Talking about the creation and foundation of KM will always, and must, lead to a mention of Imi Lichtenfeld. Imi cannot be denied the honour and respect deserving to someone who creates such a thing as KM.

Imi didn't look to con people out of money with some new martial art or become some sort of idol who competes in secret tournaments that no one has ever seen or heard of. No, Imi created a system of combative techniques in order to help a Jewish community defend itself against acts of violence, and then a militia to defend itself against others who sought to destroy the Jewish people.

You will not find it hard to find an established KM organisation which links its own creation to Imi himself or an instructor who trained directly under Imi. That being said, many KM establishments today use this link (however loose it may be) to show you that they teach the original KM as taught by Imi. Rarely do I believe this. They either don't have a link to Imi directly or they don't really know how or what he taught so they don't teach "original" KM.

Let's pretend for a moment though that they do both have a direct link to Imi and they teach KM in the way Imi did. (Note: Some schools can actually, justifiably, claim this). Now we are pretending this school is there, we ask ourselves, is the way KM was taught by Imi the most effective version of KM; the best way? Is "original" KM the best? I dare say no.

There are people in sports who become pioneers and their names are ingrained in most of us forever. Think Michael Jordan, Bruce Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Schumacher, Diego Maradona, Muhammed Ali, etc. These people set records, created something no one had seen before, or attended to their profession in a way unmatched at the time. Is every single pioneer still, to this day, the absolute best in their field? No. Many of them, and their records, have been surpassed by others. Yet, their names are ingrained in us.

Take Bruce Lee. I love the guy and what he did for Eastern Martial Arts in the Western world. He was a pioneer, a revolutionary of his art, whatever you may call it. Yet, despite how much his nuthuggers dare not believe it, Bruce and his art may not have fared well in today's martial arts world. There are constant debates of, "who would win in a fight between Bruce Lee and..." and, "who would win: Muhammed Ali or..." We don't actually know but there are those who refuse to believe that their beloved icons would not be invincible against today's warriors in their fields. The truth is, they (from their time) could likely be destroyed by many (from our time).

Why? Time permits evolution. Arts evolve. We evolve arts based on current circumstances or situations we may face. We evolve them based on what we learn. We enhance them. As the aggressor evolves, we too must evolve our defence. This is how it is. Krav Maga is no different.

I remember reading a story by Bas Rutten when he first started training in KM with Amir Perets. In brief, Bas stated that he showed Amir and his class a better technique for something than that of what was currently being taught. Amir's response was immediate: "This is now Krav Maga." True Krav Maga constantly evolves.

So, Imi's original Krav Maga, so often preached as being taught by many of today's organisations--if true--probably isn't a good thing unless they teach Imi's true vision and intention of Krav Maga; to constantly evolve "so that one may walk in peace...at all times". Consider this when deciding on choosing an authentic KM school.