How to Become a Certified Krav Maga Instructor

Revised and Updated on April 4, 2026.

If you’re reading this, you probably have the desire to spread the positive benefits of Krav Maga to your local community and help make the world a safer place. Teaching Krav Maga is incredibly rewarding, whether you’re doing so as your full-time profession or just out of passion in your spare time. People from many different backgrounds end up becoming Krav Maga instructors, but the uniting factor is their desire to teach and uplift.

Are you a martial-arts school owner, a current black belt in a different style, a Krav Maga student, a fitness/gym owner, personal trainer, law-enforcement officer, have a career in the military, or in some other similar situation? If so, you’re already more prepared to learn and then teach the style of Krav Maga.

Read on to learn about the basic steps you need to take to become a legitimately certified and qualified instructor of Israeli Krav Maga.

Krav Maga Instructor Certification Steps

To become a certified Krav Maga instructor, you must go through the following 7 essential steps.

Step 1 – Become a Krav Maga Student

Training in Krav Maga yourself is the essential and obvious first step. Some associations claim you can simply attend a short seminar or training session to become a Krav instructor without first being a student. But this is questionable.

Of course, if you’re an experienced martial artist and hold a high rank and proficiency in a similar combative self-defense system or other fighting style, there’s the possibility of an accelerated path.

Here are your options for becoming a Krav Maga student, on your eventual path to beconing an instructor:

Enroll in a Local Krav Maga School – Find a qualified instructor in your area. Try a free class to get a feel for the instructors, curriculum, environment, and overall culture of the academy.
Attend a Krav Maga Seminar – Some associations offer seminars or short training programs that will introduce you to the style and give you the opportunity to get in-person training from time to time.
Enroll in an online Krav Maga school – Find a qualified and accredited online (or hybrid) Krav school that allows you to train and earn rank from a distance, such as the Global Martial Arts University Krav Maga course.

Step 2 – Train and Earn Rank in Krav Maga

Take your time learning and training in Krav. Don’t consider that your goal is to someday teach the material you’re learning. Instead, focus on fully engaging, using, and understanding Krav Maga’s methods and philosophy.

Teaching is an after-thought, a natural progression, after you yourself have experienced this martial art. Take your first rank exam to achieve your Level 1 or Yellow Belt certification (different schools have different names for the first level).

In some Krav Maga associations, after earning your first rank (and being an advanced belt in a different martial arts style) you’re eligible to attend an instructor certification program.

Other associations and schools require that you first earn a brown or black belt in Krav before you can become an instructor.

And some do not have a student-rank requirement; they just let you jump to instructor. You should be wary of these assocations, however, because of your own lack of experience and little time spent mastering the material and embedding it into your muscle memory.

Step 3 – Find the Right Krav Maga Instructor Certification Course

If you’ve already been training for some time as a Krav Maga student or have previous experience, you can now search for the right instructor-certification course to take part in.

The purpose of attending an instructor course is not just to learn the Krav Maga curriculum. You should have already learned the curriculum you plan on teaching in your own studies as a student.

A Krav Maga instructor course should encompass:

Principles of Teaching – Overarching principles that will make you an effective teacher, regardless of which subject you’re instructing.
Martial Arts Instructor Techniques – How to effectively instruct a technique (the cycle of instruction), manage a classroom floor, execute warm-ups, various types of drills and class formations, teach different age groups, work with disabilities, motivate students, correct students, provide tests and feedback, and many other aspects specific to martial arts.
Krav Maga Philosophy and Methods – Specific to the style of Krav Maga, how to not just teach a collection of techniques, but stringing together all movements into a fluid philosophy that students can truly understand at a cellular and intellectual level.
Class Planning, Curriculum, and Testing – How to plan effective, fun, and exciting classes. Teaching and following a curriculum that keeps you consistent, while allowing for dynamic evolutions. And testing and promoting students while maintaining high standards and a clear-cut path for advancement.
Basic Business Management and Krav Maga Class Implementation – At the least, a quick section on how to introduce a new Krav Maga program, and different formats for instructing your target student base. This can vary greatly if you plan on teaching law enforcement, youth classes, or fitness-oriented programs to young adults.
Instructing Specific Techniques and Concepts – Now that you already know the techniques, you’ll need to learn the nuances, variations, drills, and implementations for techniques within the curriculum that you plan on instructing.

Step 4 – Choose the Right Krav Maga Association to Align With

Think beyond the initial Krav Maga instructor-certification event — which association is the best fit for you and your goals as a Krav instructor?

There are different types of associations, each offering varying levels of products and services:

Franchisors/Licensors – These are large organizations that not only allow you to become an instructor but also open up a full-scale academy with their namesake. There is a much larger monetary investment upfront, as well as a sizeable monthly fee for all benefits. This option will give you full support in managing your Krav Maga school, advertising guidance, marketing advice, business systems, curriculum, and much more. Cost = $500+ a month.
Business/Marketing + Instruction Focused Associations – There are other, mid-sized associations that emphasize business building, marketing, sales, and the instruction of Krav Maga. These groups tend to charge a monthly fee for you to stay active as an instructor in their organization, along with other benefits they provide. Cost = $150 – $300+ a month.
Instruction + Curriculum Focused Associations – These associations exist to teach and support certified instructors, focusing on the Krav Maga curriculum, high-quality instruction, and instructor support. The Global Martial Arts Association’s Krav Maga division is a great example of this, which does not charge a monthly fee to be an active instructor. You only pay for a lower cost certification event to become part of the association. This makes it ideal for schools who want to add a Krav Maga program to their academy, or for personal trainers or gyms wanting to add a new program without having to pay a large monthly expense. Cost = $0 – $100 a month.

Step 5 – Attend a Krav Maga Instructor Certification Event or Enroll in an Online Instructor Course

Now that you’ve been training as a Krav Maga student, have earned rank, researched certification options, and done some more research on the association you want to align yourself (and your school) with, it’s time to commit to instructor certification.

You’ll need to attend a local, in-person instructor certification event so you can have hands-on guidance, feedback, and an intensive learning experience with instructors. Some associations offer a 2 day event, a one-week program, and some can be in-between. Study, prepare, and train hard at the event so you can pass!

If you’re unable to attend a local event or prefer to learn in a self-paced environment, however, you can find an online instructor-certification course. Make sure the online course includes real interactivity, standards, assignments, a test, and other challenges. You don’t want to just pay a fee and then print a certificate. This won’t improve your own knowledge, abilities, and confidence in launching a successful Krav program!

Step 6 – Begin Teaching Krav Maga

Krav Training — Head GMAU Krav Maga instructor, Dustin Koppel, demonstrating a Side Clinch

You’ve done it! You’ve earned your Krav Maga instructor certification and just joined a small (but growing) group of honorable and determined individuals who set out to become wonderful practitioners as well as teachers of this incredible self-defense system and way of life. Make plans to introduce a new Krav class or begin instructing in whichever format makes sense to your situation.

Step 7 – Continue Training as a Student, and Certify to the Next Instructor Level

Krav Ground Fighting — Krav Maga Ground Fighting; Image Source Adobe Stock by guruXOX

Chances are, you’ve been initially certified in the first Krav Maga instructor level, which means you can now begin to legitimately train, test, and rank your own local students. But, you need to continue to learn the next curriculum levels on your own and never stop training as a student. You’ll also want to prepare for the next instructor course, so you can become certified to teach higher levels and stay active within your association.