MASTER AVI MOYAL, IKMF CHAIRMAN
Avi Moyal was born in 1966 has been studying Krav Maga since childhood soon demonstrating such proficiency that his instructors began having him teach at an early age. In fact, Avi has been teaching Krav Maga for the last 35 years!
In 1985 he received his "Expert degree" and joined the IDF Marines. Avi completed his Officers training with excellence, and served as a Platoon Commander in a Terror Demolition Unit. He acquired many combat hours and experience while commanding subordinates on special operations in Lebanon including highly specialized missions behind enemy lines with various SWAT units. He also provided VIP protection for a high ranking IDF General and an intelligence officer. After active duty, Avi served as a Reserves Platoon Commander in a special operations unit.
Avi Moyal graduated all of his trainer’s courses including the senior trainer's course in the Wingate Institute. He later conducted instructor’s courses in the Wingate institute for 7 years, and today he is one of the highest ranking Krav Maga Masters in the world. Among Avi’s instructors were Eli Avigzar RIP and of course Imi Lichtenfeld RIP. As a matter of record, Avi was Imi’s direct and most trusted student as demonstrated by the fact that Avi is the former Chairman of the Aguda (the very first Krav Maga organization).
Currently, Avi serves as the Chairman of the International Krav Maga Federation where he leads the organization in continuing the vision of Master Imi Lichtenfeld, the founder and creator of Krav Maga.
Additionally, Avi is the leading expert and authority in Israel in teaching Krav Maga in the governmental sector and serves as Advisor to the Minister of Sport and Education in the area of Krav Maga.
Avi instructs women, children and adults in the Israeli private, commercial and governmental sectors. As a matter of fact, he was the IKMF Master who, at the request of the Israeli government, developed the techniques and teaching programs regarding Women’s Self Defense, Car Rage Defense and Children’s Self Defense.
He also continues to instruct various military units and security organizations world wide as he has done for the last 20 years.
One of the things that make Avi such a renowned and respected authority in the world of Krav Maga is his vast “real world” experience.He has proven IDF combat experience as an officer as previously stated and has also provided VIP protection in the civilian arena for world famous entertainment personalities such as Michael Jackson.
Avi has also published a booklet about Krav Maga for grade school pupils, which is one of his areas of expertise. It is distributed throughout Israel, and it will soon be translated and published abroad.
Special Projects:
- In 1993 Avi served with a group of security personnel assigned as the pop star Michael Jackson's personal bodyguards in his visit to Israel.
- In 1994 he founded a VIP Protection unit for a private body in Brazil.
- In 1995 he was assigned by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office to train its workers in Krav Maga.
- In 1996, after numerous homicides and attempted hijackings and robberies of taxi drivers in Israel, Avi Moyal was at the head of a project that instructed taxi drivers in self-defense and active "skid-car" handling. After the course, the numbers of attacks have depleted drastically.
- 1998 was a time period of attacks by the infamous rapist - Beni Sella. Among his victims were dozens of young Tel-Aviv women. Prior to his apprehension, Tel-Aviv City-Hall recruited Avi Moyal to lead a project that trained Tel-Aviv women in self-defense. The course was highly successful, and it taught hundreds of women to defend themselves from sexual assault using everyday items. In the end of that year, Beni Sella was caught, prosecuted and incarcerated.
- During his work with Tel-Aviv City-Hall, after a few cases of violence, he ran a highly successful self-defense course for the city's parking inspectors.
Today Avi and his wife have four children, and he is the Chairman of the International Krav Maga Federation which runs seminars, workshops and courses for the private and public sectors.
Avi continues to spread the Krav Maga system throughout Asia, Europe and in both North and South America, as well as to many different military forces and Executive Protection units across Europe and North America. He also continues teaching his many students in Israel.