Evaluating Self Defense Techniques
By Moshe Katz
CEO 
Israeli Krav International

September 26, 2025, Israel

In martial arts we all tend to say - My style is the best. There is a logic to this, if you choose a certain style, then most likely you believe it to be effective. Although this is not always the case; Sometimes one follows in the footsteps of other family members, sometimes it is a cultural choice. When I was younger, I used to watch all those late-night Hong Kong martial arts films, Hung Gar vs. Shaolin, Tiger Claw vs Praying Mantis, Japanese Karate vs. Chinese Kung fu etc. It was fun and interesting to compare the style.  

As I grew older and more experienced in martial arts my focused changed to practical self-defense. It was a choice I made at a certain point. While I appreciated and enjoyed many martial arts, when it came to teaching, I realized it would be best to focus on one art. Whereas at one point I had classes for Kung Fu, Karate, jujitsu etc all in one week, I decided to take the best of everything and teach only Israeli self-defense, Krav Maga. Be a master of one art rather than a jack of all trades. I have never regretted this decision.

My focus now is entirely on self-defense, preservation of life, not style nor culture. Over the years I have worked with thousands of students all over the world, of all types, shapes, sizes and backgrounds. But this does not give me a carte blanch to judge other styles, this does not give me the right to put down other styles simply because of my experience. No, I give my reasons. 

Part of our instructor exam is - Show me What we do, Show me How we do it, Show me Why we do it this way, and Show me Why we do not do another way. I do not demonstrate the techniques I reject to mock them, but to compare and learn how to properly evaluate the effectives of a technique, fairly, objectively and honestly. Our lives depend on this process. We must be impartial.

Again I came across a promotional video on social media. It was a defense vs a double hand choke, man choking woman and pushing her against the wall. I am very familiar with this situation and with the defense offered. In fact, it is a defense that I learned many years ago, taught for years!! Yes, I taught it on the seminar circuit, and I believed in it. Here goes; Man chokes woman, she pokes him in the eye, I usually preferred the poke to the throat, same idea, and then the Defender continues with a strike to the groin for added good measure. I enjoyed showing how with my pinky I could get the guy to let go. Yes, I believed in this technique at the time. I did not see the flaws which I shall point out below. A demonstration with a cooperative student/partner, does not prove anything but your acting skills.

In the video presented today on social media, it works perfectly, the man groans in pain, and the Likes and "You go girl!" follow. and then comes my comment. Yes, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, I am the party pooper, the one who comes to spoil the party, with the truth.

Did you ever consider this....the law of physics, his hands are already on your neck, correct? but your hands have to travel a certain distance to reach his eyes, am I correct? So who has a better chance? will you reach him before he chokes you out and kills you or smashes your head against the wall?

Think about this. He already has his hands on your neck, all he has to do is squeeze a little harder and the lights will go out for you, but your hand needs to travel. Yes? you have ground to cover, he does not. Your hand has to travel to his eyes while you are being pushed and choked, this is not a static situation. While your hand is traveling to meet his eye he is choking you, not waiting like in the video, he is choking you and pushing you and yet you think you can hit his eyes, a precision move?  Also consider that the attacker has a psychological advantage. He wants this attack, you do not. He surprised you, not the other way around. He will be stronger and more aggressive, i.e. he has ALL the advantages. While your hands reach for his eyes, and all he has to do is move his head a little, or flinch, to avoid that poke to the eye which is a fine motor skill, he has time to choke you out, his hands are literally on your neck.

I know of such cases, and they all ended with the tragic death of the woman. So why am I publicly criticizing the woman in this video demonstration? Because she is endangering lives. She is clearly not very experienced, she is like the Talmud says, a student who has not served the master sufficiently. We must serve the master, we must learn. That comes with time, with age, with wisdom. She ends her videos with an arrogant arm movement, and yet not a single one of the techniques she demonstrates would pass our standard at IKI. All would be rejected.

IKI is an evolving system, that is why all instructors MUST be IKI online members, because today's Krav Maga is different than yesterdays'. New situations emerge; new experiences emerge. There is hardly a seminar where a new situation does not emerge. At our recent seminar in Italy, a new situation came up that I had never thought of. In the Netherlands we faced some new situations, in Brazil and most certainly always in South Africa. So we are always applying what we know and we are always refining and reevaluating everything. 

I stand behind every technique that I teach. Some are not yet perfect solutions, we do not live in a perfect world, but I believe we have the best solutions in the world today. And I am willing to test my technqiues at every seminar, all over the world, in front of a live audiance, not in some back room, so far we have never failed.

So yes, I question these old, outdated techniques that are being recycled on social media, what looks good on film is not always good in reality. There is a difference between a performing art and an art that actually performs.  

MosheLA2023

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