Imrich Lichtenfeld in the 1940s
• Lichtenfeld was considered an expert in assorted arts, including ju jitsu, boxing, and wrestling
• He applied his methods versus Nazis and ultimately taught his art to elite soldiers (the future Israeli army) (Thanks to an article by Philologos for the data on Lichtenfeld.)

David (no last name) wrote informing me that Darren Levine was the person to fetch K.M. to American law enforcement, but David likewise noted that it doesn’t in any way resemble the initial Israeli style.

David likens the Americanized version to what is practiced by “a bunch of primped up soccer moms.”

After more searching, I found that there are at least a half a dozen LARGE organizations, all claiming to instruct Krav Maga. No comment on the person organizations — simply, a heap of of the forms of Krav Maga seem more faithful to the basi style than others.

Krav Maga Kapap Image

Krav Maga Kapap Picture

Krav Maga Kapap Picture