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BEHIND THE HEADLINES
THE YAMAM and ISRAELI KAPAP/CQB TRAINING
Israel's Counter-Terror Unit Emploies a Mixture of Speed, Silence and Skill!
By Tad Nelson (Former USA Navy/SWAT Member)
On a sunny day in June 2003, according
to witnesses, a group of men who looked
like Palestinian laborers were seen transporting diapers and lounging
around a van outside of a mosque in Hebron. When a Hamas terrorist
mastermind named Kawasme emerged from the crowd of worshippers,
he unexpectedly came face to face with the group of men transporting
the diapers as they pulled out their firearms and ordered him
to stop. Kawasme, who was responsible for several terrorist bombings
that had killed 52 people in Israel, had no way of knowing that
the men he was now facing were undercover Israeli agents, members
of an elite Israeli Special Forces unit known as the Yamam.
In March 1988, three terrorists seized
a bus carrying employees on their way
to work near the city of Dimona. The
Yamam arrived at the scene first and
took operational command. When the terrorists
broke off negotiations and turned their
guns on the passengers, the Yamam launched
a three-pronged assault as each squad
rushed a different section of the bus.
In all, the “Mothers Bus” operation
took a little more than a half minute
to complete resulting in only three Israeli
fatalities - hostages shot by the terrorists.
These are just a few publicized examples
of the types of operations carried out
by the Yamam, which carries out more
than 900 counter terror operations a
year. Recently, when asked about the
effectiveness of the Yamam, a source
from the Israeli Prime Minister‘s
office stated, “The Yamam is a
totally professional unit that can virtually
guarantee a clean kill or capture. It
is the top unit in Israel today.”
Every
year, out of the 12,000 potential recruits
that apply from Israeli Army Special
Forces units, less than 10 recruits make
it through the grueling 12 months of
training. Part of the training includes
extensive work in hand-to-hand combat,
simply known as Kapap or “Krav
Panim El Panim.” After graduating,
members continue their training in Kapap
even though most carry black belts in
several other martial arts. It is this
type of hand-to-hand training that allows
a select few within the Yamam to be used
for so-called “black operations” on
behalf of the Shin Bet security service
and the Mossad. Although the Yamam is
an excellent springboard for a career,
many veterans go freelance after only
a few years with many of these veterans
operating some of the best Israeli security
schools. Other Yamam veterans end up
in darker areas of the globe training
teams of bodyguards and mercenaries.
Today, I met up with Avi Nardia,
a retired member an official Israeli defensive tactics/CQB instructor, as he was conducting
training for the Upland SWAT Team in
Riverside, California.
Mr. Nardia is not only one of Israel’s
top martial arts instructors, but he
is also the only Israeli instructor to
teach Kapap/CQB to the Yamam unit, Israeli
Krav Maga to the Israeli Defense Force
(IDF), and Hagana Hatzmit (defensive
tactics) at the Israeli Operational Police
Academy – which is mandatory training
for all law enforcement units in Israel.
I asked him to comment on the Israeli
martial arts of today since there seems
to be a variety of names and organizations
associated with the term “Israeli” or “Krav
Maga.” This is what he had to say:
Israeli Krav Maga is a beautiful CQB system created by one of the
most influential and leading instructors in Israel’s history
- Imi Lichtenfield or as others know him, Imi Or-Sadeh, may he rest
in peace. However, Krav Maga is a generic term and is defined in
Israel as a hand-to-hand fighting system based on close quarters
combat. Again, it is a generic term with “Maga” meaning
close quarter or touch/contact and “Krav” meaning battle
or combat. Around the late 70’s and 80’s, this system
was introduced to the civilian sector by Imi with most of his knowledge
being based upon his experience with boxing and wrestling. Because
military and law enforcement agencies in Israel and around the world
have a limited amount of time in which to teach the participants,
the program of many of the Israeli CQB systems will be based on
simplicity. These techniques will also be basic, allowing the participant
to learn and perform the techniques in a quick and timely manner.
Another factor that comes into play is liability. What is taught
to the Israeli military sector is definitely not taught to the law
enforcement sector, and what is taught to the law enforcement sector
is not taught to the civilian sector. The reason for this is that
the threat levels are simply not the same so the time that they
get for training and the techniques they are taught are not the
same. A military unit that is only doing intelligence gathering
does not need the same type of CQB training as a unit that performs
high-risk procedures such as a take-over unit. This is what people
who think they are taking Israeli martial arts need to recognize.
