Eyal Yanilov began practicing Krav Maga in 1974, at the age of 15, under the personal tutelage of the system's founder, Imi Sde-Or. Recruited by Grandmaster Imi Sde-Or to train Krav Maga instructors and high-level students, Eyal eventually became the Grandmaster's closest student and assistant. He is the only individual to whom Imi personally awarded both the Founder's Diploma of Excellence and the then-unprecedented rank of Expert Level 8 -- the highest rank in Krav Maga.
As head of the Israeli Krav Maga Association's professional committee, Eyal created a new curriculum for Krav Maga, and transformed it into an organized, formal system built on principles of action and unique instructional methods. Eventually, Eyal traveled abroad and began to teach the system in many countries around the world. In the United States and Europe, Eyal taught Krav Maga to special military and law enforcement units, as well as to civilians. In practice,