Security ... think about it!
"Clean shoes and dirty fighting welcomed," a sign at the entry to the large gym area warns. The idea of Krav Maga — a martial arts system developed by Imi Lichtenfeld in Eastern Europe as a way for Jews to protect themselves against the Nazis and now used by the Israeli Defense Force — is to be able to "aggressively defend yourself" from an attack and then get away, Kahn said. "When attacked, you have to meet the threat with force," Kahn said. "Too little force, you'll be overwhelmed. Too much and there's liability." It allows a person "to simultaneously defend and attack. The object is just for your safety and not to subdue or anything. And anybody there, that's with you, to protect them."