Women and children are the most vulnerable and are often victims of criminal activities and domestic violence. Self-defence has always been the last thing on their minds but because these days women, children and men face gender based violence and it has been a difficult pandemic to overcome. Krav Maga Global has made self-defence more interesting to even victims, catering for all and making sure that they rather find ways to escape than being dead.
Krav Maga means Close Combat in Hebrew. It was developed during the height of anti-Semitic violence to give effective defences to the everyday person against violent attacks. KMG, under the leadership of Eyal Yanilov, has further evolved Krav Maga to include defences against all types of aggressive confrontations. KMG-Certified instructor and country representative, Karen Hayes says, “In Self-Defence our main goal is ‘Don’t Get Hurt’, therefore KMG Krav Maga is not only about physical actions and fighting but we also train to tactically avoid, prevent, de-escalate before we need to resort to physical actions. The goal is to get away unhurt for ourselves and our loved ones. Unlike other martial arts, the only rules that apply to Krav Maga is the law of the country according to Self Defence.”
KMG (Krav Maga Global) is a direct connection to the original founder of Krav Maga, Imi Lichtenfeld. Imi created an effective Reality-based Self Defence system that started being taught in the early Israeli militia from 1944 then later in the IDF -Israeli Defence Force. Imi’s dream was for people to be able to effectively defend themselves from physical attacks against criminals and terrorists and to teach this effective self defence system all around the world. This dream was fully realized and spread globally as Krav Maga expanded further after the establishment of KRAV MAGA GLOBAL (KMG) by Imi’s closest assistant and KMG head, Eyal Yanilov.
Karen explained that in South Africa KMG was brought by Pierre Van Eck an ex-Law enforcement member, who took part in Krav Maga training during his time with the SAPS. He was inspired to make the Self-Defence system available to South African. “I trained under Pierre from 2015 until 2019 when he moved from the country and handed over the reins. This is the history of Krav Maga and how KMG was established in South Africa”.
In South Africa, KMG Instructors are passionate about enabling and empowering the vulnerable and abused. In addition to their own regular weekly classes they give at various clubs, they also do collaborations with Security companies; Schools; Corporates; City events, and embrace their social responsibility with NPO’s and other such organizations. “We were very honoured to do an event this year in King Williams Town with the Nokwanda Patocka GBVF Foundation and their amazing stakeholders” said Karen highlighting one of the events they attended to show few simple basics of self-defence to college students.
KMG has four instructors and two clubs in Gqeberha, they also have one instructor in KZN who is also a professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter (MMA fighter) and contracts to a security company. After Imi passed away in 1998, Eyal worked to continue developing Krav Maga worldwide. As the system grew in popularity, different organizations and schools wanted to cash in on its success. This led to variations in training quality and deviations from Krav Maga’s core principles.
To address this, Eyal emphasized the need for a standardized advanced curriculum to preserve the integrity of Krav Maga. This drive has positioned KRAV MAGA GLOBAL as the most professional Krav Maga organization in the world.
Concluding Karen stated that, there’s a high need for top-notch, regulated Krav Maga Self Defence instructors in South Africa. So their goal is to find the right people for their next KMG General Instructor Course. This course comes with an internationally recognized certification and is led by an expert from their Headquarters International Trainers Team. It’s a tough two-part course that covers the KMG Curriculum and the KMG Teaching methods. “Our future plans for KMG in South Africa aligns with this vision – to promote standardized and high-quality Krav Maga training throughout the country, making this effective self-defence system available to civilians” Said Karen.