I think Bas Rutten is a bit into Krav Maga lately. I also read Krav Maga is based on the russian 'systema'.
According to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_maga
HistoryKrav Maga was developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s[1] by Imi Lichtenfeld, also known as Imi Sde-Or (Sde-Or–"Light Field"–a calque of his surname into Hebrew). He first taught his fighting system in Bratislava in order to help protect the local Jewish community from the Nazi militia. Upon arriving in the British Mandate of Palestine, Lichtenfeld began teaching Kapap to the Haganah, the Jewish underground army. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Lichtenfeld became the Chief Instructor of Physical Fitness and Krav Maga at the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) School of Combat Fitness. He served in the IDF for 15 years, during which time he continued to develop and refine his hand-to-hand combat method.[14] In 1964 he left the military though continued to supervise the instruction of Krav Maga in both military and law-enforcement contexts, and in addition, worked indefatigably to refine, improve and adapt Krav Maga to meet civilian needs.[15]The first students receiving a black belt 1st Dan were Eli Avikzar, Rafi Elgarisi, Haim Gidon, Haim Zut, Shmuel Kurzviel, Haim Hakani, Shlomo Avisira, Vicktor Bracha, Yaron Lichtenstein, Avner Hazan and Miki Asulin.[16]
In 1978, Lichtenfeld founded the non-profit Israeli Krav Maga Association (IKMA) with several senior instructors. The Israeli Krav Maga Association has existed continuously from that day and is still located in Netanya Israel. Grand Master Haim Gidon was elected President of the IKMA by an assembly and a vote of over twelve hundred members and still serves as President, Grand Master and 10th dan black belt.[14] Imi Lichtenfeld died in January 1998 in Netanya, Israel.[17]
The Israeli Government has recognized the IKMA as the continuation of Imi Lichtenfeld's system [18] The Prime Minister of Israeli recognized Grand Master Haim Gidon for his work in krav maga [19]. Prior to his death, Imi Lichtenfeld published a list of his highest level students, their ranks and witnessed this document in the presence of a notary [20], [21]. Imi Lichtenfeld signed a notice that Grand Master Haim Gidon should be present at an student or instructor rankings of brown belt and above [22].