Not all Israeli units get the same kind of CQB training. Believe
it or not, some units such as tank units don’t get any CQB
training at all.
This is why it is important to ask
instructors who are claiming to teach
Israeli CQB if they were in the Israeli
army or in the Israeli police or if
they were in the civilian sector. The
truth is you won’t find a majority
of Israeli CQB instructors in the civilian
sector teaching at the police or Secret
Service academies in Israel because
the level of intensity is much higher.
The only common denominator is that
almost all of the Israeli army, police,
and civilian instructors will use the
term Krav Maga to indicate that they
are conducting some type of martial
arts training. However, the reality
is that there are actually specialized
forms of Krav Maga that are more specific
and that use different names to describe
each discipline. For instance, Ran
Cohen and Gabi Ishai, both former Israeli
Secret Service instructors, use the
term “Operational Krav Maga.” Another
former instructor after Imi Lichtenfield,
Eli Avikazar, rest in peace, changed
the name from Krav Maga to “Krav
Magen.” One of the top Israeli
Army instructors, Lt. Colonel Chaim
Peer, uses the term “Kapap/Lotar,” while
at the same time the counter-terrorism
unit Yamam, which at one time used
the term “Lochama Zeira,” which
means micro combat, also use the term “Kapap/Lotar.” Another
example is Dennis Hanover who uses
the term “Hisardut Survival.” Moni
Aizik uses “Commando Krav Maga,” Mike
Lee Kanrek uses the term “Hagana,” Gadi
Skornik uses “Gadi Kenpo,” while
others such as Chaim Zoot, Chaim Gideon,
Gabi Noach, Derren Levin and many more
continue to use the generic term Krav
Maga.
Although the Israeli army uses
the term Krav Maga, which, by the way,
has nothing to do with the civilian
market since the Israeli army curriculum
doesn’t follow the civilian curriculum,
the police academy uses the term “Hagana
Atsmit,” which means self-defense.
The reason for this is that the police
want to convey an image of self-defense
for arrest and control - a less lethal
approach than that of the military.
Also, the police academy considers
the term Krav Maga as being too political
to use because too many organizations
were fighting over who had the right
to use it and because it really has
nothing to do with being the official
fighting system of the Israeli police
or the Israeli army. The reason for
this is that all of them are private
organizations anyway, with no one organization
being more “official” than
the other.
So, you can see that the term Krav Maga is a general
term. More specifically, to Israeli’s, the term Krav Maga
is the same term as what Karate is to the Japanese. The question
is, if you are training in Japanese Karate, do you know Shotokan,
Kyokoshin Kai, or Wado Ryu? These styles all have different founders
and are from different organizations, but they are all Karate. The
same idea applies to Krav Maga. Another example of how Krav Maga
is viewed in Israel can be seen on Israeli medical insurance cards.
These insurance cards will read what physical restrictions an individual
has and often times they will restrict
persons from doing any type of activity such as running, biking,
Krav Maga, or lifting, while they are in rehabilitation. However,
this does not mean a person cannot do Krav Maga, it only means the
person cannot do any type of martial arts training.
I think, originally,
Israeli martial arts were more of a concept
rather than a traditional martial arts system such
as Judo or Karate. At first, the idea
was to study Israeli CQB and also keep training in the traditional
martial arts to obtain some sort of black belt. Unfortunately, many
Israeli’s left
the original concept of Israeli CQB and
decided to take a shorter path in an
attempt to gain respect from others based on the color of the belt
that they wear around their waist. Today the market is full of 10th
Dan black belts that if you were to ask them to do a roll or “Ukemi,” or
even a simple move, you can see that they are missing the basic
skills needed to defend themselves in a real encounter. The same
attempt at gaining respect is true with Israeli’s that advertise
themselves as Israeli self-defense instructors. If you were to ask
most of those instructors if they were ever an instructor in the
Israeli Special Forces, the Israeli army, or the Israeli police
academy, if they are telling you the truth, they will tell you they
were not.
This is why the martial art of Kapap is so important
because it is not a system built around attaining a colored belt.
