August 26, 2015, from around the world
But does it work?
This is the question we get asked all the time. Sometimes I am amazed by the questions. You spend your life doing something of value and then someone looks at you, "C'mon...but in a real situation you would never be able to pull this off."
Great words from people who have never trained and never tried. It is like saying to a rabbi or a priest, "Do you really believe there is some magical force listening to your prayers? C'mon, we are all adults."
My answer is always the same, you can only improve your chances by trying. When people ask me, "Hey Moshe, how many bad guys can you take out at once?" Well I know they have been watching too many cartoons. I do not waste my time with such people. They need help.
Over my many years of teaching I have not only heard many success stories from my own students, but even more gratifying are the many stories I have heard about students of my students. This means that my students, the IKI instructors, are passing on the information in a reliable way.
I wish I had kept a record of these stories, but I have not, below are just a few stories, some as I recall them being told to me, some in the words of the instructors who passed on the stories to me. I am sure there are many more success stories that have never been reported.
The main thing is our system, IKI Krav Maga, has helped many people, physically and emotionally.
"Name withheld" is a little embarrassed about this but she told me that she used Krav when in Italy on her own. Anyhow some guy she was talking to suddenly wanted to kiss her and got really grabby and aggressive. She said she had to actually meditate later to figure out what she did but it was as follows: Throat strike followed by elbow strike to head followed by knee strike and then an arm-bar. Then she left him to his misery. Having seen her in some of our very intense multiple attacker scenarios in class, my guess is that the whole thing took somewhere around 2 to 4 seconds. She said it was a blur.
Anyhow, while none of us who are serious about self defense actually promote violence it is extremely rewarding to me that in just over 6 months she has developed the instincts and talents to handle the situation in a foreign land with foreign people and no backup without even thinking or planning what to do. Maybe it’s self serving but even though Jamie and some of the others have used what we’ve taught them “out there”, this girl is not a fighter and doesn’t put herself ‘on the line’ on a daily basis so I am very proud that it all worked. Of course I must also offer my thanks to you for teaching me what and how to teach her.
Hal Herndon, Georgia Mountain Krav Maga
Nicolo, an Italian who came to work with the "oppressed" so called Palestinians, began to feel threatened by the people he came to rescue. He began attending Krav Maga classes with me. One Sunday night we worked on being grabbed by the neck and pushed against the wall. That Tuesday he had a chance to use it.
Three Arab men attacked him outside the Old City walls. One grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against the wall. Nicolo said he could smell the beer and vodka on his breath. Nicolo used the technique he just learned and smashed the guy into the wall, causing instant bleeding. The other two brave warriors ran for the hills.
Yonat brought a friend to class. She only stayed for a few lessons. The reason she came was a sad one, marital violence. Soon I received a phone call from Yonat; good news and bad news. The good news is Krav Maga works, the bad news the women's husband attacked her.
She decided to give the marriage a second chance and invited her husband back home. He attacked her and pinned her to the ground. The woman, who only attended a few of our classes, did as she learned in class and knocked the attacker off of her.
Kim, Florida
Kim is a police officer for the state of Florida. She drove three hours to attend my seminar. Sadly she could not participate due to an injury suffered on the job. Thus the need for Krav Maga.
When she healed she returned to work. She was called to a home where domestic violence was reported. When she arrived she found a large man in his "wife beater" T shirt, beating his wife.
Her taser was not working and she did not want to pull her hand gun. She called for backup. The aggressive man attacked her. Using a technique she saw at the seminar she was able to knock him off balance. While he was stunned she handcuffed him.
When the backup arrived he was lying down peacefully, handcuffed.
E, Mexico City
E is a young single mom, a widow. After only one Krav Maga seminar she found use for her newfound skills less than a month after the seminar.
As she was walking out of a hospital, feeling weak and sick, a man approached her and put a gun in her belly. She was terrified but had enough of the crime and violence. She was tired of living in fear. So she did as we training at the seminar.
She not only caused the gun to fall from his hand and roll under a car, but he also broke a finger and his wrist.
Kids of Maaleh Adumim.
Menachem was a skinny kid, bullied on a regular basis. He took up training with me. One day on the way home from school he had enough and fought back. He put the other kid in the hospital. Menachem's dad responded by pulling his son out of our program.
Bracha and Tehilla were being harassed by boys on their way home from school, teased and having their skirts pulled. The "tough guy" boys did not expect much resistance from two modest religious girls. They fought back, kicks and punches, and chased the boys away.
South Africa
A young man, 18 years old, started training in South Africa due to the violence over there. In his first six months of training twice he faced an armed gunman, and both times he successfully took the gun away.
Here is a report of an incident of one of our students in South Africa.
He was walking his dog when confronted by a larger hooligan type boy standing in front of Noorheuwel High School,
this hooligan was out and out on the way to hurt Ian.
Ian said more than once to the guy that he does not want to fight.
The hooligan said to him he does care and he was going to “f**k him up.
Ian gave the dog to a young girl to hold and prepared for the fight.
The young hooligan threw a semi hook-straight punch at Ian’s face.
Ian used the “IKI basic block” or my name for the technique the “Oh-shucks” to deflect the punch,
Trapped the hooligans arm
And did an elbow strike on the idiot’s face.
He then released the hooligan, pushed him off and again said that he did not want to fight.
The hooligan, with deflated ego, held his hand over his bleeding nose and went off having very little if any fight left in him.
The girl has now spread the word on Ian’s ability and Ian has gained many friends and respect from the students at the school.
Deon Smit, South Africa
I cannot remember all the stories, but there have been hundreds of them over the years and I am sure many more than never reached me. The point is we are making a difference, as they say..taking a bite out of crime. We are not eliminating crime, only taking a bite out. But it is a start.
Feel free to send in your stories.
Remember, when you are training, you are making an investment, an investment in yourselves.