Krav Maga Academy

After serving as a krav maga officer for a special-ops unit in the Israeli Defense Forces, Matan Gavish relocated to New York, where he founded Krav Maga Academy. Stateside, Gavish has also served as a fitness officer in the U.S. Army, shared his expertise in the pages of the Washington Post and provided input on NYPD Tactical Training Unit techniques, all while running his academy full-time.

Krav Maga Academy's curriculum imparts creative strike techniques, defense strategies against chokes and grabs, and methods for neutralizing attackers through a krav maga–centered schedule that also touches on MMA and Brazilian jiujitsu. Beginners taste combat in Level 1 trainings and all-levels classes, and more experienced fighters ramp up their workouts during upper-level classes or sparring sessions. On Fridays in Jeans, instructors teach students to fight in street clothes or with asphalt chunks of actual streets.