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MEDIA & NEWS

Since 2002, Krav Maga has generated interest from local TV, newspaper and radio outlets such as Fox 4, KMBC 9, KCTV 5, KSHB 41, Kansas City Magazine, Kansas City Star, Sun Publications, The Jewish Chronicle, 93.3, 98.9, 8.10 Sports Talk and others.

Nationally, Krav Maga has generated a great amount of publicity from media outlets such as NBC, ABC, CNN, Today, Extra, Fox News, Time Magazine, In Style, USA Today and others.

Plus, there’s the Hollywood connection--celebrities such as Shannon Elizabeth, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Christian Bales, Jennifer Lopez and others have trained in Krav Maga both for fitness and to hone their self-defense skills for movies.

And you may have noticed that as Krav Maga grows in the US, it’s popping up more and more in main stream media.

Krav Maga in Fiction

  • Sam Fisher of Tom Clancy's video game franchise Splinter Cell is a practitioner of Krav Maga.
  • Paris Geller and Doyle McMaster of Gilmore Girls practice Krav Maga.
  • Jennifer Lopez's character in the movie Enough, Slim, learned Krav Maga.
  • Tony Almeida in the television show 24 is a certified Krav Maga instructor.
  • A squad of units in the Heroscape game are called Krav Maga Agents, presumably using a futuristic form of the system.
  • An ex-girlfriend of Ted's in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother learned Krav Maga.
  • Sydney Bristow of the TV series Alias is a Krav Maga practitioner.
  • Megan Reeves of the TV series Numb3rs is a Krav Maga instructor at the Y.

Other recent Krav Maga "Media Mentions"

Thanks to our members for keeping us updated on when they hear Krav Maga mentioned in the story line of their favorite shows.

  • Huff Showtime, Season I ; Episode 4. Huff’s friend and lawyer Russell Tupper takes Huff to a Krav Maga class. Note: Although the Krav Maga techniques shown were poorly done to the point of being unrecognizable, the scene was funny and they said Krav Maga and showed the Krav Maga logo several times.
  • Tyra Banks: Krav Maga was featured on the April 25, 2006, show. "60 Seconds to Save Your Life".http://tyrashow.warnerbros.com/show_recaps/show_recap_wed33.html"Tyra assembled a team of experts to teach young women how to save their lives in the critical seconds following a violent attack. Tyra set up Toccara from America’s Next Top Model in a phony but terrifying parking lot ambush to demonstrate what easy prey most women were to criminals"
    Krav Maga instructor Marcus Kowal from the Krav Maga National Training Center in Los Angeles demonstrates some self defense techniques.
  • "Law and Order - Special Victims Unit" CBS: (seen April 2006)The opening shows kids in a school yard with one little girl "shadow fighting" and repeating "kick, punch, elbow, knee." - Over and over. A boy says "Is she having a spaz attack?" Another girl says, "No, it’s Kraft Magoo." The girl doing the shadow fighting says "No, it’s Krav Maga. It’s what they teach secret agents for self-defense". "Where did you learn it?" "My mom; they do it in her aerobics class."
  • Rachel Ray Food Network (April 2006) On one of Rachel Ray’s shows (we believe it was Tasty Travels), she talked about Krav Maga and visited to the National Training Center while in Los Angeles.

Local Media

Kansas City Magazine

January 2006 Issue,
Curing your (Fitness) Commitment Phobias, written by Brandi Wills "Sometimes all you need to kick start a healthy workout regimen is to find an activity that helps you break away from your normal routine...Krav Maga is the hottest new fitness craze in the country "...

KC Sports Page

November 2003 Edition
A full-page article about Krav Maga & Fitness Center was featured.

KMFC on Fox 4 News

On April 18 and 19, the Center was featured on Fox 4 News for a story on Self-Defense for Women. Thanks to Dodie, Pam, Julie, Sherrie, Anna, Catrina, Seben, Roger, Erik and Jay for giving up their Sunday morning to come out and be LIVE on the Fox 4 Morning Show. You all did great! Also, a HUGE thank you to Fox 4 News reporter Mark Hall and camera man Jason. It was alot of fun!

Below is a copy of the article posted on the Fox 4 website

Lenexa, KS - The Department of Justice reports that sexual assaults against women occur every two minutes in the United States. Some women turn to self defense to help them guard against becoming victims. Women are taking time out to do some heavy bag work as part of their Krav Maga training, but the heavy bag does not hit back nor does it attack. That's a concern Krav Maga addresses head on. "We want to give them the tools, so if they are attacked they know techniques on how to get out of a particular situation," Steve Woolridge, Krav Maga, said.

Krav Maga is the official defense tactics system of the Israeli defense forces and is becoming more popular in the U.S. Instructors say it's based on instinctual fight movements.

Pam works hard practicing taking down her attacker. She says learning self defense is empowering and a feeling other women need to experience. Pam says her training gave her confidence recently after encountering two men in an elevator. "I started going through my training in my mind if they come up behind me. There are two of them. What do I need to be prepared for?" Pam works out three or four times a week. She says everyone can benefit from self defense, especially the smaller women who never shy away from working out with the guys. "They would have no problem knocking you three feet over their head to get up and get to safety."

Erik Hulse is a firm believer self defense gives women a fighting chance to survive an attack. "It's important that whatever you do first is strong and explosive. It not only makes a point physically but psychological against the attacker." A good workout and preparing for the dangerous encounter that hopefully never comes--that is what these women stay focused on.

Mark Hall, Fox 4 News.

Krav Maga on Mt. Hood

Mt Hood Krav Maga & Fitness Center student, Rusty Sullivan, took a trip with is brother out to Oregon over the July 4, 2004, weekend. They climbed to the summit of Mt. Hood and took this awesome picture. His brother, Danny Sullivan, trains at a Krav Maga Center in Portland. (Rusty is the guy on the right.)

Rusty described the experience as follows: "We started about midnight on Sat the 3rd and summited around 05:30 Sun the 4th. Temp was about 30 deg with a 60 mph wind. We stayed about one hour on the summit then was forced to leave because the temp and snow conditions get bad after the sun starts to rise. We had one heck of a good climb, one of our best. Four in our party; we all made it. Next one is Mt. Adams! The photo is my brother Danny Sullivan and I. He lives in Portland Or. and trains at the Krav center there."

Rusty and Danny really took Krav Maga to new heights! Thanks guys!! AWESOME Picture!!