Imrich Lichtenfeld probably didn’t envision that the style of street combat he invented would become so popular outside of Israel, where it has long been taught in the military.

In the 1980s, this defensive martial art went international, and lately it’s expanded even more, explains Megan Cohen Kaddouch, the top-ranked female Krav Maga practitioner.

“It’s so popular because it can be taught to anyone from six to 60,” says Robert Bennet, a Scottish student of Krav Maga. Like many other Krav Maga students, he chose to learn it in Israel.

“They want to come to the source,” says instructor Avi Moyal, “from those who actually invented and developed Krav Maga.”