bad techniques done well
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

 June 6, 2022, Israel

I happened to come across some videos from a well known Krav Maga school. Names shall be omitted. I will be honest; it truly bothered me. 

He was advertising self-defense, Israeli style etc etc Military, blah blah blah. He had videos showing all aspects of Krav Maga, from gun to chokes to knives to ground. (this is not an IKI Member, but someone I know personally, but never certified, and sorry, but no hints and it is no one who would be reading this blog, so let's not get offended accidently. If you reading this blog, it is not about you.)

I watched and I was aghast, upset. This is all really really bad. I truly and honestly believe that this individual would do more good for his community if he would shut down his fancy dojo and close the doors. What he is teaching is worst than knowing nothing. He is teaching all the outdated, fancy, complicated sleight of hand movements that I have been preaching against for years. But, he is doing it extremely well. Thus this blog is ...really bad techniques done really well.

The guy is a really good martial artist. There is no question about that, but why, why on earth has he chosen such bad techniques? The classic Krav Maga stuff that has been taught for years, since I was a beginner? Why can't he see the fallacy of all this! 

These teachings go  against everything I believe in - i.e. every technique must be easy to learn, easy to apply, easy to remember. We must not rely upon Strength, Speed, Precision.

Of course the videos look great, and they will bring in students. But these students will give up soon as they will find these techniques difficult to learn and difficult to remember, and difficult to use. I have learned this personally over 40 years of training. This stuff is bad! and yet the instructor is quite good, very adapt, very skilled, and he makes it look so good that even I am tempted to re-visit some of those techniques. 

So why did I drop them? and why should you?

I am very Israeli in this regard, I believe in total transparency. That means I will show you the technique, explain how it works, there are no "secrets". I will show you both, mine and those of the others, and say, now you try both of them. Let's create some real resistance, some element of surprise. And now, YOU show me what you think is best.

At every seminar, after I demonstrate a technique, I say, "now you try it, let me know what you think." Your input matters. 

At every seminar there is some instructor trying this for the first time, they are welcomed with open arms. And at the end of the seminar they come to me with words like, "I was humbled, truly humbled" (recent seminar in England), or, "I have been training for decades yet many of the technique I saw today are situations I never even encountered in my other style." (recent seminar in Germany).

I don't tell you what is best, I simply guide you. On our Vimeos I let it all out. I show what we do, our techniques, than I demonstrate a classic Krav Maga technique, traditional methods, as done by the leading associations. Then I break it done and show why one technique is logical, fits in with how our bodies work, follows the laws of nature, gravity and physics, while another technique defies all these truths and can only work if done with ...great Precision, great Strength and great Speed. And as I explain, any technique that requires those elements to work, is simply NOT a good technique.

I have seen great martial artists, they make great choreographed videos, they have compliant student actors to work with, and they make the technique look really good. But it is not. 

Talmudic Analogy

The Talmud is our guide to life, it is also the most intricate book of logic that I know of. There is a saying: a Talmudic scholar is so adapt at logic and argument that he can bring 150 proofs that an insect or crawling creature, is kosher. i.e. by logical methodology he can "prove" that a creature clearly prohibited by the Holy Scriptures, the Hebrew Bible, is permitted to eat, is kosher. And yet, the unclean creature is still prohibited, not kosher. The analogy here is: A great martial artist can take a faulty technique and make it look good. He can produce very exciting videos, he can put a fancy name on it (Israeli Federal Association of.....blah blah blech) and still, the bad technique remains; not kosher. It is still a bad technique.

At IKI Krav Maga we take each technique, we test it under the most demanding conditions. We have the advantage that we can test these techniques all over the world. We analyze the technique to make sure it fits in with the natural instinctive moves and rhythms of the body. We strictly follow Bruce Lee's concept of Economy of Motion and minimizing movement. We learn to relax and follow the natural flow of the body and use aggressiveness and strength as and when needed. As Frank Dux said, this is the most effective and easiest system he has ever seen. He joined us for Tour and Train and said he was amazed by the rapid progress of students from beginners to advanced in the course of only 10 days. 

We follow the concept of humility and ditch the idea of trying to look or act tough. We adhere to Bruce Lee's statement, that, "Freedom discovers the man the moment he is no longer concerned over what impression he is making or is about to make". (Tao of Jeet Kun Do).

A great martial artist with many years experience can make any technique look impressive, but our goal is the average person who just wants to survive. 

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