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Teo Yew Chye is the founder of  KAPAP Academy Singapore which teaches Israeli martial art.

Having been the pioneer to introducing the style to Singapore, Teo and his team intend to set up a branch in Perth, Australia. “This is a system based on practicality and very much designed for the real world,” he told J-Wire.

 KAPAP is an acronym for Krav Panim el Panim, literally face-to-face combat. The fight system was developed by Haganah, a Jewish militia in the later 1930s, during the British Mandate of Palestine era when they disguised their clandestine training as ‘sport’. Teo currently teaches KAPAP in the South-East Asian nation and his daughter Nicole Teo, an Australian national, will head the upcoming branch that is set to open in July.

Teo’s brother Moss was killed during a violent random street attack in 2000 in Johor, Malaysia. The retired psychologist subsequently decided to start his martial arts school in his memory. The school was born in tragedy but Chye’s goal to empower others to defend themselves blossomed. “Many Singaporeans have become complacent because our country is very safe and has very low crime.” he explained “But you can’t keep your guard down. You have to be ready for the challenges you may inevitably face out there in the world.”  Within Singapore alone, the school trains about 8,000 participants in self-defence seminars every year.

Chye lamented that many martial arts systems, especially the more ‘traditional’ ones have lost their focus on real-life applications for a variety of reasons, including being too commercial and seeking “quantity over quality”. Chye was certified by former IDF instructor and Sayeret Matkal operative Colonel Chaim Peer.

Many of KAPAP Academy Singapore’s clients are security personnel, frontline staff, business executives who travel frequently, and also secondary schools – that include many girls’ schools. For the latter, groups usually consist of around 20-40 students who are motivated to learn how to stay safe against crimes like sexual assaults. They learn both stand-up and ground-based defence. Within Singapore, students learn not just unarmed self-defence skills but are also instructed in the usage of sticks, tomahawks and other basic weapons.  Those intending to learning shooting have to go to nearby Thailand or the Philippines, where they have access to shooting ranges.  Apart from fundamental shooting skills, students are also taught close-range tactical shooting skills.  Chye said: “Perth is only around 5 hours by flight from Singapore. We also hope to expand to Taiwan in future and Perth is also close for them.”

 “KAPAP is rooted in reality,” Chye says. More people are familiar with the Israeli martial art Krav Maga, which is a direct descendant of KAPAP. In 1948, by Israeli independence an estimated 50 000 out of half a million Israelis or 10% of the new nation had learned some KAPAP either in Haganah’s various wings or at the British detention centres in Cyprus – this included many Holocaust survivors.

“The main difference is that we are more fluid and I like to think more adaptable. Also, KAPAP doesn’t have belts, some Krav schools do.”

“With the economic problems caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and who knows what can happen along the South China Sea, closer to home.  We can be sure that economic disaster will bring forth a surge in crime and violence. No harm in being prepared.” Chye said.

Chye also cited the benefit of teaching KAPAP to Australian hospital staff. “This might be of interest since there are so many cases of attacks on hospital workers in Australia and they are often unprepared for such situations.”

Within Singapore, the academy currently trains hospital and security staff from 6 hospital/ medical groups.

“We don’t care about belts and ranks. Our philosophy is a lot like Bruce Lee’s. Take what is best and reject what is useless.” he added.