Krav Maga Yashir Boston Instructor

Head Instructor - Gershon Ben Keren

Krav Maga Yashir Boston’s Head Instructor is Gershon Ben Keren, a 5th Degree Black Belt in Krav Maga who has been training in the systems since 1993, when he first started taking classes in Israel. He is the author of three books on Krav Maga, and a 2010 inductee into the Museum of Israeli Martial Arts in Herzliya, Israel. He has taught Krav Maga classes and seminars internationally, including in Israel, and teaches all of the regular weekday and weekend classes at Krav Maga Yashir Boston. If you are interested in learning authentic Israeli Krav Maga from somebody who has trained and taught in Israel and received their belts and teaching/instructor certifications there, start your training by attending one of our 60-minute beginner Krav Maga classes. For more information and to register use the button below.

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Gershon began his martial arts training in 1980, when he first started Judo (he holds a 2nd degree Black Belt and has won national and regional championships/competitions in the combat sport). He also holds Black Belts in Karate and Japanese Ju-Jitsu. In 1990, he started working pub and club security as a doorman whilst studying as an undergraduate in North-East England, and later went on to become a Head doorman, leading – and training - teams of security personnel. Door security in the UK isn’t simply about checking ID etc., it regularly involves intervening in violent altercations between others as well as being individually targeted e.g., certain individuals take exception at being told that they can’t come into an establishment and/or have to leave one etc. After completing his undergraduate degree, he went on to study for a master’s degree in psychology (Newcastle University), which saw him as part of his studies take part in interviews with Category-A (Highest Risk) prisoners regarding their crimes and acts of violence. This started his academic interest in studying violent crime, which he continues to this day (working as a criminologist), and later led him to take a second master’s degree in criminology and criminal psychology (University of Essex). His academic interest is in environmental criminology e.g., what are the environmental factors, such as road layout, lighting, visibility etc., which makes some areas more conducive to violent crime/offending than others etc. At Krav Maga Yashir Boston, this informed and evidential approach to violence is used to create realistic training scenarios.

After working for a number of years in bar and door security, Gershon started working in other professional security capacities, including surveillance, retail loss prevention, and close protection etc., as well as running a Krav Maga School in North London for a number of years. In 2008, he moved to the Boston Area and started teaching initially in Cambridge and Medford (Massachusetts) before moving his school in 2012 to Charlestown/Boston. After ten years Krav Maga Yashir Boston moved to its present location in Woburn, MA. The school runs a fall time schedule and is a dedicate Krav Maga training facility i.e., the system isn’t combined with other martial arts such as Muay Thai and BJJ. It should be understood that Krav Maga is not a mixed martial art that combines and merges techniques from other system but is a distinct approach to dealing with violence. If you are interested in seeing why Israeli Krav Maga is so effective, please use the button below, to register for one of our beginner classes.

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