History

In Hebrew, Lotar means anti-terrorism.

Lotar includes all of the various fighting techniques required by a soldier in the battlefield against terrorism. Israeli soldiers are trained in hand-to-hand combat, firearms fighting, edged weapons, and run obstacle courses designed to toughen them physically and mentally.

The original Israeli elite units, which remain the prototype for all Special Forces to this day, developed the martial art of Kapap - Face to Face combat. Those instructors involved with Kapap since its inception (at the Israeli Special Forces) are notably Chaim Peer, Ahron Levi, Orde Wingate and many others who have chosen to remain anonymous. Kapap evolved into the modern day martial art Lochama Zeira (Micro Combat) which subsequently developed into the concept of Lotar.

The three original elite units of the Palmach are known as Palyam, the German Unit and the Arab Unit. The first, the Palyam, was the prototype for the Sea Commandos, the elite navy unit in Israel. The second unit, called the German Unit, was an undercover guerrilla force that penetrated Nazi controlled regions and infiltrated the ranks of Nazi units. The German Unit operated together with the "Avengers," an Israeli Mossad parallel group. The Avengers were a secret team that hunted, arrested and sometimes executed fugitive Nazi war criminals across the world. The Arab Unit was the prototype for units such as "Mistaharvim."

Until recently, Lotar has not been taught outside of Israel. Former Israeli Defense Force Major Avi Nardia, a veteran martial artist and former Lotar instructor for the Yamam, Israel's most elite Anti Terrorist Unit, recently pioneered the teaching of Lotar techniques within the United States and now, for the first time, will teach this art to civilians.