Page 17 - Complete Krav maga : the ultimate guide to over 250 self-defense and combative techniques

he would visit him in the United States. True to his word, in the summer of 1982
Imi traveled to Los Angeles and lived with Darren and his family while teaching
Darren more about Krav Maga.

Darren tells a story about Imi’s visit, a story that he also told while delivering a

eulogy at Imi’s funeral in 1998.

When Imi came to visit me, I had just bought a new sports car and I
was really excited to show it to him. I was really proud of that car. But
when Imi got in the car, he started shifting and fidgeting around,
reaching over his shoulder. He looked unhappy. Finally, I asked him
what was wrong. He said, “This car isn’t good. The seat belt, it’s too

far back. I can’t reach it with my right hand. I can’t reach it with my
left hand. I’m a lazy one. It needs to be easy, or people won’t wear
their seat belt. It’s not safe.”

At the time, I was just disappointed. I wanted him to be impressed with
my car. But later I realized that he looked at that seat belt the same
way he looked at everything. It had to be simple, effective, or people

wouldn’t be able to do it. That was Krav Maga.

Darren’s training continued, and in 1984 he received his full instructor’s degree
from Wingate Institute. That year, Imi gave Darren his own personal black belt.
Years later, Imi would award Darren with a Founder’s Diploma, one of only two
Imi gave before his death. Darren and his colleagues had already formed the
Krav Maga Association of America, and the growth of Krav Maga in the United

States had begun.