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First Step Self Defense
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
June 16, 2025, Israel
Facing larger meaner bullies has never been fun. Fortunately, these are actors, and Sensei Kreese, i.e. Martin Kove is actually a very fine human being, a true gentleman.
My journey through the martial arts involved technique. In my "Home Dojo" there was little to no talking. I can't recall the instructors ever explaining anything. We just lined up and tried our best to imitate the higher ranked students who were in the row in front of us. On a rare occasion a sempai, or junior instructor, would make a minor correction, correct our stance or move our hand a certain way. The only wisdom I picked up was from reading interviews from the head instructor in a martial arts magazine or in the quarterly dojo newsletter. There was certainly no discussion of the fear or trauma in facing a knife or gun.
Today, many years later, I view self-defense in a very different light, and I see a great deal that was lacking in my own early training, as valuable as it was. I have gained a great deal of experience, not only in training but in learning about real-life violent encounters. I feel that as a Krav Maga head instructor my responsibility goes far, far beyond technique. Technique is only scratching the surface and is not nearly enough.
Physical skills are important but certainly not enough. I need not prove this, I need not bring statistics or police reports, for the matter is well-known. How many top athletes have failed in real-life encounters, even martial arts instructors and boxing champions, star football players, robbed and killed. There is much more that is required, beyond technique, beyond perfecting your picture-book perfect side kick, yoko geri.
Understanding violence, understanding the culture of crime, understanding hatred, understanding how our body responds to fear, to shock, to loud sounds, to the sight of a knife or a gun in our face, that is at least as important as any physical skill.
I think back, how I read each edition of Black Belt Magazine, cover to cover, but the part I cherished most was the technique. This was long before internet or youtube videos. Each month there was a technique from a great master, each time a different style, and I would follow all the steps and the photos, from Step 1 to Step 17C. And I tried to master the moves and become an expert.
I have come a long way, and I no longer follow that path. It leads to a dead-end.
Now let us think of a technique, how do we start teaching it? (Please think about this a minute before reading the next line).
It is usually...raise your right arm as such, more your left leg as such, am I correct?
But I now reject this approach, for I believe in all my heart that we have missed the first two steps. But the answer was given, long ago, if you paid attention.
It was subtle, it was hinted at, in the early Karate Kid movies. Wise old Miyagi Sensei explained it. Move fast enough, when necessary, avoid fight, but if must fight - WIN.
Here are the first two steps, and they are Crucial to your survival.
1. Make a Decision - A physical response is not the only option. You might be able to get away, or talk your way out of it, or negotiate. It is NOT as we are taught, i.e. boom, we are in a physical confrontation. Often there is a threat, a prelude, an opportunity to consider your options. It does not always start with an attack, often there is a threat, a verbal confrontation. That is the time to quickly and carefully consider your options. You and you alone must decide. If you have taken the decision to fight, then we move on to the second step. But the first step is a decision, too many, most, martial arts school ignore this, they ignore the decision-making process. This is a crucial step, not to be ignored.
2. Fight - Once you have made the decision to counter this individual with physical violence, i.e. martial arts, Krav Maga, self-defense, then step 2 comes into play, but what could that be?
"If must fight - WIN".
It is mustering up all your inner strength, it is understanding the totally brutal and ugly nature of hatred and violence. It is a determination that "I am not going to be a victim", "they are not going to take me", "I am not getting on the train to Auschwitz!"
Step Two is your inner Battle Cry, Step Two is beyond the physical, beyond technique. Step Two is your soul.
I had a friend who was training to be a tour guide, and although I am not an officially license tour guide, I have been leading the tours for IKI Tour and Train for years. She decided to come along, hear me, pick up some tips, and "practice" a bit on our students. Her observations of me were interesting.
She said that not being a professionally licensed tour guide, I was very different from what she experienced in the course. She said I was more passionate, had more feeling, that I felt the history, not just reciting memorized texts, and that I brought in personal experiences and examples. This is the same as I am advocating for our Krav Maga defense, make it yours.
You need to feel it, not just know it. It is not step one, mai geri, step two Yoko geri, no, it is feel it in your soul, you are going out to combat now. You are fighting for your life, your honor, your dignity, and that of your family. FEEL it in every part of your body, this is a holy war!
To me steps 1 and 2 must precede the physical martial arts, that is the missing ingredient I have seen lacking in every school I have trained in. We train to survive, not for the ring, not for a tournament, for life!
Join us! Survive, Thrive. See below for details. We are waiting for you.
Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt hall of fame, USA and Europe.
Understand the Israeli Fighting Mentality - Israel a Nation of Warriors by Moshe Katz
What is the cultural background of Krav Maga? What makes it unique? What makes the Israeli military so effective? Why are Israeli security systems used all over the world?
What are the Biblical origins of Krav Maga and who was the first Krav Maga instructor?
What weapons and military strategies did our Biblical ancestors use?
How has Krav Maga developed in Israel and what are its goals?
All that and more in this unique book.
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