Israeli Martial Arts

[Pauline Winters]

Since it's founding in Biblical times the state of Israel has had to
fight to keep the lands they believe were granted them by God, because
while ownership might have been clear to them, their neighbors have
disputed that claim for centuries. To keep what they held most dear
the Israelites formed a small, but tough and aggressive army first
under Moses and would continue under future Kings, but this would all
end after the Roman invasion of the holy land. The state of Israel
would not come into being again until after World War II and
hostilities started again almost immediately, so Israel began
developing its warrior culture again.
In the wake of World War II thousands of refugees poured into what was
than British controlled Palestine both legally and illegally with
hopes of making a new life. There was no government yet, but even
before the war the Jewish community was already organizing
paramilitary organization known as the Haganah. Among the refugees to
arrive were partisans from throughout Europe, and veteran guerilla
fighters who took on the Nazis in the ghettos of Warsaw Poland. Though
there were veteran police officers and soldiers available if the
refugees were to survive everyone was going to have to learn how to
fight.
Given the task of developing a new Israeli martial art for the Palmach
the Haganah's strike force fell to Gershon Kopler an experienced judo
and jujutsu instructor. The self defense system he devised would be
called Kapap, and it would build up soldier's strength and endurance
and teach them practical weapons fighting and took techniques from
both boxing and jujutsu. Yehuda Marcus would take over the training
and under other instructors like Moshe Finkel and Masishel Horovitz
the physical fitness of the program would expand and stick fighting
would be added.
As Israel became an independent nation its various underground
fighting forces became the Israel Defense Force, and with a new army
came a new method of hand to hand combat called Krav Maga which is
still used by the Israeli military today. The man who would help lead
this change was Imi Lichtenfeld a Jewish immigrant from Eastern Europe
who was a boxer, wrestler, and the son of the toughest cop in
Bratislava. Though he was skilled at combat sports Lichtenfeld learned
quickly that in a street fight rules don't apply, so he began adapting
his techniques to deal with Nazis. When he got of the boat in
Palestine he almost immediately began training with the Jewish
underground and joined the fight.
In 1948 when Israel became an independent country Lichtenfeld became
the Chief Instructor at the Israel Defense Forces School of Combat
Fitness, a post he would hold for 20 years, and that is where he began
to refine what he had learned practicing Kapap. Because Lichtenfeld
was a veteran street fighter and soldier he knew that a fighter had to
seize the advantage and never stop fighting, so he strived to keep
training as close to real combat as possible.
By continuing to learn from their experiences the Israelis have
fostered a warrior culture and a solid military supported martial arts
program. Today Krav Maga is practiced around the world and is even
used by the United States military and some police agencies. Kapap is
no longer part of military training, but it does have civilian
supporters who still practice the fighting style. The training is
sound because it goes on the fundamental principal of doing whatever
works in a bad situation, and when your in a fight for your life or
your nation you don't have time to debate what is effective.

How To Fight In A Real Street Fight: http://www.selfdefensef.tk/

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