Commando Krav Maga

Quick Facts

FounderMoni Aizik

Country of OriginIsrael

RegionMiddle East

Primary FocusHybrid

Contact LevelFull contact

Character & Origin

Organisation & Competition

What the style is built from

Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.

Catalogs & Databases for Commando Krav Maga

About Commando Krav Maga

Commando Krav Maga (CKM) is a self-defence system tied to Moni Aizik, an Israeli immigrant in Canada. According to the Toronto Star, Aizik taught judo and jiu-jitsu at a Jewish community centre in Toronto from 1978, and the name Commando Krav Maga arose in 2004. We have not been able to document the year the system itself began. Technically, according to Black Belt magazine, CKM rests on simple movements of the large muscles, control of the attacking limb during disarms, and training in the dark, in noise and in everyday clothing. It differs from Israeli organisations descending from the line of Imi Lichtenfeld in that it comes from Aizik's background in judo and jiu-jitsu. The system is disputed. Aizik states that the Israeli army asked him after the Yom Kippur War to improve close combat, but this could not be independently verified. In 2008 the British Advertising Standards Authority banned an advertisement describing him as a former special forces commando, and English Wikipedia considers both his military and sporting titles disputed. Figures on the number of instructors and on the training of elite units come from the organisation itself.

History

Commando Krav Maga (CKM) is the system of Moni Aizik. According to the Toronto Star, Aizik in 1978, as a new immigrant from Israel, taught judo and jiu-jitsu at a Jewish community centre in Toronto, while English Wikipedia places his arrival in North America in the 1980s. According to the Toronto Star, the name Commando Krav Maga arose in 2004 after about twenty years of development, but that claim comes from a former student of Aizik. Aizik states that after the Yom Kippur War the army asked him to improve close combat. This could not be independently verified. In 2008 the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), on a complaint from a competing school, banned an advertisement describing him as a former Israeli special forces commando and counter-terrorism expert. In the proceedings the company argued that his military files are classified, and the ASA did not accept this as proof. The official CKM website states that Aizik brought the system to Canada in the nineteen-eighties, opened it to the civilian public in 2004 and founded the Combat Survival-Reality Based Institute in 2005. The year 2004 agrees with the Toronto Star figure, but both come from within the organization.

How it differs

CKM differs from mainstream Krav Maga in origin. Israeli organisations descend from the line of Imi Lichtenfeld, CKM from Aizik's background in judo and jiu-jitsu. English Wikipedia describes both the name of the system and Aizik's military and sporting titles as disputed. A critical text by an Australian school of a competing organisation claims that Aizik was not a Krav Maga instructor in the army, but it relies mostly on anonymous sources. The principles CKM states, namely simple movements, de-escalation and getting home as the goal, are shared by the other lines of krav maga too. We therefore believe that CKM differs from them less in technique than in the person of its founder and its promotion. Almost all details about the system come from the organization, its instructors or favorable articles, and we have not found an independent description of the training.

Technique

According to Black Belt magazine, the system rests on simple gross-motor movements and on controlling the whole attacking limb before disarming a knife. Black Belt names techniques called rhino and wiz and firearm disarms standing, kneeling and on the ground. The Toronto Star describes the system as combat without rules, aimed at the eyes, throat and groin. Both are favourable in tone and we have not found an independent assessment of the technique. The official website sums up the philosophy of the system in the motto “We don't live to fight, we fight to live”. It regards violence as a last resort, calming the situation takes priority, and success is not winning a fight but getting home safely.

Training

According to Black Belt, training is done in everyday clothes, with oiled weapons, in the dark, with strobe light and noise. We have not found a specific syllabus from an independent source. According to the official website, the instructor diploma requires a four-day bootcamp led by top-level instructors. The organization offers public classes, seminars, private lessons and online courses. Besides the basic program it has branches for police (Total Officer Protection), the military (CKM Military), women (Smart Safe) and children (CKM Super Kid).

Ranks and progression

We have not found a complete grading structure for CKM in independent sources. Only instructor levels, awarded personally by Aizik, are documented. In 2006 the Bermudian newspaper Royal Gazette mentioned a local instructor whom Aizik examined and certified at level 3.

Today

In 2014 the Toronto Star reported about 800 active CKM instructors in countries from the USA to China and Chile. This is a figure of the organisation. The same article says the Canadian unit JTF2 reportedly trained with it, but this rests only on the statement of Aizik's student.

Did you know

English Wikipedia states that Aizik won the national judo title seven times and cites Black Belt magazine from 2010. The available Black Belt article, however, does not contain this claim. The Toronto Star mentions that Aizik's student attributes his survival in the reserves to his large build, which contradicts the CKM claim that size does not matter.

Frequently asked questions

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