Growing Older
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

July 10, 2025, Israel

When you were young you used to say...live and let live...

How the years pass, and suddenly you are the old guy telling stories that took place years ago, expounding life lessons and old "war stories". Growing up, growing old. Sometimes time stands suspended, and I am young guy with a lifetime of dreams ahead, and then I am an old grey guy looking back at accomplishments and experiences I could never have dreamed up. And teachers, and friends, and family, who are no longer. a Lifetime!! Teachers, Rabbis, Karate masters that have been promoted to the next rank in the next life. 

I am still running to catch the "F" train on McDonald Ave to make it to the Oyama dojo on time. Growing up, Growing old. And I can still pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday, and I blessed to have many wonderful people around me. 

Night becomes day, day becomes day and, in the Shadows, many old friends appear, Growing up, Growing Old. But there is still much ahead, and much to do, as we must become the teachers, move from the Kids table to the Adult table. Yes, every old person still has that little child inside them. 

Are we still looking for the key? Or have we realized that as with Kafkas Der Prozess, the door has always been open, waiting only for us to make the move before it is too late? Is there a room we are still afraid to enter?

I walk up the stairs to the dojo, it is cold, but I am happy, Saiko Shihan will soon greet us. Hard work is good. Perhaps he will hit us with the Shinai stick as we do our pushups. And then I will treat myself to an Orange Julius before going to work. Growing up. 

Lesson learned, what can we pass on, what wisdom can we share? A show in The Village, a young woman striving to make a career as a rock and roll star. An Asian guy smiles at me as he plays his guitar on the street, amazing skills, will he ever make it?

And an old guy walks by and I wonder, what secrets, what lessons, does his soul hold? Is he still chasing something in the night, running down a dream? Will he grab his dreams before they slip away?

And I must find a solution to a difficult knife threat because someone in Germany had a question. It looks impossible but I have something that works. 

Growing older means reevaluating everything, our life, our goals, and our Krav Maga, our survival tactics. It is 1986 and I working on my back-spinning kick at the dojo. It is 2025 and I am working on a knife threat with a wrist grab. Growing up, things change. And we change! We don't look the same, we don't feel the same, the energy and flexibility of our youth might have been replaced by the aches and pains and permanent injuries of our more advanced age. We need to rethink our self-defense. The Jump Kick has been replaced by a defense for Multiple Attackers, when you are alone, on the streets of a foreign country. We adapt. 

An old guy gets up on stage with this trusted guitar, he wrote this song back in the 1960's, but now isn't it incredibly strange to be 70? Old friends, sharing a bench in the park. Sometimes a friend comes to sit with you, and other times it is just a butterfly that lands on your shoulder. Old Friends. Sharing a moment quietly. 

Let the wind blow, feel the breeze and a memory of my father appears, we are in the car, summer vacation, did the moment pass? I hope you are OK Dad, what is it like over there? Is it what we expected? Remember all those talks we had? about baseball, about life. Thanks for bringing me my first guitar, from Uncle Jack, now the guitar keeps memories alive as the past comes alive. We are just two old souls swimming in the same fishbowl. 

But we move forward, there are people who need answers, guidance, there are gun threats, and knife threats that I must find solutions for. We are young, we are alive. We are still very young, and the future is so bright I have to wear shades. 

Driving up the 101 and Hotel California is not far away. We are still on the highway of life, and there is still a long journey ahead, so I pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday. Saiko Shihan is standing tall and strong and urging us to train hard, don't be lazy. So I roll out of bed, put on my coat and go outside, the snow hits me in the face, but that is OK, the train is not far away. It is time to train; the future awaits us.  

Moshe2021

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

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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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