About Krav Maga Raleigh
Krav Maga, Women's self-defense, and Fitness
Krav Maga Raleigh has trained students in self-defense and fitness in downtown Raleigh since 2008. Our instructors are certified through the Krav Maga Worldwide network and committed to an environment that is challenging, practical, and welcoming regardless of your current fitness level or experience.
Training at Krav Maga Raleigh covers real defensive scenarios alongside dedicated fitness work. Students who train regularly develop confidence, physical conditioning, and situational awareness they carry with them outside the gym. Many come for self-defense and stay for the community.
We start every new student with a free intro. You will sit down with our program advisor, talk through your goals, and find the right program for you. There is no pressure and no commitment required to take that first step.
Meet Our Instructors
Ken Richstad
Owner
Ken started Krav Maga in 2006 while living near the National Training Center in Los Angeles, then opened Krav Maga Raleigh in 2008. His favorite thing to teach is the clinch fighting and wrestling material, and he shamelessly takes credit for inventing the ‘Barfight,’ drill. Besides runn
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Josh Wallace
Krav Maga Instructor
Josh moved to Raleigh in 2017 from Spokane, already an instructor with Krav Maga Worldwide. Shortly after that, he began teaching at Krav Maga Raleigh. He currently teaches a lot of the sparring curriculum, but has a soft spot for the more flashy kicks in the Krav Maga system. Outside the gym, Josh
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Jaimie Lee
Krav Maga Instructor
Jaimie Lee took her first Krav Maga class in January of 2012, and within a year, became an instructor. Her background is in classical dance, but after college, lots of travel, and an arduous career in academic counseling, Jaimie felt she needed something new. She quickly fell in love wit
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Renee Bragg
Customer Service Manager
Renee started at Krav Maga Raleigh in 2015 while working at a jewelry store and could not get enough of the classes! Shortly after getting into level 2, she started working for the studio and spending Even More Time there. Her favorite technique is hand gun from behind dead side. Her favorite thing
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Corbett Hughes
Program Advisor and Instructor
Corbett started training at Krav Maga Raleigh in 2023 after many years of wanting to get back into martial arts. After graduating college, she was excited to mix her love of Krav with her career goals and now spends even more time at the studio and on the mats. Her favorite technique is choke from t
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Lenora Waters
Krav Maga and Fitness Instructor
Lenora started at Krav Maga Raleigh in 2019, and despite feeling a little lost in her first class, she quickly fell in love, and became an instructor in 2022. Her favorite things to teach are all the kicks, and she loves a good ground-and-pound drill. If she’s ever not at the studio, she&rsquo
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Jackson Thigpen
Krav Maga and Fitness Instructor
Ever since Jackson was a kid he wanted to train in martial arts, and after years of wishful thinking finally sought out a system and started training in November of 2009. After two years of training Jackson felt that he had been given a great tool for life from learning proper self-defense, an
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Stephen Terway
Krav Maga Instructor
Stephen Terway started training in March of 2015, started teaching 8 months later, and has been doing it ever since. He comes from a sports and competitive ballroom dance background, so he fell in love with the fast paced training. Stephen’s favorite thing to teach is the round kick
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Daniel Hummel
Fitness Instructor
Daniel started training at Krav Maga Raleigh in 2023 after moving here from DC and started instructing in Feb 2024. He especially enjoys teaching any kind of HIIT circuits which push you to your limits, and doing abs as a group so everyone can feel the love. Outside of Krav he loves playin
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T Jefferson
Instructor
T came from different martial arts backgrounds and wanted to find a martial art that focused about defending yourself in a real world situation. He found Krav Maga in 2023, fell in love instantly and became an instructor in 2025. His favorite techniques to teach are round kicks. Outside of the studi
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Glayton Melo
Groundfighting Instructor
Glayton grew up in Brazil, training with the celebrated Nova Uniao fight team, and becoming a BJJ World Champion before he moved to the US. He opened his own BJJ program in 2019, and teaches groundfighting as well at Krav Maga Raleigh. function healcodeRemove() {
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No experience needed. Just show up and we will take care of the rest.
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