Often, in The Krav Maga community the discussion of which Krav Maga organization or system is the real deal, and historically the original takes a big part. Sentences like “we were the first” or “my instructor's teacher was friends with the founder” pour out like a drink offering.
If Krav Maga was a traditional martial art, such as Kung Fu, or Karate I may be able to understand the importance of what was the original style. They want to stay true to the art. However, Krav Maga is not a martial art, it's a system designed to save lives. It was first developed to help the young boys and girls of the Israeli army get back to their homes. And nowadays it helps people worldwide protect themselves and the ones close to them.
To these people, the question of who was there first is not relevant. To them the important thing, is that what they are learning works.
In Hebrew, Krav Maga means Contact Combat, simple as that. And that is exactly what it is; taking the best methods and doing what you got to do to stay alive.
Because of this, as a life saving system, it should always be evolving and looking for better ways of helping people survive. Just like weapons are constantly getting better so that soldiers could go back to their families, and medicine evolves non stop to try and cure more illnesses, there is absolutely no reason that Krav Maga will remain stuck in 1948. The battlefield is ever changing.
So what Krav Maga style should you do? Well, any style that you like and feel is the best for you. But please remember one thing; if it's not simple, it's not Krav Maga. Make sure your system is always evolving and looking for easier and more efficient ways. Unfortunately, today there are many schools who claim to be teaching “self- defense”, however, in reality their techniques are all choreographed and fancy. Logically, if it's choreographed then it can not be reality based self defense, and certainly not Krav Maga. It's a martial art. The question in a person's mind when practicing Krav Maga should always be, “can I really use this under the pressure of a real fight?”