Guardian Defence

Tactical Krav Maga

Literally meaning “Contact Combat”, Krav Maga has it’s roots in Czechoslovakia in the 1930’s. The economic and political unrest of the time created growing pressure on the Jewish community¹, and in response Imi Lichtenfeld, an expert in boxing and wrestling, began to learn various useful self-defence techniques from different styles. By the time he was forced out of Europe by the unbearable conditions for Jews, Lichtenfeld immigrated to the Land of Israel which was then under British control. Here he joined the ‘Hagana’ (Defence) who’s primary job was to protect Jewish settlements. Lichtenfeld’s talents were quickly noticed and he was assigned to teach unarmed combat and it is here that he started combining techniques from different styles such as judo, jujitsu, karate, western boxing and wrestling. What all the techniques had in common, was their effectiveness in combat. With the establishment of the State of Israel, Krav Maga was adopted as the official close combat style of the Israel Defence Forces and the Israel Police Force. ²

The Krav Maga system continued to grow and change, continually being further developed to become a streamlined system that is relevant to today’s threats. Tactical Krav Maga continues that tradition. A refined set of punches, kicks, chokes and take-downs are employed, always with the goal of neutralizing the threat as quickly as possible. Our primary targets are the eyes, throat and groin, due to their susceptibility to injury, regardless of the size of the attacker. We utilise our environment to increase our defence and learn to defend attacks from commonly used weapons.

The system is designed to be effective in real situations and our training provides you with the opportunity to practice techniques whilst under duress. This reality-based training enables you to be confident, knowing that you are ready to handle real situations. You learn to stick to the goal of neutralizing the attacker/s, no matter what, even when it’s hard, even when you are exhausted. This kind of warrior mindset is immensely powerful and rewarding. It has the potential to drive you forward in many areas of your life.

Our system is divided into ten gradable units of information. The syllabus is under continual refinement, ensuring it remains pertinent to today’s threats and situations.

Unit 1 – Understanding the Problem, General Tactics including Pre-fight tactics.
Unit 2 – Striking Techniques, bursting, footwork, stances, combinations and chaining. Pre-fight techniques and application. 
Stand-up fighting skills for reality.
Unit 3 – Defensive tactics against strikes, stabs, slashes.
Unit 4 – Utilising improvised weapons for defence – Small items, shield, stick, knife.
Unit 5 – Release from chokes, grabs and holds standing and on the ground. Empty-hand Control techniques. Defence from being held and hit. Defence from pushing and pulling.
Unit 6 – Take-downs, throws and falls.
Unit 7 – Sitting and Grounded Fighting
Unit 8 – Knife and firearms threats
Unit 9 – Third party protection. Dealing with Multiple Attackers.
Unit 10 – Dealing with unpredictable situations under duress. Environmental Scenario training.

Technical Director and Founder of Tactical Krav Maga - Itay Gil

The driving force behind Tactical Krav Maga is Itay Gil. Featured on the ‘Human Weapon’ series on the history channel, Itay’s international reputation as one of the foremost experts in the field of Krav Maga defensive tactics is rapidly growing. Those of us who have been privileged enough to have trained with Itay, knew that already.

Based in Israel, Itay is an IDF Captain and served in Israel's special forces paratroops brigade. After completing his compulsory service , he was chosen to join Israel's elite counter-terror and hostage rescue commando unit "Yamam", where he became a career combatant. In Yamam, Mr Gil participated in as many as three missions each day over the course of ten years. Consequently, Mr. Gil became the chief close-quarter combat instructor for the unit.

Mr. Gil has adapted his 33-years of hand to hand and Krav Maga actual combat study to meet the needs of the real-life situations he faced in his fourteen years of active duty combat experience.

From 1992-1997 Mr. Gil was the executive director of all training programs for the Israel Border Police as well as the undercover police intelligence unit. During this period, he directed training programs for 5000 policemen and security personnel each year.

Mr. Gil continues to serve in the IDF reserves where he is Captain and senior combat instructor and strategic mission planner for an elite undercover counter-terrorism team. He is also president of his own highly respected and successful security-training firm, ‘Protect’.

You can view Itay in action on the History Channel.

Australasian Training Manager - Carl Halley

Having trained in both Israel and Australia, Australasian Training Manager for TKM, Carl Halley, introduced TKM to Australia. His successful expansion of the system in our country and the Australasia region can be accredited to his clear explanation and highly skilled demonstrations of TKM technique, and his candid teaching style.

Carl has over 25 years Combat Martial Arts experience. He spent six years in the Merchant Navy and has worked for over fourteen years within the Security Industry. He current serves in the Airforce reserves and holds a Certificate 4 in Workplace Training and is a NCAS Level 2 Government Accredited Coach in Martial Arts.