Battle Royale Over Rightful Heir to Israeli Self-Defense Discipline
Mr. Lichtenfeld’s association and its disciples spawned other organizations such as the Krav Maga Federation, the Israeli Krav Maga Federation, Krav Magen
and Krav Maga Global, all considered reputable and authentic schools and all vying for business abroad.
His Krav Maga Global organization’s website credits him as being "the only person in the world to whom Imi presented the ‘Founders Diploma of Excellence.’ " Ran Nakash, 39, who led courses for the military’s Krav Maga instructors
and runs a boxing and Krav Maga gym in Tel Aviv, called the argument over Mr. Lichtenfeld’s legacy nonsense.
David Kahn said that The martial arts world is replete with controversy about who is the top instructor within a given discipline,
There is no competitive Krav Maga circuit, because the idea is to break all the rules, not
play by them, although the army did institute an annual Krav Maga contest a few years ago.
Krav Maga, the rough, close-combat self-defense system developed in the Israeli military, has
become a mainstay of special forces training here and an increasingly popular Israeli export.
Mr. Gidon said he preferred to remain above the fray regarding seniority in the Krav Maga world.