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Profiles In Krav Maga: Michael Rüppel

Monday, April 04, 2022

Krav Maga and Self Defense Blog/Profiles/Profiles In Krav Maga: Michael Rüppel

Who Is Michael Rüppel?

Michael Rüppel was working in the security sector since 1992 and has a lot of experience in protecting people. During this time he used to work as a bodyguard for Gerhard Schröder, Dr. Ben Weider, Jean-Claude van Damme and many others.

Since 1998 his focus has been on Krav Maga, and in 1999 he became one of the first Krav Maga Instructors in Germany. Today he has Dan 6 in Krav Maga. Furthermore he is an instructor for another Israeli fighting-system, the Dennis Hisardut, in which he has the Black Belt Dan 5. He also studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where he has a Purple Belt.

His first instructor in Krav Maga was Amnon Maor, who used to be the Chief Instructor of the Israelien Border Patrol. Maor directed extremely dangerous operations which also included actions in opposing areas during the war.

Michael Rüppel learned traditional Krav Maga, but from his point of view, it was based too much on physical workouts and not truly effective in real street fighting situations. Therefore, he developed his own variety based on the official Krav Maga methods. His highly effective techniques concerning firearms, knives, ground fighting and also self-defence increased his good reputation very quickly, even beyond the borderlines of Germany.

He offers workshops all around the world, and is also an International Instructor for the following Law Enforcement Agencies:

German PoliceIsraeli PoliceIDF Lotar Counter Terror School IsraelHomeland SecurityMiami Dade Special Response TeamPolice Combat and Expert Group ChinaMiami Dade PoliceSan Diego Police

Being an experienced Krav Maga Instructor, he gives his students an understanding of the psychological aspects of observing in a line of conduct and also of the important aspects in criminal law. Taking real life situations as a case of example, Michael Rüppel explains the different possibilities of defending oneself, taking the various qualifications and physical fitness of his students individually into consideration.

On December 17th 2009, Michael Rüppel was given a special honor. Dr. Dennis Hanover, who is not only his mentor but also a very close friend, valued his earnings concerning the Israelian Martial Arts and the efforts he made to support the international understanding between Germany and Israel and declared in line with the "Museum of Israeli Martial Arts“ to accommodate Michael Rüppel into their hall of fame.

The roll of honor in the museum shows his picture as well as portraits of all the important personalities of the Israelian Martial Arts.

In the summer of 2011, Michael Rüppel was awarded in Orlando, USA, by the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

As a proof for his international reputation, Michael Rüppel was recently (due to his technical skills concerning gun disarming) invited by the LOTAR- Counter Terrorism Tactical Training School in order to train the special forces there. The LOTAR- Counter Terrorism Tactical Training School is well known around the world, has a very good reputation and usually only Israeli experts are invited to share their wisdom with the special forces there.

In December 2011 and 2014 he won a gold medal in Israel at the Dennis Hisardut Championships that take place every two years. These are held in honor of the fallen soldiers of Israel.

In April 2017, Michael Rüppel was invited by the United States Department of Homeland Security to present his specially developed Law Enforcement Program C.O.P.S (Close Operation Protection System) to a SRT (Special Response Team) of Homeland Security.

In addition to his workshops, the seminars and classes he teaches in Europe as well as in the U.S. He is still improving himself and working on his desire to acknowledge the entire spectrum of the Iraelian Martial Arts.

On February 25, 2018, Michael Rüppel was awarded the 6th Dan by a delegation from Israel in Krav Maga.

In May 2018 Michael Rüppel was shown in a TV-Show on Pro7 (Das Höllencamp) like one of the trainers in 5 episodes.

In November 2018 Michael Rüppel choreographed a fighting scene for his friend, the actor Henning Baum in the cinema movie "Der letzte Bulle“. In this movie Michael Rüppel is also one of the attackers in the fighting scene.

In March 2019 Michael Rüppel teached the Special Response Team from Miami Dade Police, or also known as Miami Swat, for 3 days.

In May 2019 Michael Rüppel was invited to China by the Police Combat Expert Group. This group is responsible for education and training for the whole Chinese police in China. He taught their special forces from different Chinese areas for 4 days and introduced them into his Law-Enforcement-Program C.O.P.S. (Close Operation Protection System).

In September 2019 Michael Rüppel was invited to Panama for teaching the special forces from Comando Fuerzas Especiales.

In December 2019 Michael Rüppel was invited from the Israeli Police to teach the Israeli Law Enforcement undercover units.

​But no matter what he does, he follows his own priority: quality instead of quantity.

You don't want to miss my amazing interview with Michael Ruppel, it's a good one.

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Hi, I'm Paul Simoes

Co-Founder Of My Krav Life

I’ve been knee-deep in martial arts my whole life, and My Krav Life is where I spill the beans on how to keep yourself—and your loved ones—safe in this wild world.

When I’m not busy teaching or typing away, you’ll find me wrangling my five kids or juggling my various businesses.

​My mission? To turn everyday folks into the ultimate sheepdogs of their community. Plus, I might throw in a dad joke or two—consider yourself warned!