Definition of the terms Krav Maga and Krav Panim le Panim (kapap): The following definition appears in the 1965 Army dictionary: Krav Panim Le Panim (Kapap) (close combat) – combat in the range of manual contact with the enemy, which uses spears, rifles, machine guns and other hand weapons. The term Krav Maga is not defined in the army dictionary.
KAPAP (Krav Panim Le Panim) began in the period of the “Palmach” (strike forces – plugot machatz in Hebrew) – the original Israeli elite units, which remain the prototype for all special forces, to this day.
KAPAP, which means face to face combat (krav panin l’panim in Hebrew), included all of the various fighting techniques required by a soldier in the battlefield. Soldiers trained in hand to hand combat (krav maga in Hebrew), stick fighting using short and long sticks (similar to the Jo and bo), live and edged weapons, and obstacle courses designed to toughen them physically and mentally.
It is important to remember that two units operated within the framework of the Palmach. The first, the Palyam, was the prototype for the Sea Commandos, the elite navy unit in Israel (similar to the American Navy Seals). The second unit, called the German unit, was an undercover guerilla force that penetrated Nazi controlled regions and infiltrated the ranks of Nazi units. The German unit operated together with the “Avengers” (nokmim in Hebrew), a secret team that hunted, arrested and sometimes executed fugitive Nazi war criminals across the world.
Later on, with the establishment of the official armed forces of the State of Israel, Kapap became an integral part of the training and continues to this day in elite units such as Yamam.
LOTAR is a complete combat concept, derived from real-life situations and personal experience, LOTAR focuses on teaching techniques that recognize, assess and neutralize a threat in the quickest, simplest and most instinctive way possible.”
In the beginning there was KAPAP, which means face to face combat (krav panin l’panim in Hebrew), this included only the fighting techniques that were necessary for the battlefield. These included hand-to-hand combat, stick-fighting using short and long sticks, live and edged weapons, and obstacle courses designed to toughen them physically and mentally. KAPAP was the guerilla warfare combat techniques utilized by the first Israeli Commands who fought for the creation of Israel. From these KAPAP techniques the primary people involved went in different directions some took out the military applications and created Krav Maga, which was geared more towards a very basic self-defense system.
Kapap is the former term for the modern term LOTAR. LOTAR as a style continued to be cultivated and became Micro Combat or LOTAR. It was at this time that the innovators of the LOTAR system changed forever the training style of LOTAR by creating a more dynamic approach in place of the static training that was in place at the time. This Dynamic approach integrated incredible stress induced tactics teaching the student how to react to the ever-changing combat environment while under stress. The system of LOTAR kept moving and changing to address changing world of Counter Terrorism in Israel and continues to do so through present time.
Until recently LOTAR has not been taught outside of Israel. Former Israeli Defense Force Major Avi Nardia, a veteran martial artist and former LOTAR instructor for the YAMAM (Israel’s most elite Counter Terrorist Unit), The YAMAM employs only battletested techniques, which have been cultivated over time and personal experience. The martial art and theory of LOTAR is the backbone of the YAMAM Counter Terror System it operates under the idea that, the simplest instinctive method of self-defense is the most effective
Under the instruction of Maj. Avi Nardia and the staff at LOTAR International, the System of LOTAR has been opened to both Law Enforcement and Civilians for the very first time outside of Israel.
LOTAR encapsulates the entirety of fighting techniques used in close encounter combat – from empty hand, through the use of edged weapons and firearms, up to infiltration and sabotage training, as Israel’s elite forces practice them. It combines shooting and self defense and analysis of all kinds of different and unusual violent situations, using any available weapon or improvising one, considering the environmental conditions – urban or rural, light, ground, water and weather, and long, short and close distance.
With the recent terrorist activities brought to light in the last two years and the number ADW (Assault with a Deadly Weapon) cases at an all time high, civilians, law enforcement, and even the military are now more than ever vulnerable to random acts of violence. Personal security is no longer an assumed right. Armed burglary, rape, murder, home intrusion, aggravated assault, carjacking, kidnapping, and terrorism are on the rise. Random acts of violence are occurring at this moment, without warning and without prejudice.
Civilians of all ages, business executives, and the corporate traveler are all at risk the moment they walk out the door or unfortunately even before. LOTAR, derived from real-life situations and personal experience, focuses on teaching techniques that recognize, assess and neutralize a threat in the quickest, simplest and most instinctive way possible.
September 11th brought devastation and terror never before seen by this country. Since that infamous day, we have come to the unacceptable realization that the most powerful military in the world and that U.S. law enforcement was and presently is not adequately prepared to combat such horrific acts. Acts of terrorism cannot be fought with solutions wrought by probable scenarios. The YAMAM, the elite of the elite within the Israeli Special Forces are considered the best in the world when it comes to Counter Terrorist Tactics and Execution. Their reputation has been borne out of continuous cultivation of real life Counter-Terror theory and methods due to the never-ending terrorist activity, fought on a daily basis. These battle-tested theories and tactics have been proven time and time again to work under the most stressful and realistic conditions.
The majority of existing martial arts schools, although based on martial art and theory, have lost the actual application of the techniques that they are teaching. LOTAR has been created around the modern day martial application, continually modified to address the ever changing world and the need for new and evolved
