When looking for a Krav Maga (KM) instructor, who should you listen to? Moni Azik with Commando Krav Maga or David Kahn with Israeli Krav Maga? Or should I follow the Alain Cohen or Darren Levine style of Krav Maga?
Each is a master in this field, but each has a different method of instruction. Let’s take a closer look at the best instructors so you can decide which one is right for you.
1.) Moni Azik with Commando KM is undoubtedly one of the most famous experts. It has a very polished website and has been featured on the Discovery Channel, History Channel, Fox News, and a host of nationally distributed magazines.
Commando Krav Maga (CKM) is unique in that it provides training through traveling classes in most major American cities, as well as Canada and European locations. These bootcamps are for certified instructors and the general public. You can even schedule some private lessons with Moni Azik the day before or after one of her CKM Boot Camps.
2.) Another expert and instructor is David Kahn with Israeli KM, a school in New Jersey. David Kahn was trained with Grandmaster Haim Gidon, who is the highest ranked KM black belt ever promoted by founder Imi Lichtenfeld. It has been said that “David is possibly the most connected to the honest Israeli special operations men of all in America.”
David Kahn has written one of the essential books for the method called Krav Maga: An Essential Guide To The Renowned Method – For Exercise And Self Defense.
3.) There is also Alain Cohen, who heads the KM Federation. His specialty is personal safety and protection. He is a security consultant for large companies and has written several books, including Israeli defense system Krav Maga.
Alain Cohen also has a DVD course and seminar that travels around the United States.
4.) Darren Levine is probably the best known instructor in the United States and has a center in Los Angeles, California. It has one of the largest studios in the world called the KM Worldwide Training Center. It also has the largest reality-based self-defense organization in the world with over 240 licensed schools and claims to have trained over 500 government and law enforcement agencies.
Darren Levine is a prosecutor for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and was awarded a Founder’s Diploma by Imi Lichtenfeld for his Special Excellence in KM. Imi awarded this diploma to only 2 people in the world: Darren Levine and Eyal Yanilov. These diplomas were awarded to the people that Imi wanted to be the future leaders in the field.
5.) Eyal Yanilov of the International Federation of GC is another teacher and holds the only “Founder’s Diploma of Excellence”, which was awarded to only one other instructor, Darren Levine.
Offering one of the first classes for American citizens, Eyal Yanilov has been teaching courses for instructors around the world, under the auspices of the Israel Ministry of Education and the International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF). Eyal Yanilov is the key force in spreading the method around the world.
Hopefully, you can now identify the main players in the Israeli self-defense method. Each expert has his or her own personal style of instruction, and each instructor appeals to a different demographic.
Whoever you choose to follow, keep in mind that Krav Maga is an “unrestricted” method of real-world self-defense on the street.