KRAV MAGA INSTRUCTORS

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Ernie is the U.S. Representative for Krav Maga from Wingate Institute, Netanya Israel (Birthplace of Krav Maga)

He holds a 5th Degree Black Belt in Krav Maga, 6th in TKD, 5th in Hapkido, Black Belts in Goju Kai and Judo.

Certifications through Wingate include: Senior Instructor, Military Instructor Certification, Security & Close

Protection Certification, Children’s Instructor, was featured instructor at International Krav Maga Seminar at

Wingate Institute and received recognition for efforts and teaching Krav Maga in America. Wingate is solely

responsible for providing self-protection instructors to all combat Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) units. Mr. Kirk is the

only American instructor recognized by Wingate with authority to certify others using the Wingate curriculum.

Mr. Ernie Kirk is the Lead Self Protection Instructor, USAF Air Advisor Academy (AFAAA), Joint Base McGuire-

Dix-Lakehurst, NJ. In this position, Mr. Kirk is responsible for developing and providing tailored pre-deployment

self-protection curriculum to all students attending USAAAA. The AFAAA mission is to support all services and

students are comprised of active duty, reserve, and DAF civilians selected to support execution of DoD missions

worldwide and in all threat conditions. His experience and expertise was instrumental in the creation of the USAF

Air Advisor Academy’s proprietary Self Protection curriculum and the Air Education Training Command (AETC)

instructor certification process.

Mr. Kirk was charged with self-protection instructor development of other AFAAA cadre as well select personnel

from other military and law enforcement units identified to provide this necessary skill set upon certification. Mr.

Kirk's extensive knowledge of combatives and real world experience made him instrumental in refining and

operationalizing the AFAAA Flight Deck Denial training module. Mr. Kirk has been personally selected for his

professionalism and adaptability to lead Mobile Training Teams to deliver Self-Protection and Flight Deck Denial

education and training to select DOD personnel. Mr. Kirk is Lead Instructor for Flight Deck Denial and frequently

instructs Special Operations Military Personel. He is also part of a Mobile Training Team specifically designed for

SOPEs (Special Operations Planning Exercises).

Other key positions and accomplishments of Mr. Kirks include being a charter member of instructors certified to

teach Israeli based Krav Maga's self-protection system in the United States. He was "Train-the-Trainer" for both

Law Enforcement and civilians for Krav Maga Worldwide, the largest Krav Maga organization in the U.S. during

this period. Finally, he was selected as the Director Krav Maga Worldwide Advisory Board.

Owner & Program Director, Kore Self-Defense & Krav Maga

Dr. Tammy McCracken is owner & Global Solutions Director of Personal Defense Industries (PDI). As PDI’s owner, she serves as program director for Kore Self-Defense & Krav Maga, the company’s Northern Virginia training center. She is a certified Conflict Communication Instructor and is one of four directors with Rory Miller’s Chiron Training. Her training programs have been sought out by safety and security professionals, members of law enforcement, first responders (EMS), and national security professionals.

While training with Krav Maga Global, Dr. McCracken earned an Expert Rank in Israel and her original instructor certification was granted by Eyal Yanilov, Alan Predolin & Ilya Dunsky. She was the third woman to earn an expert rank with KMG in North America and the first fully certified female instructor on the east coast within the same organization. She has advanced instructor training in areas including; women’s Krav Maga, Krav Maga for children/adolescents, mental conditioning, scenario training, de-escalation, conflict management & prevention strategies. She is currently a self-defense instructor with Chiron Training & a core instructor with Violence Dynamics.

Dr. McCracken has provided training and instruction for private companies, international safety and security organizations, and non-profit groups serving populations at high risk for violence. She has been a requested speaker for organizations such as the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) Safety & Security Council and Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFL). Dr. McCracken also serves as a violence dynamics subject matter expert for a Washington DC area tactical training organization coauthoring and instructing a range of courses including Active Shooter Response Scenario Training. Dr. McCracken has served as professional consultant to legal counsel on human behavior/violence, and has been established as expert witness in Virginia and Texas civil and criminal proceedings.

Her academic background includes a Bachelor’s of Science in Education from Illinois State University, a Master’s of Science in Professional Counseling from University of Houston-Clear Lake and Doctorate of Psychology from Eisner Institute of Professional Studies with a research dissertation on using mindfulness training to improve the situational awareness for front-line operatives. In addition to over 25 years as a practicing psychotherapist, Dr. McCracken has served as adjunct faculty for Argosy University and Houston Community College authoring numerous articles on conflict management, instructor development and gender issues in self-defense.