Cottonwood Combat© is aligned with
Israeli Krav International.
Headquartered in Maaleh Adumim, Israel, IKI was founded by Moshe Katz. Mr. Katz has been training in Krav Maga, Kickboxing and JuJitsu under Itay Gil since 1993. Mr. Gil has been training in and/or teaching Krav Maga to the Israel Defense Force, the YAMAM (Elite Counter Terrorism Unit) and other Security Professionals in Israel for over 30 years.
The entire IKI Board of Directors may be seen by clicking HERE
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Cottonwood Combat Featured in International Martial Arts Magazine!!
Our lineage is quite simple, but very interesting. Moshe Katz is our founder, he was awarded his Fourth Dan Krav Maga Rank by Itay Gil. You can read more about Moshe below. Itay Gil's early training in Krav Maga was in the military, the preponderance of which was directly from Eli Avikzar. You can read more about Itay below. Eli Avikzar was the top student and first Black Belt of Krav Maga founder Imi Lichtenfeld. Mr. Avikzar was also the Chief Instructor to the Israel Defense Force from 1976-1987 where he trained some 90,000+ soldiers. You can read more about Eli Avikzar HERE. Imi Lichtenfeld was the founder of Krav Maga. Read more about Imi HERE. The History page will give you further insight into the development and evolution of Krav Maga.
In a nutshell our lineage looks like this: Imi Lichtenfeld, Eli Avikzar, Itay Gil, Moshe Katz, Mr. Hillis. You can read more about Mr. Hillis HERE.
See a video of Moshe in Action, helping train others at Itay's Shop in Jerusalem; Moshe is the "bad guy" with a knife wearing a green t-shirt under the padded striking vest.
We have several videos of Mr. Gil on our Online KM Video Page. Please take a few minutes to watch some of them as they will display the wide range of skills Mr. Gil and Mr. Katz have in their training regimen.
Cottonwood Combat comes to IKI with great anticipation of things to come. Each year we will be hosting Mr. Katz in seminars and on-site belt promotion ceremonies. The testing will be rigid and difficult, but worth every bit of effort it requires. Please keep an eye on our Special Events page for updates on seminars with Mr. Katz.
Mr. Katz holds a 4th Dan (4th degree Black Belt) awarded by Itay Gil and maintains close contact with Mr. Gil. He operates a Krav Maga studio just outside of Jerusalem in Maahle Adumim. I have found him to be an honest man of impeccable character and humility. He has been trained by the best and has been approved to pass his knowledge on. A great deal of my respect for him comes from our many discussions about techniques. We are in full agreement that any technique which does not work MUST be replaced. This is the essence of Krav Maga; see my article on Why We Do This. In short, there are many effective systems available for you to learn. Other than IKI Krav Maga, I cannot find ANY which is effective in self defense and changes to drop a technique which fails the test of reality. Most are quite standardized for the purposes of testing or because there is too much revenue to be made in dvd's and videos which they do not wish to lose. In reality Krav Maga changes by necessity, if it is linked to it's Israeli roots. We receive updates regularly from Israel and the students of Cottonwood Combat are among the first in the US to learn them due to Mr. Katz' diligence to get them to me. Thanks to modern technology, I don't even have to wait for his visits. He sends them to me via the internet and then we will review them in person when he arrives.
Mr. Gil spent his compulsory military service in Israel's Paratrooper Reconnaissance Company, serving in the 1982 Lebanon War. He then joined the elite counter-terrorist unit YAMAM, and became operational after a grueling 8 month training course. He took part in hundreds of hostage-rescue and interdiction missions. He later became YAMAM's chief close-quarter combat instructor. Mr. Gil continues to serve in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) reserves as senior combat instructor for the undercover counter-terrorism unit 217 (Sayeret Duvdevan)[Reference 1]. In 2002, he formed a special security team for the Israeli Ministry of Defense [Reference 2]. The founder and chief executive officer of PROTECT, a Jerusalem-based security training firm, his methods for dealing with suicide bombers have been documented on CNN, FOX Network and Israeli media.
Below Itay Gil Demonstrates a Restraint Technique for Law Enforcement/Military Police Application
Below is a Short Documentary on the YAMAM
The Video's Below will demonstrate some of the places Sayeret Duvdevan and the YAMAM operate. In showing these videos, we hope to illustrate why Israeli Krav International's Krav Maga is the Highest Evolution available. It is designed to be effective, not fancy or entertaining - remember this is the Krav Maga used by current Special Forces and Hostage Rescue Operaters (Hebrew Designation - Lochem) every day. While training at Cottonwood Combat you will get into great shape, our Combat Application classes are designed to give each person the most effective self defense against a variety of attacks, using the easiest methods to learn and recall. The term Mr. Gil has coined to describe our methods is "bio-mechanics". Simply put, it means utilizing the most efficient and instinctive body movements to defend yourself. It further describes how we are born with most of the movements, but have never learned to use them effectively. IKI Krav Maga brings this skill to the surface and combines controlled aggression training to help even the most timid of persons to defend themselves. Our Combat Conditioning will get you into the best shape of your life! You will also see how and why Krav Maga training gives YOUR child the best strategies in Kidnapping Prevention!
Please browse the rest of our site and give us a call for your Introductory Class.
(928) 254-7571