Birmingham Krav Maga is an expanding club operating in the heart of Birmingham, and is one of a small number clubs in the UK supported by the FEKM, which gives us direct access to the key instruction and principles of Krav Maga. In line with the principles of the FEKM, we have founded the British Federation of Krav Maga, to support the club as it grows.

We believe that Krav Maga is probably the most effective method for the rapid development of fast, simple, effective and controlled self defence – the truth of which is supported by the fact that it is the system of choice for army, police and security forces around the world.

Our approach is friendly and we pride ourselves in the thoroughness of our instruction and in our care for our students. Krav Maga was designed by the founder to be accessible and effective for as many people as possible – not only physically and mentally but also financially. As a result we keep the costs down as much as possible, and have as many training sessions in a week as we can to enable everyone to have access to quality teaching.

Our primary focus is on teaching the safe, effective and lawful application of what is, after all, a potentially lethal set of techniques and principles. We positively encourage all students to achieve to the fullest of their ability and strive to enable everyone to push their boundaries and develop their skills. We have found from experience that this helps us all to grow as human beings as well.

Krav Maga was developed in the 1930s by Imi Lichtenfeld, who in 1948 became Chief Instructor of Physical Fitness and Krav Maga for the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). After he started the IKMA in 1978, the FBI sent 22 people to Israel to attend a Krav Maga Basic Instructor Course, since which time it has expanded all over the world.

The FEKM (European Federation of Krav Maga) was created in 1997 by Richard Douieb, to whom Imi Lichtenfeld gave the responsibility for Krav Maga in Europe, and now includes more than 12000 members across 9 countries. It is the largest and most well respected Krav Maga organisation in Europe.

Self defence is the essential framework of Krav Maga and is made up of a variety of techniques and responses to a wide variety of attacks (armed or unarmed) and from various positions (upright, seated, lying down). Krav-Maga is not simply another martial art even though there are similar techniques, however each individual must follow a strict growth pattern by following the syllabus which is set up in 5 standard grades white to black.

Hand to hand combat is the more advanced phase of Krav Maga where one is taught ways in which to neutralize an opponent quickly and effectively using elements which are, strictly speaking, more concerned with actual fighting: tactics, feints, and various attack combinations.

If you want to develop into a Krav Maga instructor, there is a route for you to follow, and part of it involves going to 3 special training sessions with the FEKM in France with Richard Douieb.