Krav Maga

About Krav Maga

Krav Maga Yashir is the system of Krav Maga taught by Gershon Ben Keren. The term Krav Maga, meaning “Contact Combat” in Hebrew is a generic term, and doesn’t refer to any particular system, despite the way some individuals and associations market what they teach. It appears that Imi Lichtenfeld – the person most closely attributed with founding the approach – wanted Krav Maga to be used this way. He never appointed a successor and fell out with Eli Avikazar, who wanted to be able to distinguish the Krav Maga he was teaching to that of others i.e., he eventually left Imi and created “Krav Magen” or “Combat Shield” to differentiate the “Krav Maga” he was teaching from that of others. This is why the term Krav Maga Yashir (meaning “Direct Contact Combat” in Hebrew), is used to refer to Gershon Ben Keren’s style of Krav Maga. In Israel the standard naming convention is to add the instructor’s first name, to the end of the term, and for a while Krav Maga Yashir, was known as Krav Maga Gershon. This is one of the ways in which to tell the authenticity of the system e.g., if the system was known as “Gershon Krav Maga”, then it would read (because Hebrew is read from right to left), “Contact Combat Gershon” as opposed to “Gershon’s Krav Maga” (Krav Maga Gershon).

In this “About Krav Maga” section, you can watch some short videos explaining why Krav Maga is viewed as such an effective method of self-defense/fighting. Many people see it as being an amalgamation of all the best martial arts/fighting/self-defense solutions that exist i.e., a best of the best so to speak. In reality Krav Maga is a set of fighting concepts that guide and direct techniques and solutions, allowing the system/approach to be flexible and adaptable and able to evolve to deal with “new” attacks and threats. Click here to watch some short videos explaining and demonstrating some of these ideas and concepts. You can also read more about the way the approach/method works, along with a bit of the history of the system showing how it has developed and become to be seen as such an effective system. To learn more about Krav Maga please click here. You can also learn more about Gershon Ben Keren and his instructor team by clicking here.

We first started teaching beginner Krav Maga classes in Medford, 2008, at the Roshankish Martial arts Center on Main Street (then Roshankish Tae Kwon Do), before moving to our current location, less than a 15-minute drive. If you are looking to train authentic Israeli Krav Maga, with an instructor who was trained and certified in Israel, and has taught Krav Maga internationally e.g., Israel, Europe, Africa and the U.S., you can sign up for one of our beginner Krav Maga classes by clicking on the button below.

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