VES
As same as in most police/army systems it’s very difficult to
make changes without making a revolution.
At that time I joined the top Israeli Counter Terror unit as an
NCO with the rank of Master Sergeant and became trainer of
the world’s top Israeli unit that has helped to build KAPAP as a
system. KAPAP was nameless at that time and was mixture of
everything that I taught . As I moved to the USA later on many
asked what was the name of the system. The existing name Krav
Maga was more marketing and business oriented and at that
time it was connected with some people from the underground
who have tried to trademark something they didn’t own and sell
certificates. I made a decision to make a difference in the market
and I called it KAPAP in 1992; Israeli Krav Maga. It was meant to
make a change by creating a new and solid identity of the true
Israeli martial arts recognized as KAPAP. It happened that later
on many have tried to trademark the name and steal the name
so it was changed to KAPAP Combatives and today it is known
as A.N.A. – Avi Nardia Academy for only the teacher can make a
difference and show that it’s not the title that makes the person
but the opposite the person makes the title...
I have been a father of KAPAP in the top unit of Israeli counter
terrorism and I have brought to light the old name that was long
time forgotten, KAPA Face to face combat. Back in 2000 there was
only one school who was teaching KAPAP and there was only one
web site owned by me and representing my school. Today you
can find numerous individuals claiming to be the real KAPAP.
I don’t mind for good quality always finds its way to stand out
in the crowd and be recognized by true people.
If you ask me KAPAP could be even called a banana! I am
trying to present my knowledge in the right way and teach
everything I know BUT since Israeli Martial art and Krav Maga
were perceived in a wrong way I wanted to set some borders and
demand more professionalism on all levels not to turn the system
into a marketing product but to bring back the respect to the
instructors from the old days who have made the Israeli Martial
art unique and brilliant in so many ways that most people forget
to mention and take credit only for themselves.
PMCI: When and where did you start running your courses?
In 1992 I came back to Israel from the Far East where I spent
most of my time in Japan as a student for almost 8 years
studying different martial arts. My job was part of the project
run by Colonel Avi Harush RIP. It was supposed to prepare young
recruits for joining the Special Forces in Israeli army. This is when
I started teaching KAPAP as a system but only part time. Later on
when I got recruited to the top counter terrorist unit of Israel as a
member and a trainer I became a full time KAPAP trainer.
The KAPAP system was also used by instructors in the
operational police academy but since they had their own
curriculum “ HAGANA Hatsmit “ ( Defensive Tactic ) the police
didn’t allow this kind of an open minded program like army did or
counter terrorism unit. The police had very rigid system and didn’t
allow the input of new ideas but at least they allowed instructors
to take classes.
When I moved to the USA around 2002 I started teaching
KAPAP to the USA army, Marines, Navy, Police and SWAT SRT teams.
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