The Founder - Who is Ami Niv?
Ami Ni
v has immigrated to Israel with his family from Caucus (at the time- part of the U.S.S R) when Ami was eight years old. These immigrants and especially their children faced many difficulties settling in the country. As a young child, Ami had to face stereotypes, racism, verbal and physical abuse. The struggle of growing up under these conditions has helped him become a mentally strong individual and has taught Ami what are the 'rules of the street' when encountering verbal or physical violence.
A short time after arriving to Israel, Ami started training in Judo and Jiu-Jitsu and when he turned 16 has discovered Krav Maga and in the last ten years of Imi Lichtenfeld, the founder of the Krav Maga martial art Ami Niv was one of the closest students.
Ami joined the IDF (Israeli defense forces) when he was 18 and served 3 years as a fitness and self-defense instructor. In his service he designed and implemented self-defense courses for female soldiers as well as hand to hand combat instruction for some of the IDF's Special Forces units, each unit to its special requirements. Through the years and to this day, Ami was involved in various projects (military and civil) designed to give solutions to security issues. These programs, in which Ami instructs the hand to hand combat component included anti-terror defense of public transportation such as planes, trains and buses, defense of schools, public and government institutions which are vulnerable to terror or criminal activity. Ami is well respected and considered one of the top experts in these fields.
Following his military service and addition to his involvement in security projects, Ami has opened his first krav Maga School focusing mainly on the instruction of children. Through years of consistency and determination Ami has become known for his 'educational way', which could be shortly described as strict, aggressive and demanding during training and a fatherly figure off the mat, always willing to help his students in all aspects of life. In addition, Ami has kept his own development and training in Krav Maga becoming a well known figure in the Krav Maga martial art scene. During this time Ami has become closer to Imi Lichtenfeld and would spend hours with him in philosophical and professional discussions concerning the basic principles of 'street' self-defense and he even got Emi blessing to establish a new martial art method - "Aiki Krav Maga"
Through years of training Ami began feeling there is a missing component in the Krav Maga martial art, a component emphasizing more inner peace and harmony to counter the aggressive and harshness character of Krav- Maga. The answer to Ami's quest was discovered after participating in various martial art seminars in Europe, in the form of the Aikido martial art (a 'soft' martial art that flows with the force of an opponent's attack and uses this force against the aggressor) and begun training under Edmund Kern (8th degree in Takemusu Iwama Ryu Aikido). Following two years of intense training in seminars and private lessons from Edmond himself, Ami had earned his black belt in Aikido.
Following Ami's exposure to Aikido and ongoing seminars in Aikijitsu and Jiu-jitsu, he has started to form a new personal approach to martial arts. From a technical point of view this approach combines elements from the Krav Maga, Aikido and Jiu-jitsu. From an educational perspective he strived to pass down to his students the combination of the determination and aggressiveness typical to Krav Maga with the peacefulness and harmony of Aikido. At a relatively young age, Ami's ideas have led him to branch out of the Krav Maga and form a new system called Aiki Krav Maga.
Today, Ami lives in Israel with his wife and two sons. He holds an M.Sc in sociology and sport administration and a graduate of martial arts coaching program from the Wingate institute in Israel (the Israeli national sport institute). Ami is a 7th degree red white belt in the Aiki Krav Maga martial art federation and is internationally recognized as the founder of the Aiki Krav Maga system. Currently, he teaches Aiki Krav Maga and Aikido to his black belts and Aikido students and looks over the instruction of the Aiki Krav Maga branches, as well as participating in national and international seminars honorably representing Aiki Krav Maga and the state of Israel.
Ami Niv 10 principles
The main principles of Ami, in developing Aiki Krav Maga (hand to hand combat)
“During the nineties, after seeing many ways in the martial art world, and in light of the luck of inner peace of Israelis as a result of increasing violence, I started to develop the “Aiki Krav Maga” method. A method that‘s trying to fix the violence situation in the community, and bring to more peaceful life.
Values – peaceful – self defense – fighting skills – the art of fighting
1. “the way of the student, during his training will start in learning good manners, and education to respect the other, so he can understand the meaning of ‘love your friend as yourself’”
2. “My students will see the martial art as a way of life, and a spiritual way to achieve peace inner peace, and as the ability to cope with the raising violence in our society.”
3. “A student that stand in these criteria, and is consistent in his training will become at a certain point, a ‘self defense weapon’ in the first place, and an attacking weapon, but will not use the way he learned for bad intentions, only for good ones.”
4. “Try not to be drown to physical violence when you attacked verbally, and when you are physically attacked, do your best not to get hurt, and not hurt people around you.”
5. “Attack and in the same time try to avoid other’s attacks. “
6. “My ambition is that every exercise will be easy and simple to do, so the motorial sequence will be similar to the natural movements of the body.”
7. “The right sequence to perform a perfect exercise is not only to do attack and defense, but to get to a point where your enemy is neutralized on the ground and has no other choice.”
8. “In order to illustrate the physical and mental stress, caused by a violent attack in the street, the exercises will be performed in different simulations that cause stress, in order to reach to instinctive response, and not thought process. “
9. “One of the topics I teach my advanced students, are fighting terror skills, including dealing with situation of weapon threatens (like: pistol, rifle, grenade, gaining control over hostage kidnappers or dealing with few attackers with cold weapon)”
10. “When an Aiki Krav Maga student stands in all my criteria, and reach a high level, he acquires knowledge in varied martial arts, that lead him to a deeper understanding of the art in fighting, and going in a fighter way – BUDO”.