Also, Kapap instructors are Israeli military, police, and Special
Forces instructors who continue to teach basic principles that were
created by Lt. Colonel Chaim Peer, the founder of the International
Kapap Federation, and it is those same principles we and our students
continue to build upon. As I’ve said before,
it is always better to be a student and,
at times, a teacher. It is also better to be a student of reality
than a master of illusion because the reality is that there are
two kinds of fights, one for your ego and one for your life. The
Israeli martial art of Kapap/CQB was developed for the fight for
your life and to help you develop the mindset of “one mind,
any weapon.”
The Development of Israeli Kapap/CQB
Unfortunately,
Israel is the most experienced nation
in the world when it comes to terrorism and that is why it has developed
one of the most valued CQB training systems in the world - the
Israeli martial art of Kapap/CQB, which
has been written in special ink called blood. The knowledge gained
in developing the martial art of Kapap/CQB came from not only the
experience of successful operations against terrorist attacks, but
many times it came by making tragic mistakes. It was after these
mistakes occurred that better techniques were developed to avoid
making the same tragic mistakes again. For this reason, the Israeli
martial art of Kapap/CQB is about evolution and evaluation. Even
today, the weapons of warfare and self-defense have evolved from
earlier techniques and strategies. For example, a few hundred years
ago the bow and arrow was a combat tool, while today we have guns
- the bow and arrow of modern times and of modern martial arts.
Just as the arrow was once the edged weapon projected towards a
target, it is now the bullet that is the edged weapon. And instead
of the bow as the force behind the delivering of the arrow, gunpowder
now takes on the same role to deliver the bullet. That is why today,
in the evolution of Israeli martial arts such as Kapap, we see guns
being used as an integral part of the training, especially when
it comes to gun disarming. Not only is it important to know how
to disarm a gun, but you must also know how to retain it and, if
necessary, use it.
Israeli CQB training, as well as Israeli Krav
Maga and Kapap, owes its development
to many different individuals. Though most of their names are missing
from any list you will find, they have
all contributed to the art and that is why no one individual can
claim sole ownership of having developed it. As with any martial
art, it is important to understand the origin of Israeli martial
arts and to recognize the culture from which it began. For Israeli’s,
the roots of Israeli CQB came from anti-Semitism
and the Nazi’s
desire to kill the Jews. It is the same
feeling that some radical Muslim groups have today against Jews.
It is from this climate of hatred that has given Israeli’s
their fighting spirit and to fight back, if needed, in order to
survive. This is what Israeli martial arts is all about - to do
whatever it takes to survive the fight. For Israeli’s, the
reality is that when you’re
in a fight for your life it’s not important how good you look
delivering a spinning kick if there is
a chance the technique will kill you. And why will it kill you?
Simply because the spinning back kick is useless and the person
you were fighting against used ugly, but practical, techniques to
live another day.
Israeli Kapap and Traditional Martial
Arts
Kapap was the first CQB training
introduced in Israel and was based on
stick fighting, knives, guns, hand-to-hand and even stone
throwing in the old days. The idea is
to fight with what you have available in your hand. For instance,
when people argue about what gun is the best gun to have or what
knife is the best knife to have the answer is obvious – the
best gun or knife, or any weapon for
that matter, is the one you have in your hand when you need it.
This is also the main idea behind Israeli Kapap/CQB. It was not
developed to create a new Ryu and lots of 10th Dan grandmasters
so that Israel could have a place in the international arena of
martial arts. That is why there are no uniforms or belts or ranks
or even bowing to an opponent when sparring or training. All are
considered useless because they serve no purpose in an encounter
involving a real, life threatening situation. An example of what
occurs during a real encounter occurred last year with a traditional
martial artist who was shot to death during a fight in parking lot.
Although he was a kickboxing champion he lost his life to his assailant
who shot him after he tried to grab the assailant’s gun. Certainly,
if it was a fight in the ring the martial
artist probably would have won the fight.
However, the fight was for his life and not for prize money. This
is not to say that every encounter will end successfully, but how
you respond to a situation will depend on whether or not you have
the ability to effectively defend yourself or the mentality to accept
the fact that it is okay to run away from a situation in order to
stay alive.
As mentioned
earlier Israeli Kapap is based on evolution
and evaluation, which is done for every technique in order to examine
if it accomplishes what it is designed to accomplish. In Kapap,
techniques are also evaluated to determine whether any soldier or
police officer can do it and, for civilians, whether they can be
done by the weakest man or woman. The techniques must also be easy
to teach. If the individual or group has a very limited time to
train, easier and simpler techniques can be implemented to accommodate
these training needs. However, if there is time to train, better
and more specific techniques are also taught. Another important
consideration for teaching Kapap is liability. When teaching military
personnel, you teach soldiers to stay in the killing zone and continue
the assault on the enemy. For a civilian, just the opposite applies.
