Krav Maga is a military self defence system that originated in Europe around WWII. Adopted & developed by the Israel Defence Forces as their official self-defence system, Krav Maga is not a sport, but a life saving survival skill. Based on your body's instinctive reactions, Krav Maga skills are designed to work under pressure, and have been refined through real-life combat situations encountered by security forces.
Photo of early Krav Maga in IDF + Photos of Itay Gil a former IDF Counter-Terror Krav Maga Instructor*
Krav Maga was created by the late Imi Lichtenfeld in Austria-Hungary in the 1930s, as anti-semitism emerged in Europe. Imi became a leader in protecting the Jews in his city and he saw that traditional combat sports and martial arts were not sufficient to deal with street violence. In the 1940s when the Nazi arrived in Europe, Imi escaped to Palestine. Due to his experience defending real street violence, when Israel was formed in 1948 he was asked to bring Krav Maga to the newly formed Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Krav Maga then became the IDF's official hand to hand combat system. When Imi retired in 1964 he created a civilian version of Krav Maga and formed several civilian associations. The military however continued to evolve and develop its Krav Maga program through the contribution of many instructors...
OUR AFFILIATION
Tactical Survival's mission is to equip civilians and professionals alike with the skills to live and work safely in today's volatile world. Our academy's training methodology initially came from Tactical Krav Maga (TKM), an Australian organisation in the 1990's and 2000s which regularly brought to AUS & NZ top-level authoritative military Krav Maga instructors, direct from the IDF Israel Defence Forces and developed through broad input from the highest level Israeli experts such as Prof. Itay Gil (IDF Counter-Terror Unit Krav Maga), Ran Nakash (IDF Krav Maga Chief Commander) and Eyal Yanilov. It is Krav Maga training consistent with how the IDF elite units train: hardcore, real and raw.
Today, our academy is affiliated with Protect Krav Maga, part of a global network of trusted instructors working with Prof. Itay Gil, former operator / instructor and current consultant for the elite IDF YAMAM Counter-Terror Unit. Our methods are particularly influenced by Itay Gil's Krav Maga, developed and tested through years of active duty combat experience in counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, SWAT and VIP protection. During his compulsory service, Itay trained under founder Imi Lichtenfeld's top student, Eli Avikzer. He then joined the elite YAMAM unit and became a career combatant and the chief close-quarter-combat instructor for the unit. Itay Gil's Krav Maga is without question the most reality and battle-tested, highly regarded in Israel and the world. Itay is CEO of Protect Israeli Security Solutions based in Jerusalem.
*Paladin Press
YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Will with Itay Gil (Israel) Will with Carl Halley (Aust) Will with Graham Lockhart (NZ)
Tactical Survival Academy is directed by Chief Instructor Wil, who has over 15 years experience in the delivery of professional training including motivational speaking, university lecturing, program design and personal development in NZ, Australia, UK, Europe and USA. He holds graduate and post-graduate degrees. Due to increasing international travel working as a teacher & speaker, Will saw the need for better real-world tactical training for civilians and security professionals alike. He has trained members of the NZ Defence Force (army and air force), medical staff, emergency nurses, diplomats, private security, bouncers and members of the NZ Police including their special tactical units. Will is also supported by several assistant instructors currently in training.
Wil began training in Krav Maga back in 2006 with Eyal Yanilov's civilian Krav Maga organisation (IKMF) in Australia. After some training in other martial arts, he returned to Krav Maga, re-trained through the hardcore Protect Krav Maga system (PKM) at Tactical Krav Maga College (Sydney) to Level 10 and became a certified instructor through Instructor Carl Halley, under the technical expertise of Dr. Itay Gil (Israeli Counter-Terror Krav Maga Expert). Having experienced different variants of Krav Maga, he brings a broad knowledge and knows the difference between reality and unrealistic training. In 2019, Wil travelled to Jerusalem in Israel to undergo 40 hours of intensive Krav Maga and Counter-Terror Tactics testing and training, and was awarded the new rank and title of Master Instructor by Dr. Itay Gil from Protect Israeli Security Solutions / Protect Krav Maga HQ. In 2020, Wil was appointed a NZ representative for the Federation of Israeli Martial Arts (FIMA).
In his spare time Will is also a qualified range officer and member of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) where he enjoys competing in pistol and rifle marksmanship using 9mm Pistols and 5.56/223 Rifle. He believes no one should ever stop being a student and is constantly on the look out for the highest-quality training opportunities.
