Imrich ("Emerich") Lichtenfeld (1910–January 1998) is the founder of the self-defence system Krav Maga. He is also known by the Hebrew calque of his name, Imi Sde-Or.Born in Budapest, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Lichtenfeld grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia, which was called Pozsony and had been a part of Hungarian Kingdom that time. As a young man, he was a successful boxer and wrestler.
Krav
Maga is known for its main principles:
Do as much damage in as little
time as possible.
Change from defending to
attacking as quickly possible
(including simultaneously).
Use items around you as weapons.
Be aware of everything that is
happening around you.
In the late 1930s, anti-Semitic riots threatened the Jewish population of Bratislava. Together with other Jewish boxers and wrestlers, Lichtenfeld helped to defend his people.
He quickly realised that sport has little in common with real combat and began developing a system of techniques for practical self-defense in life threatening situations.
In 1940, Lichtenfeld fled the Nazi occupation of his homeland, heading for Palestine. He arrived there in 1942. He promptly taught his combat techniques to the members of the Jewish underground organisations Haganah and Palmach. After the establishment of Israel in 1948, he became an instructor at the School of Combat Fitness. It was during this time that his system came to be called Krav Maga.
Lichtenfeld later modified Krav Maga to fit the needs of police forces and ordinary civilians creating the Israeli Krav Maga Association in 1978, and his techniques are now widely used around the world. He died in Netanya (Israel) at the age of 87.
Imrich
("Imi") Sde-Or*, founder of
Krav-Maga, was born in 1910 in Budapest,
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 him
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 various 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
champion- ship (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 a trainer. Year after
year he won the ......
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 un-crowned
leader of a group of young Jews, most of
them with a background in boxing, wrestling,
and weightlifting. This group attempted to
block the anti-Semitic bands from entering
the Jewish quarter and wreaking havoc there.
Thus, between 1936 and 1940 Imi took part in
countless violent......
In 1940, having become a thorn in the side
of the anti-Semitic inclined 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, that 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 odyssey aboard that ship and
afterwards, which was filled with thrilling
episodes, took about two years, .....
In
1944 Imi 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 (striking force of
the Hagana and forerunner of the special
units of the IDF), including the Pal-Yam, as
well as 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 for self-defense
and hand-to-hand combat. Imi personally
trained the top......
After he finished his active duty, Imi began
adapting and modifying Krav-Maga to civilian
needs. The method was formulated to suit
everyone - man and woman, boy or girl, who
might need it to save his or her life or
survive an attack while sustaining minimal
harm, whatever the background of the attack
- criminal, nationalistic, or other. To
disseminate his method, Imi established two
training centers, one in Tel Aviv and the
other in Natanya. Throughout .......
Even
during his last years, Imi continues to
personally supervise the training of those
who have 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 personality and
imparting them with his knowledge and unique
personality.
Imi, a teacher, a fighter and a great human
being, passed away on the 9th of January
1998, early in the morning, in the hospital
just 5 hours after he got there, and with
Eyal Y. at his bed-side. ~
International Krav-Maga Federation
Imrich
("Imi") Sde-Or*, founder of
Krav-Maga, was born in 1910 in Budapest,
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 him
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 various martial arts......
In
1944 Imi 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 (striking force of
the Hagana and forerunner of the special
units of the IDF), including the Pal-Yam, as
well as groups of police officers.
Even
during his last years, Imi continues to
personally supervise the training of those
who have 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 personality and
imparting them with his knowledge and unique
personality.