If after disarming a knife an individual decides to stay in the
fight and attempts to kill the attacker there is a good chance that
individual will be spending time in jail. Also, when teaching police
officers, there are other things to consider since just about every
law enforcement agency has a defensive tactics program that must
not only be politically correct, but must also meet any legal and
medical requirements before being implemented. So, although Kapap
is specific in its application it is still flexible enough to be
used in any arena to meet liability concerns.
Today, CQB is a modern martial art while traditional
martial arts are considered older styles. It is when these two are
combined, the old with the new, that they can then be effective.
In essence, modern martial arts can't live without the traditional
martial arts nor can the traditional martial arts live without the
modern martial arts. The bottom line is, when some one is going
to kick you your life is not at risk, only your ego. However, when
someone pulls a knife or points a gun at you, you need to know how,
when and if you should act. If someone says, “Give me your money” the
best defense is to give him your money.
If the encounter becomes more life threatening then you must also
defend yourself. The question is - do you have the tools to know
what to do and how to do it? The Israeli martial art of Kapap is
the self-defense system that can provide you with these tools when
your life, not your ego, is on the line.
“THAT’S THE WAY IT’S
ALWAYS BEEN AROUND HERE”
Sound familiar? This concept has no
borders. It is found in our homes and
in our places of business. It is passed
on from individual to individual and
even from group to group. It is no
different in the martial arts community.
This concept can be illustrated by
an experiment conducted by scientists
involving a group of monkeys. The experiment
involved five monkeys and a banana.
Inside a cage, a banana hangs down
from the ceiling as it dangles on
a piece of string just above a set of
stairs. Before long, one of the monkeys
walked over towards the banana and
as soon as he touched the stairs
all of the other monkeys got sprayed with
ice-cold water. After a while, another
monkey made an attempt to get to
the banana with the same result - all the
monkeys got sprayed with ice-cold
water. A few minutes went by and a third monkey
made an attempt to get to the banana.
However, this time, all the other
monkeys aggressively tackled him and prevented
him from touching the stairs because
they believed they would all be sprayed
with ice-cold water. Now, after turning
off the cold water, a monkey was
removed from the cage and replaced with a new
monkey.
Once inside the cage, the new
monkey saw the banana and began walking
towards the stairs and immediately,
to his surprise and horror, all of
the other monkeys began to attack
him. This same monkey tried a second time
to reach the stairs and was attacked
once again. Finally, the monkey realized
that if he tried to climb the stairs
he would be attacked and decided
to make no more attempts to get to the
banana. Then, just as before, one
of the original monkeys was removed from
the cage and replaced with a new
monkey. Once again, the new monkey saw the
banana and began walking towards
the stairs and, just like the other monkey,
was attacked. Surprisingly, even
the previous newcomer took part in the
attack with enthusiasm.
Finally, a third original monkey was
replaced with a new monkey. And, just
as before, as the new monkey made it
to the stairs to try to get to the
banana, he was attacked by the other
monkeys. Even the new monkeys that
never experienced being sprayed with
the cold water attacked the new monkey
with no idea as to why they were attacking
him. They didn’t even know why
they weren’t permitted to climb
the stairs. As a result, any new monkey
that is placed with the group will
continue to act this way so that no
monkey can ever climb the stairs to
get to the banana. And why is this?
As far as they know it’s because, “That’s
the way it's always been around here!”
Unfortunately,
it appears this mentality has found
its way into the martial arts community.
Asking why a technique is used or how
effective the technique is will usually
result in one of the most common answers
being given in response to these types
of questions – “Because
that’s the way we’ve always
done it.” That is why Kapap students
are taught to open their mind and to
feel free to evaluate a technique to
confirm it is both realistic and effective.
Remember, only dead fish swim with
the flow! If a technique works then
continue to use it and if it doesn’t,
then get rid of it, regardless of the
martial art system. It could be Kapap,
Kendo, Karate, Krav Maga, Kali, Jiu-Jitsu,
Tae Kwon Do, or any of the other martial
arts systems. That’s the beauty
of Kapap - evolution and evaluation,
truly an open minded martial art.
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