Krav Maga is the world’s most effective and practical form of self defense.  Developed by Imi Lichtenfeld and perfected by Master Eyal Yanilov, it is used by military, law enforcement , security personnel and civilians all over the globe.   San Diego is exceptionally diversified when it comes to the abundance of Krav Maga schools, each offering a unique perspective on the system.   When selecting the best Krav Maga school San Diego there are a few factors to consider, such as legitimacy and qualifications of the instructors, affiliations with global Krav Maga organizations and Eyal Yanilov, school environment, and ultimately how well the classes prepare students to face the violent nature of current real life altercations.

Krav Maga San Diego (KMSD) is the oldest Krav Maga program in San Diego.  It offers short, eight week training courses for its clients.  KMSD is not affiliated with any Internationally recognized Krav Maga Federations.  Instructors are often tested and promoted in-house, which can potentially result in loss of checks and balances that ensure that instructors teach the most up to date and relevant self defense techniques and tactics.  Krav Maga San Diego offers its training mainly out of the aerobics room of the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla and other gyms across San Diego.

Krav Maga Worldwide (KMW) is an American based Krav Maga Federation that has two schools in the San Diego area.  Both schools have a fitness oriented approach to Krav Maga training.  For the most part techniques taught by KMW schools are relatively effective, but due to the lack of direct link to Israel and Master Eyal Yanilov, these techniques do not always represent the most current and battle proven solutions to the constantly changing threats of the modern world.   Both Krav Maga Worldwide schools in San Diego have individual training centers and offer a variety of classes for its students.

International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF) is an Israeli based Krav Maga federation that has an affiliated program in Poway, California.  Until recently IKMF was globally headed by Eyal Yanilov and was considered to be the premier Krav Maga organization in the world.  Currently however, IKMF headed by Avi Moyal, a former student of Eyal Yanilov.  Overall IKMF offers a good level of training and teaches relatively current techniques and tactics to deal with the threats one may face in the real world.  The IKMF program in Poway has two certified instructors that offer classes out of a local CrossFit box.

As of 2010, Mr. Yanilov, being dissatisfied with the general level of IKMF proficiency and instructional inconsistencies, gathered some of the top Instructors from the federation and started a much more selective and demanding organization called Krav Maga Global (KMG).  There are a limited amount of Krav Maga Global schools in USA, with San Diego being the home to one of the first.

Impact Krav Maga, Self Defense is a Krav Maga Global school located in the center of San Diego.  Its training facility is solely designated to teaching the most realistic and up to date Krav Maga to the public.  Impact instructors are certified directly by Eyal Yanilov.  KMG instructors must annually renew their Instructor Certifications in order to maintain active instructor status within the KMG community.  Therefore, Impact’s Krav Maga instructors regularly attend national and international training summits and are routinely tested by Eyal Yanilov and other members of the Krav Maga Global Instructor Team.  This guarantees that Impact offers San Diego the highest standard of Krav Maga instruction and teaches the most current techniques, principles and tactics that are routinely tested and modified by Mr. Yanilov and a handful of other KMG Experts to reflect the real threats of the modern world.