Who is Eyal Yanilov of the International Krav Maga Federation?

Written by IKMF HQ

Eyal Yanilov (born in 1959) studied Krav-Maga under the personal tutelage of its founder, Imi Sde-Or (Lichtenfeld) , and has served as the Grand master's closest assistant and foremost disciple since the early 1980s. Active in this field since 1973, he is now its most senior instructor. Mr. Yanilov is the only individual who carries the highest grade ever given by Imi (Master level 3/Expert level 8) and holds the unique "Founder's Diploma of Excellence" (This diploma was given only to two persons, the other - one of Eyal's top students, Mr. Darren Levine, Expert level 6, of the United States). Eyal Yanilov started his Krav-Maga training with Mr. Eli Avikzar (one of Imi's top students at the time) and soon after- wards began to study directly with the founder himself. At an early age, Eyal was instructing at the training studio that Imi had entrusted to Eli Avikzar, and on many occasions assisted and substituted for the Grandmaster in lessons and preparations with students who were to be tested for grades of expert level. At a later stage, when Imi appointed him Head of the Krav-Maga Professional Committee, Eyal was responsible for preparing and updating the Krav-Maga curriculum. In this capacity Eyal had the task of imparting the new developments and accumulated knowledge, changes in techniques, and the latest training methods to the other senior instructors. In 1984 Grandmaster Imi Sde-Or placed Eyal in charge of preparing the complete and comprehensive series on the Krav-Maga discipline (of which this book is a part). Since then, and until the system's founder passed away in January 1998, the two were deeply engrossed in the task of writing down the principles of Krav-Maga and clarifying its various techniques. Since directing the first self-defense instructors course for American citizens, in 1981, Eyal Yanilov has been teaching a large number of Krav-Maga and self-defense instructors courses in many countries around the world, under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Education and the International Krav-Maga Federation (IKMF) . Eyal, together with his most advanced students who serve as local directors or chief instructors in their countries, are the key force in spreading Krav-Maga teaching throughout the world. Mr. Yanilov is currently serving as Chairman and Chief Instructor of the IKMF, and heads the International School of Krav-Maga. In this capacity, he is in charge of the development, definition, and dissemination of the system. Mr. Yanilov is a graduate of the School for Trainers and Instructors at the Wingate Institute for Sport and Physical Education, and also holds a degree in Electrical Engineering. He has spent years training fighters of elite units and members of special anti terrorist squads, while teaching at colleges for physical education instructors. Since the early eighties Eyal has been training different groups, in various seminars and courses: ordinary civilians coming to learn self-defense, military units, police units, executive protection personnel, special units, SWAT teams, and other security-oriented groups in Israel, Europe, South America, and the United States. Within this context, he specializes in improving the fighting skills and general abilities of members of these groups. Mr. Yanilov's main objective now is to educate future Krav-Maga instructors around the world, and he always enjoys promoting any such initiative in this direction.