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Gun Training Krav Maga Training
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
November 20, 2023, Israel
People are inherently lazy. Nature always seeks the easiest path, nothing wrong with that. The water will find the easiest path to flow. The wind will come through a crack. An animal will find the easiest prey to attack and the most convenient path to follow, that is the way of the world. Therefore, we should not be surprised that laziness is an inherent factor in human behavior: seek the easiest path.
In many cases this tendency is good; people invent better ways, more efficient ways, to get things done. Ironically, the process of inventing new products requires a person not to be lazy even though the intention is to find a better, easier way to get things done. Using a modern stove is an easier way of cooking then building a fire from twigs, and yet it took a hard-working person to invent and improve the stove. Lighting a match is easier than rubbing two sticks together and flying on an aircraft is easier and faster than sailing the seven seas. So, easier is indeed better. But it takes a hard-working person to find the easy way.
It is the same with self-defense. I have spent the greater portion of my life creating a more efficient method of self-defense. And yet, most people still refuse to devote the required time and effort to learn to defend themsleves. They prefer something easier.
What would they prefer? Well, that would prefer that someone else protect them, the government, the military, the police. Sadly, we have discovered that that is not the case. Unless you can afford a personal guard, you will have to take care of yourself. Hopefully the military will protect the border (sadly, that is not always the case) and hopefully the police will keep the gangs and cartels away from you (again, sadly, not always the case), but otherwise when it comes to personal protection, you are on your own. As I always say, you are both the first line of protection and the last line of protection.
How is that so?
You are the first line of defense in the sense that if you are attacked, you are the first line of defense, before the police have time to arrive, it is you who must block that knife attack, disarm the gun man etc. You can't expect the police to be guarding you all the time everywhere. But you are also the last line of defense, as happened in Israel recently, if the military failed to stop the enemy and the security guards failed to stop the enemy, now it is your turn. You are the last barrier between the attacker and your family. You are the last line of defense.
Therefore, you have this grave responsibility. It is upon your shoulders, and you cannot relegate or delegate this responsibility to others.
The Gun Factor
Many say, OK, great, I need to protect myself and my family, I will purchase a gun. This is only a partial solution at best. Sadly, in most countries it does not take much to get a gun license. I know that when I applied for my license years ago, I was required to take a 1.5-hour course and then fire 50 bullets at a target from a few meters away, scoring a minimum of 30 within a silhouette of a man. The target did not move. The shooter did not have to move. There was no time limit. You could just stand there, take your sweet time, aim carefully and fire. If twenty out of thirty bullets totally missed the person/target (possibly hitting innocent bystanders), that was perfectly OK. The license is basically a license to kill. Totally irresponsible.
In the event of a terrorist attack, the last thing we need is a bunch of untrained people waving guns around and firing. I would bet my life that they would not be able to hit the terrorist but rather many innocent bystanders would be shot. This is reckless behavior. Just purchasing a gun is not self-defense.
But why do people prefer a gun over Krav Maga? Two reasons; 1. In Krav Maga you will have to get hit a little, ouch, that hurts, we don't want that. 2. In Krav Maga it will take you time to learn the techniques, you can't just "buy Krav Maga", you actually need to train, and this is inconvenient. You will have to give up a couple of nights per week, miss your favorite TV show (Ok, perhaps that is no longer true today with internet), but it is not the lazy man way of protecting yourself. Buying a gun seems much easier...
only it isn't, like most things in life it is an illusion. (Or delusion)
The fact is you can cause a lot more damage to others, collateral damage, with a gun than you can with Krav Maga. If you fail at Krav Maga, you pay the price, if you fail with a gun, many others will pay the price. This should not be a license to kill. When I earned my gun license, I realized that I knew just enough to get into trouble. So I took a course, and then another course and then another. These were demanding course lasting several weeks each. We trained in closed quarters and open terrain, we had to shoot from a car, we had to jump out quickly, we had to discern between friend and foe. We had to drop the magazine while running, reload, shoot again and not miss. And I still do not consider myself anything of an expert. My point, purchasing a gun, if you are a responsible person, is not a short cut. You can't buy protection. A gun requires just as much training as Krav Maga. A gun is not the lazy man method of self-defense. Becoming decently proficient with a gun is a long and expensive process. I repeat Long and Expensive process. (these courses can run hundreds or even thousands of dollars).
In the tragic events of Black Sabbath, October 7, 2023, many Israelis fought back heroically, handguns against AK47s, RPGs and hand grenades. One man moved from room to room, to the roof, to a window and eliminated 14 well-armed terrorists. But this was no ordinary man. He was a top police officer and highly trained with a handgun. He did not take a 2-hour course and hit 30 out of 50 bullets on a still silhouette of a man from a few meters away. In fact, his name was known to the terrorists, and he was deemed a highly valuable hostage. They came for him, and he knew it. When they came for him, he signaled to his wife that if he failed to kill them all, he would kill his own family and then take his own life. They would not take him alive. This was not your ordinary gun permit holder.
A handgun is a very useful tool, in the right hands. If you do have one in your hands, make sure you are worthy of it. There is no short cut, there is no easy way home. TRAIN!
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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