Head Instructor: Gershon Ben Keren
The Krav Maga Yashir Instructor team is led by Head Instructor, Gershon Ben Keren. Gershon began his Krav Maga training in 1994 (before this he began practicing Judo and Karate in 1980,
earning black belts in both systems). Initially he trained with the IKMF (the International Krav Maga Federation) under Eyal Yanilov and Avi Moyal, and later with Dennis Hanover (Hisardut).
He has written three Amazon best selling books on Krav Maga (published by Tuttle Press), and in 2010 was inducted into the Museum of Israeli Martial Arts, in Herzliya, Israel – many
members of the school in Massachusetts attended the ceremony; Gershon on several occasions has taken groups to Israel to train and brings Israeli/IDF instructors to the training center in
Massachusetts to conduct seminars and training events.
Gershon has always maintained an academic and evidentially researched approach to dealing with violent crimes. He has two master’s degrees, one in psychology and the other in criminology and
criminal psychology. He continues to undertake research in violent crime, and is a member of both the APA (American Psychological Association) and the ASC (American Society of Criminology).
Using fact-based research to understand violence means that the solutions taught at the Massachusetts Krav Maga training center, our evidentially based and realistic. Part of the Krav Maga Yashir
approach is teaching students how to predict, prevent and avoid violence, and where possible to de-escalate aggressive situations and resolve conflicts without the use of physical force.
Gershon has been working in the security industry since 1990. He initially started working door, bar and club security, in establishments that were known to have a significant number of
violent incidents – this is where he learnt the importance of de-escalation, conflict-resolution and violence avoidance. Later he went on to work in close-protection, security training
and consultancy. Services that he still provides today. He has taught managers and employees at a variety of Fortune 500 companies how to deal with workplace violence including active
shooter incidents, along with consulting on best practices regarding hiring and firing procedures and protocols etc. If you are interested in learning more about these security services,
please click here (website will open in a new browser tab/window).
Gershon teaches Krav Maga to the public at the Krav Maga Yashir Massachusetts training facility, which is located South of Lowell, on I-95 and I-93 (a 20-25 minute drive). Combining his knowledge and experience of Krav Maga, his academic research into violence, and his own experiences he provides comprehensive training in how to deal with real-life violence. If you are interested in learning more you may want to check out his books on Krav Maga ( click here) and/or attend one of his introductory Krav Maga seminars (use the button below to check dates and register).
Krav Maga Introductory Seminar
