V.I.P’s of the Krav Maga World: Rick Blitstein

In 1977 Rick began his Krav Maga training while living in Israel on Kibbutz Ein Harrod Me’uchad.  He grew up learning kung-fu and was introduced to Krav Maga by several  “Kibbutzniks” that wanted to show him what he knew was not effective against real violence.

Rick soon learned that his new friends were in top commando units of the IDF, and they took him through some brutal training to show what Krav Maga was all about. During this time he was introduced to Grandmaster Imi Lichtenfeld.

When 1979 rolled around,  Grandmaster Imi and many of his top black belt students travelled to the United States to tour the country and demonstrate Krav Maga to the public.  Rick met with them and was personally invited by Grandmaster Imi to come back to Israel to attend the first International Instructors course, with the purpose of bringing IKM back to the USA.

In 1981, he and a handful of Krav Maga practitioners travelled to Netanya, Israel to complete this super demanding and challenging Krav Maga instructor course.

This course was held in the hopes to bring quality Krav Maga instruction and training to the United States. Rick and the other participants were trained by Israeli Krav Maga Experts (under the watchful eye of Imi LIctenfeld). At the end of the course, Rick received his certification signed by Grandmaster Imi Lictenfeld

Imi and Rick formed very close bonds and spent much time training together in both Israel and the United States. For many of the past twenty years.

Krav Maga Systems will soon be chatting to Rick on the Krav Chats Podcast. If you have any questions or want to hear any specific stories, let us know by commenting 🙂