Krav Maga, or close-range combat, is an Israeli system of military hand-to-hand combat and self-defense for civilians, developed and used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), police, border guard, and other paramilitary services – including special units such as the FBI, SWAT, DEA, Coast Guard, and others. KRAV MAGA was created by Imi Lichtenfeld.
Krav Maga training is based on strengthening basic human reflexes so that in the face of danger, they provide effective defense for every inexperienced and surprised person. Classes are conducted based on realistic scenarios. Age, gender, experience or condition do not matter here, anyone can start training.
Krav Maga as a system of hand-to-hand combat and self-defense came to Poland in 1995. It was brought to Poland and the Krav Maga Institute was founded by Tomasz Adamczyk (over 45 years of training in various combat systems, including 35 years of instructor experience), International Krav Maga Instructor with Israeli civilian and military qualifications – the so-called instructor of instructors status, organizing a nationwide workshop in Łódź for representatives of the military, police, security services and other formations. The seminar was attended by about 100 people. It was led by Richard Douieb from France.
From that moment on, Tomasz Adamczyk began training initially intended only for anti-terrorist and special units throughout Poland. These were the 1st Special Commando Regiment from Lubliniec and the "Formoza" unit - Navy commandos. Instructor training conducted by Tomasz Adamczyk resulted in the adoption of Krav Maga as the basic hand-to-hand combat system in these units, and also began to shape the embryo of the later Cadre Group of the Institute.
The first Krav Maga instructor course in Poland was led by Tomasz Adamczyk in 1998. A dozen or so people from all over Poland participated in the half-year cycle of weekend seminars, ending with a 2-day exam (documented on video). The standards were set very high.
The beginning of colaboration with the highest Krav Maga instructor – EYAL YANILOV (Israel) opened a new stage in the development of the system in Poland.
In 1999, the first course was held at the Naval Training Center in Ustka. Thanks to the commitment of Commander Edmund Sarna and Jarosław Damołążek, this also resulted in the official introduction of Krav Maga to the training of sailors at this center.
In 2000, broader teaching of Krav Maga self-defense began in civilian sections throughout Poland, and today instructors from the Institute's Staff Group conduct classes in over 70 cities in Poland.
The Institute's Staff Group is today a powerful, several dozen-strong, professional team of instructors, assistants and instructor assistants – trained in special seminars, internships, camps and courses – led by the national head of training, Tomasz Adamczyk, and instructors from Israel.
Tomasz Adamczyk, was a member of the elite, several-person team of world top Krav Maga experts GLOBAL INSTRUCTORS TEAM for over 15 years, training special forces and anti-terrorist units around the world. In December 2012, Master Tomasz Adamczyk, together with a group of Krav Maga instructors from around the world, founded a new organization UNITED KRAV MAGA WORLD ORGANISATION.