When looking for a Krav Maga (KM) instructor, who should you listen to? Moni Azik with Commando Krav Maga or David Kahn with Israel Krav Maga? Or should you follow the Krav Maga style of Alain Cohen or Darren Levine?

Each one is a master in this field, but each one has a different method of instruction. Let’s take a closer look at the best instructors so you can decide which one is right for you.

1.) Moni Azik with Commando KM is without a doubt one of the most famous experts. He has a very polished website and has been featured on the Discovery Channel, History Channel, Fox News and a host of nationally syndicated magazines.

Commando Krav Maga (CKM) is unique in that it provides training through traveling classes in most major American cities, as well as locations in Canada and Europe. These bootcamps are for certified instructors as well as the general public. You can even schedule some private lessons with Moni Azik the day before or after one of her CKM boot camps.

2.) Another expert and instructor is David Kahn with Israel KM, a school in New Jersey. David Kahn trained with Grandmaster Haim Gidon who is the highest ranked KM black belt ever promoted by founder Imi Lichtenfeld. It has been said that “David is possibly the most connected to honest Israeli special ops guys of all in North America.”

David Kahn has written one of the essential books for the method called Krav Maga: An Essential Guide To The Renowned Method – For Fitness And Self-Defense.

3.) There is also Alain Cohen, who heads the KM Federation. His specialty is security and escort. He is a security consultant for large companies and has written several books, including Israeli Krav Maga Defense System.

Alain Cohen also has a DVD course and seminar that travels across the United States.

4.) Darren Levine is probably the best known instructor in the United States and has a center in Los Angeles, California. He has one of the largest studios in the world called KM Worldwide Training Center. He also has the largest reality-based self-defense organization in the world with over 240 chartered schools and claims to have trained over 500 government and law enforcement agencies.

Darren Levine is a prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and was awarded a Founder’s Diploma for Special Excellence in KM by Imi Lichtenfeld. Imi awarded this diploma to only 2 people in the world: Darren Levine and Eyal Yanilov. These diplomas were given to the people Imi wanted to be the future leaders in the field.

5.) Eyal Yanilov of the International KM Federation is another Master and holds the exclusive “Founder’s Diploma of Excellence”, which was awarded to only one other instructor, Darren Levine.

Offering one of the first classes for American citizens, Eyal Yanilov has been teaching instructor courses around the world, under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Education and the International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF). Eyal Yanilov is the key force in spreading the method around the world.

Hopefully you can now identify the main players in the Israeli method of self-defense. Each expert has their own personal style of instruction and each instructor appeals to a different demographic.

Whichever you choose to follow, keep in mind that Krav Maga is a “no holds barred” method of real-world self-defense on the street.