Michelle Morin Ford

Your Israeli Krav Maga Instructor

Michelle Morin Ford is the Colorado affiliate instructor for the Israeli Krav Maga Association.

She is trained in Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Israeli Krav Maga. Michelle earned her first Krav Maga belts in the Krav Maga Worldwide system. She was then invited and moved on to pursue advanced training and instructor certification from David Kahn at the IKMA. Michelle is the only Israeli Krav Maga instructor in Colorado who is trained and instructor-certified with the IKMA.

Michelle has helped develop and facilitate several specialized Krav Maga classes in Colorado, including Women's Self Defense, Patriot Self Defense, and Conceal Carry Weapons Retention. She has used her public platform to actively introduce and promote Krav Maga to hundreds of Coloradans who would otherwise know nothing about this real world self defense system.

Michelle has used her Krav Maga to help fight the ongoing battle against anti-Semitism. Through the Shields of David non-profit organization, Michelle has trained and empowered Jewish university students in Krav Maga, so that they may walk in peace on increasingly hostile university campuses.

In addition to her martial arts and Krav Maga training, Michelle has held National Rifle Association Instructor Certification in The Basics of Pistol Shooting. She completed the more tactical Personal Protection Plans Concealed Carry Gunfighting course in Broomfield, Colorado, along with numerous other firearms classes. She attended the rigorous FASTER (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response) Colorado program, which is designed to stop active school violence and administer medical aid immediately.

Michelle fiercely advocates that every human being has the inherent and God-given right to defend oneself from bodily harm. She wholeheartedly embraces Imi Lichtenfeld's simple philosophy that we train Israeli Krav Maga, "so that one may walk in peace".

She considers herself a forever student who is passing along the exceptional instruction and experience with which she herself has been blessed. At Wolverine Self Defense, Michelle provides the highest quality and excellence in Israeli Krav Maga instruction at Wolverine Self Defense in Colorado Springs.

Tim Ford

School Manager & Fight Development Lead

Tim Ford is the School Manager and Fight Development Lead for Wolverine Self Defense.

Tim has over 13 years of wrestling experience, including both Folk Style and Free Style wrestling. He has trained in Isareli Krav Maga since 2023 and is pursuing his Israeli Krav Maga Instructor Certification. Tim’s wrestling background and unique fight experiences bring real-life fight development aspects to our training at Wolverine Self Defense.

In addition to his combat sports background, Tim has extensive real-world street fighting experience. In the 1990s, he worked as a club bouncer in Florida. In that role, Tim engaged a variety of high-conflict situations, to include single attackers, group fights, and multi-attacker situations, in which he used his extensive wrestling skills to successfully subdue attackers.

Beyond the wrestling mats and bouncing, Tim had the unfortunate experience of being mugged in a Florida restaurant parking lot. Three men blindsided him with a strike to the back of the head using a 2x4 board. Tim collapsed to the ground stunned, and was at the mercy of his attackers who began kicking and beating him in the face and torso, shouting that they would kill him. From a stunned and confused state, Tim miraculously willed to open his eyes and mustered the fortitude to fight back. He counter attacked from the ground, successfully drove back all three of his attackers, and survived to go home.

At Wolverine Self Defense, Tim helps students understand how the inevitable pain from an attack and counter-attack must become fuel and a driving force to survive, prevail and go home alive. He shares with students how real world psychological and logistical fight tactics, pre-attack indicators, and other aspects of how attacks and fights actually go. To compliment our Israeli Krav Maga training, Tim contributes the vital mental aspect of staying in the fight to save your own life, regardless of how badly an attack and counter attack will likely hurt. Tim helps students understand that to survive in a self defense encounter one must strike first, strike fast, and strike hard.

For 24 years, Tim worked as an orthopedic surgical device representative in trauma, oncology, joint reconstruction, spine products and ortho-biologics. His experience in this specialized field has given him a rare understanding of anatomy, physiology and kinematics. On the training mats, Tim’s work experience translates to a valuable inside-out understanding of how fight techniques and combatives actually affect the human body. Because of this, Tim is able to help students visualize and grasp the “physiological why” of each technique, bringing a clear understanding of how any technique affects the body.

