"Lichtenstein" was born in 1964 in Rehovot, Israel. He began training in the martial art of krav maga in 1967 under its founder, Imi Lichtenfeld (1910–1998). Lichtenstein began teaching the art at the age of 15. He served for three years in the Israeli Defense Forces, by the end he held a black belt diploma from the Krav Maga Association. He fought in the First Lebanon War (1982).