I Judged What I Could See
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

November 11, 2026, Israel

A person had a job that did not look impressive from the outside. He worked from home, had free time and flexible work hours. He had no need to dress up unless he had a business meeting. Another person judged him as a loser who hangs around his house all day in his sweatpants, playing on his laptop, a person of no influence, a person lacking in importance. 

This person in fact was working on an important security project that would eventually prove profitable, and, vitally important to secure personal information. Naturally it was not something he was going to talk about to impress others.

But others judged him, excluded him, even mocked him.

When the truth emerged that he had achieved some important breakthroughs, those who had previously dismissed him, simply commented, "I judged what I could see", as if lack of information is sufficient reason to put someone down.

People have always been concerned with the impression that they are making, so much so that they had statues erected in their honor, portraits drawn and cities named for them. They wanted to be noticed during their lifetime and long after. Most are long since forgotten.

For most, making an impression, and appearing important, is far more important than actually making a contribution to society. In Judaism we honor and remember people by their thoughts, their wisdom, their contributions, not by statues. In fact, statues traditionally are shunned, and strictly prohibited by the Bible.

I judged what I could see, and what I saw, did not impress me at first.

I have seen many martial arts demonstrations, well-rehearsed and choreographed. To the naked eye, to the amateur in the audience, these are impressive demonstrations. 

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting
Those cats were fast as lightning
In fact, it was a little bit frightening
But they fought with expert timing

This makes a great impression. On the other hand, there are styles which do not "make an impression", they are more subtle, in fact at times some of these styles have a deliberate goal of hiding their techniques, disguising them as something else, a dance, an old man, a drunken man. There are techniques in styles such as Chen style Tai Chi Chuan that are truly deadly, yet they do not appear so, and therefore if one were to "judge by what could see" they would be making a clear misjudgment.

Our style too, is not one I display on social media. We do not make the same impression as other styles. We are not focused on extensive elbow strikes to the face, endless knee kicks to the groin, "Tough guy antics". Nor do we have fancy wrist grabbing and filipping knife disarms. We are not designed to impress the uninformed.  And yet, our style works, and has been proven, again and again in real life. Many police departments have adopted our style as effective for people without endless hours for training.

When you judge by what you can see, you are making an uninformed decision. You are proving that ignorance is bliss, and yet a curse, as you cannot see the truth. Reality has subtleties that not everyone can see at once with a casual glance.

With IKI Krav Maga we have many moves that to the outside world do not appear impressive, their effectiveness is not obvious to the casual observer, and yet they are brutally effective in real life encounters, once you understand what you are seeing. 

"I judged what I could see" is an admission of guilt, of pre-judging and of mis-judging. There is more to the truth than meets the eye on first contact. 

Moshe2021

Moshe Katz, 8th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt Hall of Fame, USA and Europe. International speaker on self-defense and security, over 1,100 Krav Maga self-defense seminars. 

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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