Israeli Martial Arts: A Brief Timeline

By Izhac Grinberg Ph.D

 Kapap and Krav Maga are the two most well known Israeli Martial Arts and they captivate the imaginations of millions of people around the world.I will discuss the many misconceptions regarding Israeli martial arts and its origins. We look at the historical unfolding of events as accurately as possible, recognizing the various stages of development of Israeli Martial Arts and attributing specific innovations, changes and adjustments to those responsible for the process. I will concentrate on information commonly disseminated, their place in Israeli martial arts history.

I have chosen to focus on a pivotal moment in Israeli history, the transition of the Jewish community into statehood and the formation of its military, the IDF.

The chronology of events proper order is as follows:

• founding of the state of Israel
• formation of the military on the foundation of the Hagana forces
• formation of a school for physical training
• formation of a Krav Maga branch within that school
• appointment of Imi as chief of the Krav Maga branch

A General Timeline

1920

• The Hagana is formed as a civilian militia whose charter is to protect the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine. From this moment, and even before, there is a constant exploration of hand to hand combat and training methodologies. 

1941

• In January 1941, hand to hand combat disciplines such as boxing, knife fighting, stick fighting and jujutsu are taught separately with guiding principles and uniform methodologies under the name Kapap. The first Hagana Kapap instructor’s course takes place. The courses chief instructors are: Maishel Horowitz, Menashe Harel, Gershon Kofler, Yitzhak Shtibel. 
• In May 1941 the Palmach is formed jointly with the British military mandate forces. Shortly after its formation, the Palmach goes underground and becomes the Hagana's standing military force besides its militia forces.
• In May 1941 Maishel Horowitz is brought to the Palmach to teach his stick fighting method as part of the first Kapap instructor's course for the Palmach. Moshe Pinkel Zohar is appointed chief instructor of physical training in the Palmach and remains in this position until 1948 when the Palmach is incorporated into the IDF where Moshe Pinkel Zohar continues to fill this position.

1942-1948

• Imi Lichtenfeld functions as a Kapap instructor teaching knife, jujutsu and boxing according to the Palmach curriculum.

1947

• On November 29 the UN General Assembly passes Resolution 181 which is a Partition Plan for Palestine, a two state solution. As a result of this and the rejection of the plan by the Arab leadership, civil war broke out between both communities in Palestine.

1948

• In May 1948 the state of Israel is formed. The Arab states respond with a military invasion of the state of Israel, turning the conflict into a full blown war. Within two weeks of the declaration of Israel's independence the IDF (a conscript army) is formed, integrating the three Jewish underground organizations Hagana, Palmach (Palmach was part of the Hagan and not an independent organization. It was the Hagans standing army) and Etzel and Lehi into one military body.
• With the integration of the Palmach into the IDF and the formation of the school for physical training Imi is commissioned as one of the eleven instructors on staff at the school.
• In May and June 1948 the service for physical training (Sherut Leimun Gufany) in the IDF is formed and the head of the service is Moshe Pinkel Zohar. Within the service a school for physical training is formed and its chief officer is Mairon Avramson.
• In September 1948 the first documented use of the term Krav Maga is used interchangeably with Kapap. The first instance shows up in the documents of an officer named Amos Golani, whose job is to supervise the physical training in the combat field units. 

1949

• In June 1949 the service for physical training is decommissioned and replaced by the branch of physical training. The school and its staff all continue in their same capacities only as part of the branch.

1954

• The terms Kapap and Krav Maga are still used interchangeably in official documents.

1956-1958

• Sometime between 1956 and 1958, Imi becomes the chief instructor of physical training and perhaps the head of a new branch formed, the Krav Maga branch. It is yet undetermined when this branch was formed, it is however known to have existed as early as 1958. Documentation confirming earlier dates has yet to be found. Review of documents from the period 1956-1958 is still pending. No witness accounts have been found to confirm any earlier dates.

1963

• Imi retires from the IDF and opens his civilian Krav Maga club in Netanya.

A short narrative describing the integrated timelines

In 1948 the IDF was formed and the forces of the Palmach were incorporated into it. As a result, Imi Lichtenfeld, a talented Kapap instructor, was commissioned alongside his fellow instructors and officers to keep teaching and training soldiers in the hand to hand fighting disciplines known at the time as Kapap. Imi was in active duty as a hand to hand and physical training instructor in the IDF for 15 years. During those 15 years he was part of the process of developing the hand to hand combat disciplines in the IDF. Imi rose in rank and responsibility until in the last five years he headed the newly formed Krav Maga branch in the IDF. This period seems to be the time frame during which Krav Maga began transitioning into an “integrated system” made up of Kapap’s structure group of hand to hand combat skills and using Kapap’s guiding principles.

There was no commissioning of any persons to develop a system, but a known group of people are responsible for a recognizable process of evolving the existing system, adjusting it to the times and organizations using it.

There was no unnamed ineffective system to replace, but rather the known system of Kapap, its disciplines, principles and methodologies were used as the foundation.

There was no head position and no branch for Imi to be the head of until a much later period of time. 

As it turns out Kapap was the precursor of Krav Maga. Krav Maga, at its outset, was simply a new version of Kapap. Even though Krav Maga has sprouted many different civilian versions, one can still recognize the roots of Krav Maga as reflected in historical Kapap. Modern Kapap, on the other hand, can be recognized as being true to the approach and philosophy of Kapap but not based on its physical attributes.

When we are willing to reexamine what we believe to be the story of Krav Maga and Israeli Martial Arts, then we will be able to appreciate the contributions of all those figures, such as Imi Lichtenfeld, who helped develop Israeli Martial Arts.

We have looked at the unfolding of historical events around the development of Israeli Martial arts as accurately as is possible at this time. We recognize the various stages of it’s development and therefore we can attribute changes and adjustments to all those who played a role in the process of developing Israeli Martial Arts. In light of historical facts, we see Imi for who he was, a pivotal figure in the transition from Kapap to Krav Maga and he is the originator of civilian Krav Maga.

References and Bibliography

1. Nadav Kaner, Paratroopers of Hope (1996)
2. Jacob Merkovitzky, Special Ground Units of the Palmach (1989)
3. Naim Rachel, Palmach Guide Book (1984)