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| General Information |
Kapap is an Israeli combat art. The term kapap is an acronym of the Hebrew phrase “krav panim-el-panim” meaning “face-to-face combat”. It is based on concepts or principles rather than fixed techniques (Crudelli 2010: 305).Kapap is a fighting style meant for close combat. According to the International Kapap Union “the Kapap warrior is a fast, precise and lethal fighting machine” and “a Kapap person is not a fighter (competitive fighter); he is a warrior (man of war) literally”.Kapap is known as the martial art used by the Israeli Special Forces |
| History/Development |
The Jewish settlers in Palestine experienced a lot of violence, in order to deal with this defense forces were made who developed a range of methods. Kapap was one of the most well-known ones developed during the 1930’s (Gross 2010: 583). The art’s core is based on necessity, so kapap has continuously adapted as a response to today’s dangers (Nardia and Timen 2012: 10).For a long time it was the martial art taught to police, army and special forces, but in 2003 Avi Nardia developed, with encouragement of Jim Wagner, a civilian version of kapap that was targeted at the general population in Europe and the USA (Nardia and Timen 2012: 7-8). |
Transmission
(Policies/institutions) |
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| Relevant Organisations |
- International Kapap Federation
http://www.kapapfederation.com
- International Kapap Union
http://www.kapap.ws
- International Kapap Krav Maga Association
https://international-kapap.jimdofree.com/ |
| Additional Materials |
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| References |
- Crudelli, C. (2010). The Way of the Warrior: Martial Arts and Fighting Skills from Around the World, London: Dorling Kindersley.- Gross, N. (2010). “Kapap and Krav Maga”. In Green, T. A. and Svinth J. R. (eds). Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.- Nardia, A. and Timen, A. (2012). Kapap Combat Concepts: Martial Arts of the Israeli Special Forces, Black Belt Books. |
*see also krav maga | |
