The man,The Legend, The History - Imi Lichtenfeld
(The creation of Krav Maga)



IImrich ("Imi") Sde-Or* is credited with opening the first public school for Krav Maga and is the main reason that Krav Maga is what it is today. While a slightly different style, called “KAPAP,” was being created in the then “Mandate for Palestine,” by the earlier Jewish re-settlers and resistance groups, we consider Imi the Founder of Modern Krav Maga. He was born in 1910 in Budapest, Hungary which, at the time, was one of the centers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He grew up in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, in a home where sports, law, and Central European education were equally respected. Samuel Lichtenfeld, Imi's father, was undoubtedly quite a unique figure; at age 13 he joined a traveling circus, and for the next 20 years engaged in wrestling, weightlifting, and various demonstrations of strength. For Samuel the circus was also a school where he met people involved in a wide variety of sports, including some quite unusual ones. These people taught Samuel what they knew - including a variety of martial arts.

With his father's encouragement, Imi became active in a wide range of sports. He first excelled in swimming, and subsequently in gymnastics, wrestling, and boxing. 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 as 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 defacto leader of a group of likeminded young Jews willing to stand up and defend their community; most of whom had a background in boxing, wrestling, and weightlifting. This group attempted to block the anti-Semitic bands from entering the Jewish quarter and wreaking havoc therein. Thus, between 1936 and 1940 Imi took part in countless violent encounters in order to protect himself, and others.
 

A story has been told that one time Nazi hooligans came into the university hitting and punching Jews. Suddenly a young man showed up, confronted them by hitting and biting them, and then disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. The story spread and one name stood out above the crowd…"Imi". In 1940, having become a thorn in the side of the anti-Semitic local authorities as a result of his activities, Imi left his home, family, and friends, and boarded the last immigrant ship that succeeded in escaping the Nazis' clutches. The vessel was an old riverboat named Pentcho, which had been converted to carry hundreds of refugees from Central Europe to the land of Israel (then called Palestine). The gripping story of the Pentcho and its passengers is told in detail in the book Odyssey by John Birman (published by Simon & Shuster, New York, 1984). Imi's private, two year odyssey, aboard that ship and afterwards, was filled with thrilling episodes. At one point on his journey, the ship hit a rock. Imi went with a small boat looking for help and eventually was found and taken by the British to Egypt. There he underwent several surgeries due to an infection on his face that caused paralysis.
He was asked by Yitzchak Sade to help train the "Netotim" in the Hagana (one of the para-military groups, that operated in Israel prior to the founding of the state and creation of the IDF) and teach them self-defense. In 1944 Imi arrived in Palestine and began training fighters in his areas of expertise: physical fitness, swimming, wrestling, use of the knife, and defenses against knife attacks. During this period, Imi trained several elite units of the Hagana and Palmach (strike force of the Hagana and forerunner of the special units of the IDF), including the Pal-Yam and groups of police officers. 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 of self-defense and hand-to-hand combat. Imi personally trained the top soldiers.

During his service he married a woman named Ilana and adopted her child, as he did not have children of his own. He always told his students: “I do not need children, you are my sons".

After he finished his active duty, Imi began adapting and modifying Krav Maga for civilian needs. The method was formulated to suit everyone - men and women, boys or girls, who might need it to save their lives or survive an attack while sustaining minimal harm. To disseminate his method, Imi established two training centers, one in Tel Aviv and the other in Netanya. Among his students was Yitzchak Rabin. (Former PM of Israel, assassinated by a Jewish fanatic in 1994)

Even during his last years, Imi continued to personally supervise the training of those who had attained high ranks in Krav Maga, and to spend time with the instructors in Israel and abroad. Imi monitored the trainees' progress and achievements, captivating them with his unique charisma and imparting them with his lifelong accumulation of knowledge in Krav Maga and self-defense.
Imi, a teacher, a warrior, and a great human being, passed away in the early morning hours of January 9, 1998. Thus, the legend was dead, but not his legacy.

“So one may walk in peace.”
“People respect power, and it comes in many forms, Krav Maga is power, and people will respect you for knowing it