Word: maga
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...holds and bear hugs, wrestle away weapons, fight on the ground and fend off multiple attackers. Anything goes, including groin kicks, elbow jabs, head butts, hair pulling, biting and eye gouging. "There are no rules," explains Levine, an L.A. County prosecutor and the highest-ranking American instructor in Krav Maga. "If it's illegal in boxing, we're doing...
Levine, a onetime martial-arts student, imported Krav Maga to the West Coast in 1981, following a stint in Israel, where he learned from grand master Imi Lichtenfeld, the late creator of Krav Maga. Back home, Levine began teaching the system to a handful of Los Angeles students while he attended law school. When he opened his training center last year, he had an instant hit on his hands. Membership has shot past 1,000, and another branch is planned...
...need the buff body of a Bruce Lee to take advantage of Krav Maga, although that may indeed be the end result. Training is open to all ages, physiques and levels of physical fitness, and many members attend primarily because Krav Maga offers a wallop of a workout. Scott Gutman, a wannabe Krav Maga instructor, trains at the center four hours a day, six days a week and says he has lost 35 lbs. in a month (all the way down to 245). Linda Siegel, 42, a nurse with a black belt in Taekwondo, says she comes for the fast...
...which fads blossom and wither within nanoseconds, some physical trainers remain skeptics. "There's nothing new under the sun, and that goes for Krav Maga," asserts Emil Farkas, a karate instructor. "They're simply using the Israeli angle as a sales tool to pitch basic self-defense...
Levine responds that most martial arts take years to master and are steeped in choreographed moves and ritualistic practices, none of which is likely to be much help against a mugger. The fundamentals of Krav Maga, on the other hand, can be learned in a matter of months. "I'm convinced Krav Maga is hands-down the best system going," says Detective Brian Arnspiger, defensive-tactics trainer of the Burbank police department. "It's saving lives and decreasing injuries to both officers and suspects by providing us with quick, simple ways of subduing suspects without having to resort...