THE SYLLABUS
The system is divided into ten gradable levels and include the following skills:
Situational Awareness | Verbal Tactics | Defusing Violent Behavior | Space Management
Communication Skills | Phases of a Confrontation | Principles of Krav Maga | Self Defence Laws
Striking Techniques | Bursting | Footwork | Stances | Combinations
Defensive Tactics Against Strikes | Defend Standing and Grounded | Stand-Up Fighting Skills
Empty-Hand Baton | Stick | Bat | Machete Defence
Release from Chokes, Grabs, Holds | Defend Pushing and Pulling Standing and Grounded
Knife Threat Defence | Knife Attack Defence | Defence From Being Held and Hit
Utilising Improvised Weapons For Defence | Using Distraction, Shields, Sticks, Sharp Objects
Take-Downs | Throws | Falls | Sacrifice Falls
Ground Defence | Ground Escape | Ground Fighting
Empty-Hand Firearm Disarmament | Defence Against Handguns | Defence Against Rifles and Shotguns
Defence on Public Transport / Aviation | Multiple Attackers | Third-Party Protection | Scenario Training
THE TRAINING METHOD:
What makes Tactical Survival Krav Maga unique is how we train. Krav Maga is built on a set of problem solving techniques, but it is much more than just techniques. It's the warrior mindset from the biblical stories that makes Krav Maga unique. Once you've learnt the techniques, we apply the techniques in full speed 'pressure-testing' drills, allowing you to learn to adapt & improvise naturally. Of course, we strongly address using only the appropriate level of force according to our self defence laws.
What is Stress Training? Stress training will teach you to function effectively under duress (e.g. tired, exhausted, surprised, lying down, limited space to maneuver, against multiple attackers, when protecting someone else, when dizzy). Training is an intense mixed aerobic & anerobic workout, relying heavily on protective gear in order to experience both delivery and defense of strikes. Once you've learnt the techniques, we progressively introduce you to train with a 'resisting opponent' as much as possible. There are no predefined sequences of moves or choreographed styles; instead Krav Maga emphasizes rapid learning, using techniques that builds on other techniques.
What is Scenario Training? Training may take place outside in the dark, in a carpark, in hallways, in small confined spaces, inside a car, in a bus, in an airplane, under water or in a park. It may involve scenarios involving surprise attacks occuring in close quarter/confined spaces. You may be taught role-playing or verbal tactics. You may be trained to rescue or protect a third-party in a crowd. Techniques are pressure-tested in real life scenarios, to train the student to fuction effectively in any environment.
What is difference between civilian & military training? Read this article
WHO USES KRAV MAGA?
Krav Maga is used as the primary hand to hand combat system by the Israeli Defence Forces, Israeli Anti-Terror Police and Israeli Special Forces (Sayeret Matkal, Duvdevan, YAMAM). Several European militaries have also adopted Krav Maga. These units include GIGN, Federal Police Special Units, FBI HRT, and SWAT, among others. Krav Maga is often taught to Sky Marshals and some commercial airline crews.
In the USA, personnel from the FBI, CIA, AFOSI Anti-terrorism Specialty Team, US Air Force, United States Marshals, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration Arrest and Control Unit, U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, State Department, United States Coast Guard, and police in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, Alabama, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and California have received training in Krav Maga.
IN POP CULTURE
Krav Maga has been used in films that needed a realistic fight choreography style. It is also used by various actors for their physical training, stunt training, character development and personal protection.
In Tom Clancy's books and video game franchise Splinter Cell, the main protagonist CIA agent Sam Fisher, uses Krav Maga exclusively as his hand to hand combat system.
In the Bourne Trilogy Jason Bourne played by Matt Damon uses a mix of Krav Maga and Kali choreography ideas (bursting, weapon disarming, dealing with multiple opponents, using common objects as improvised weapons).
Jennifer Lopez learns Krav Maga to protect herself and daughter in Enough, a film about a domestic violence victim in a desperate struggle for life.
CONTACT@TACTICALSURVIVAL.CO.NZ
PHONE: (+64) 0210 246 6048
*Photos are from "The Citizen's Guide to Stopping Suicide Attackers" Secrets of an Israeli Counterterrorist. By Itay Gil and Dan Baron. Paladin Press, Boulder, Colorado (c) 2004. (C) Tactical Survival Krav Maga. All Rights Reserved. No part of this website can be copied or duplicated without permission. Certain images belongs to the international Tactical Krav Maga community. IDF Photos from Israel Defense Forces Blog www.idfblog.com (C) Creative Commons License. Tactical Survival Krav Maga is a trading name of Odyssey Productions Ltd.
