Developed as a close combat technique by the Israeli Defense Force, Krav Maga was founded by Imi Lichtenfeld, who added street fighting techniques to his formal training in boxing and wrestling when he was faced with ethnic violence on the streets of 1930s’ Prague. After moving to prestate Israel, he began to synthesize his skills to create a close combat technique for the armed services. When he retired from the IDF in 1964, he began to adapt the technique for civilians. Today Krav Maga (contact combat in Hebrew) is taught for self-defense and fitness around the world.
For Arizonan Jay Ackerman, Krav Maga and its roots in eastern Europe and Israel is especially relevant since most of his parents’ relatives and siblings died in the Holocaust. Now Jay, his wife, Joy, and son, Josh, operate React Defense, which has three Krav Maga training sites in Arizona, with a fourth due to open this month.
Prior to 2001, there were no certified Krav Maga instructors in Arizona. Then, seeking experienced martial artists to become certified in the Israeli defense technique, Krav Maga Worldwide chose Jay Ackerman to represent the state of Arizona. Jay already had an extensive background and martial arts experience both as a teacher and a fighter.
Krav Maga is a realistic system anyone can learn to use to defend themselves and their loved ones. Techniques are based on the body’s natural reaction to stress, making it an instinctive response to a threat, explain the Ackermans. Krav Maga is a reality-based street self-defense system rather than a sport. Practical scenario-based training builds a rapid proficiency within the student. “All classes incorporate a high intensity conditioning aspect to simulate a realistic encounter of fatigue and
stress along with the self-defense techniques,” note Jay and Joy. They also offer an extensive conditioning program, ALEET, that involves heavy bag training, interval and core conditioning, as well as advanced system “Tactical Black,” offering elite weapons, fight and firearms instructional training. More than 20% of the Ackermans’ some 2,000 students are active law enforcement officers.
“Jay is the highest level ‘Force Trained’ civilian law enforcement instructor’s in the nation,” says Joy. React Defense is also the Southwest Krav Maga Worldwide
regional training center, one of only four nationwide. “We certify other future instructors for schools across the nation that are a KMW official affiliate,” says Joy.
The Ackermans community efforts focus on training local school staff in preparedness training for their and students’ safety. “We also are very involved with Stop Cancer/ Marni Fund, a charitable organization,” says Joy. “Finding a cure for breast cancer is the focus of the fund. We have an annual fundraising event ‘Rock for the Cure’ that has raised to date close to $100,000, which is matched in kind by hospitals to be put forth to a research grant for scientific research to find a cure.”
React Defense has been named Krav Maga school for the year and received the KMW humanitarian award from 2007 to 2012.
React Defense Locations – reactdefense.com
Krav Maga Southwest Regional Training Center | 2620 E. Rose Garden Lane, Suite 3; Phoenix | 602-485-5728
Krav Maga of Glendale | 5930 W. Greenway Road, Suite 1A/2, Glendale | 602-866-5728
Krav Maga of Gilbert | 1550 N. Stonehenge, Suite 102, Gilbert | 480-545-5728
Krav Maga of Chandler (Opening this month) | 2541 N. Arizona Ave., Suite 2, Chandler
