Haim Gidon is a teacher of Krav Maga (: "contact combat"), an

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i-originated

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

and military

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

system taught to military, police forces and civilians worldwide. He was a co-founder of the IKMA (Israeli Krav Maga Association) in 1977. In 1994, upon

Imi Lichtenfeld Imre "Imi" Lichtenfeld ( he, אימריך “אימי” ליכטנפלד; 26 May 1910 – 9 January 1998), also known as Imi Sde-Or ( he, אימי שדאור, label=none), was a Hungarian-born Israeli Martial arts, martial artist. He is widely r ...

's retirement, he became the Grandmaster and president of the Israeli Krav Maga Association. He was granted an 8th dan white and red belt by Imi Lichtenfeld (also known as Imi Sde-Or), the founder of Krav Maga. Today Gidon now holds a 10th dan red belt which is the highest degree in his style of Krav Maga.

Biography

Gidon was a member of Krav Maga founder Imi Lichtenfeld's first training class in the early 1960s. Gidon fought in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

, the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...

, and the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

. After the Six-Day War Gidon resumed his competitive boxing and decided to learn more about the Krav Maga principles he had learned in the military. In 1977, along with Lichtenfeld and other top instructors, Gidon co-founded the Israeli Krav Maga Association (IKMA) which he now heads as president. The IKMA board voted to add (Gidon System) to the IKMA's name to ensure people understand the specific brand and quality of Israeli krav maga that is taught. In 1994 Gidon was elected as IKMA president and opened his current gym and the main training center for the IKMA, located on Ben Zion Street in

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...

, Israel. In 1995 Lichtenfeld nominated Gidon as the top authority to grant 1st dan (level) Krav Maga black belts and up. In an IKMA ceremony Lichtenfeld awarded Gidon an 8th dan (one of only two Lichtenfeld ever awarded) designating Gidon as the highest ranking Krav Maga instructor. The IKMA (Israeli Krav Maga Association) was the original association founded by Imi Lichtenfeld, he appointed Haim as its president when Imi retired. There are a lot of videos and pictures to testify this fact, as well as the moment when Master Gidon earned 8th Dan. Lichtenfeld approved of Gidon's adding extensive groundwork, modified weapons defenses and other additions/improvements to the Krav Maga system. As president of the IKMA he has taught defensive tactics for the last thirty years to Israel's security and military agencies. Haim received a commendation directly from the Office of the Israeli Prime Minister thanking him for his teaching contributions to Israel's security organizations.

References

External links

IKMA Israeli Krav Maga Association.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gidon, Haim Krav Maga practitioners Living people Year of birth missing (living people)