Hadassah Women Learn Krav Maga

Brooklyn Region News

by Arlene Schulman

Hadassah women are fearless when it comes to fund-raising and ferocious about their commitment to Israel. But walking alone on a dark street or riding the NYC subway is another matter. But, self-defense was added to the list of formidable skills of 20 Hadassah women, when they teamed up to learn Krav Maga, a form of Israeli martial arts.

Krav Maga, a very practical martial arts form, gets to the roots of defense. Event participants learned how to defend themselves from an attacker wielding a knife or pointing a gun, which body parts to aim for (throat, wrist, pressure points under both sides of the neck, eyes and knees), and never use your knuckles to punch someone in the head. A head is harder than a hand, and knuckles and hands have been broken this way. The women partnered up to practice after instructor Moshe Katz offered spirited demonstrations of each maneuver. He demonstrated Krav Maga moves using plastic knives and plastic guns with the help of several enthusiastic volunteers.

Katz, a 4th degree Black Belt, trainer of Elite Security Guards and founder of Mountain Spirit Warrior Institute in Israel, travels to the U.S. several times a year from Israel to teach Krav Maga to organizations like Hadassah and to college groups. The event was spon-sored by Young Women Young Leaders of Hadassah Brooklyn Region and Manhattan Chapter after a suggestion by Lisa Solo. "With the help of brave group members like Lisa, Moshe demonstrated techniques that were practical, to the point, and easy to use," said Linley-Shimat Lys, Krav Maga Co-Chair.As part of the educational evening, Roni Schwartz, Brooklyn's Major Gift Outreach Chair, announced a raffle of beautiful jewelry to benefit Hadassah Neurim. "How wonderful it was for women from Brooklyn and Manhattan to come together to learn self-defense and to learn more about Hadassah," she said. Afterwards, Stephanie Jo Klein hosted a short film highlighting the Morningstar Commission.

"It was a very empowering evening," says Ingrid Posniak, Co-Chair of the event. "Six of us walked to the train all pumped up from the class. We were waiting for someone to start with us so we could use our newly acquired skills!"

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