Imi Lichtenfeld

Imi Lichtenfeld was born in 1910 in Budapest

Lichtenfeld was born in Budapest in 1910 to a Hungarian Jewish family and grew up in Bratislava. His father, Samuel, was a police inspector and former circus performer who taught self-defense. Lichtenfeld trained in swimming, boxing, wrestling and gymnastics and joined the Slovak national wrestling team.

In the 1930s he led young Jews who defended Jewish neighborhoods against fascist gangs. These fights showed him how sport differs from street combat, and he began building a practical self-defense system.

In 1940 he left on the immigrant ship Pencho, which ran aground near the Dodecanese Islands. He served in the Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion under British command and reached the Land of Israel in 1942. He then trained Haganah, Palmach and Palyam fighters, and later served in the IDF until 1964.

After leaving the army he adapted Krav Maga for police and civilians and opened training centers in Tel Aviv and Netanya. He founded the Israeli Krav Maga Association in 1978 and the International Krav Maga Federation in 1995. He died in Netanya in 1998.