At Wolverine Self Defense, Tim brings valuable and applicable real world insight to self defense training, so that students receive the most well rounded training experience available in Colorado Springs.

David Kahn

US Chief Instructor - Israeli Krav Maga

David Kahn is the US Chief Instructor for the Israeli Krav Maga Association.

David Kahn has formally trained all five branches of the U.S. military, the Royal Marines, the Italian Marines, as well as federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in many central training schoolhouses. These schoolhouses include the Marine Corps Martial Arts School of Excellence (MACE), Naval Special Warfare Advanced Training Command (Coronado), and Army School of Combatives (Ft. Benning). David has also trained the Academy instructors of the FBI, DEA, New Jersey State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, Philadelphia Police, NYNJ Port Authority, and a host of other agencies. He is a certified instructor by the State of New Jersey Police Training Commission and MPOETC approved. David has also trained NFL players in DK Krav Maga Football Combatives including several perennial pro bowlers.

Woven within the fabric of Instructor Kahn's pedigree, he also holds an edict of a fifth-degree black belt in Combat Jiu-Jitsu from the United States Judo Association. Further separating his professional training from that of 'demonstration practitioner', Mr. Kahn develops his real-world programming from an ongoing relationship with current Military and Law Enforcement specialists.

Within his appointment as Director of the Israeli Combative Tactics Association (ICTA) "It's not enough to create a plan of attack from something you see online or hear about in the third person. We test, study, debug, and actively seek to complicate every situation, knowing that nothing can be depended upon happening when you're called on to protect your life or those of your loved ones. This is true martial innovation for all people at all levels."

Mainstream media regularly feature David including New York Times, Men’s Fitness, GQ, Esquire, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, Penthouse, Fitness, Marine Corps News, Armed Forces Network, Special Operations Report, and Military.com. He has also appeared on mainstream news networks including CBS, ABC, Fox, WPN 11, and the Discovery Channel.

David has authored seven Krav Maga books with two of his books have won national book awards. The books in order of publication are Krav Maga: An Essential Guide to the Renowned Method -- for Self Defense and Fitness | Advanced Krav Maga -- The Next Level of Fitness and Self-Defense | Krav Maga Weapon Defenses | Krav Maga Professional Tactics | Krav Maga Defense -- How to Defend Yourself Against the 12 Most Common Unarmed Street Attacks along with two forthcoming publications, Krav Maga Combatives: Maximum Effect (YMAA 2019) and Krav Maga Situational Defenses (YMAA 2020).

David has also produced four accompanying award-winning DVD sets including Mastering Krav Maga Volume | Mastering Krav Maga Volume II | Mastering Krav Maga Volume III and Mastering Krav Maga Volume IV along with creating the 42-hour Mastering Krav Maga Online program.

David and his partners operate several Israeli Krav Maga training centers of excellence.

The Wolverine

The wolverine is the symbol of our school.

The rare and elusive wolverine is known for its fearlessness, tenacity, and ability to face down and fight larger predators more than twice its size. At Wolverine Self Defense, we train so that our students may leave our school encompassing the courageous and confident fighting nature of this incredible North American animal.

As the wolverine is rare and elusive, the well-trained Kravist only emerges from a school which instructs legitimate Israeli Krav Maga. Because not all Krav Maga is the same.

As the wolverine confidently faces down predators, so the Kravist is equipped with the focused mindset and learned principles to assess, identify, and eliminate a legitimate threat.

As the wolverine is fearless when faced with a threat, so becomes the well trained and decisive Kravist in the face of a legitimate and unyielding threat.

As the wolverine successfully fights off larger predators more than twice its size, so does the well trained Kravist. When escape is not an option, the Kravist utilizes the training, tools, and controlled aggression to defend against an attacker of any size or gender.

The well-trained Kravist, if and only when absolutely necessary, will engage with the instinctive tenacity and violence of a wolverine to defend him or herself and loved ones.

Think you're a mouse and can't defend yourself? Come to Wolverine Self Defense, learn Israeli Krav Maga, and become like the wolverine.

So that you may walk in peace.