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IKI Universal Block
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
December 24, 2025, Israel
There are many aspects of IKI Krav Maga that are different from other martial arts, and in particular from other styles that use the generic term Krav Maga. This blog is intended for IKI practitioners, and will make little sense or will be of limited value to non-IKI practitioners.
The concept of the Universal Block came about after decades of looking for a solution to blocking punches, and eventually became a solution not only for blocking punches, but also many knife attacks, forearm strikes, grabs, pushes and a general invasion of one's personal space.
This has been employed all over the world during the past years, by ordinary civilians, and by police officers. We have numerous testimonials how this one simple block has helped officers in the line of duty, security guards, VIP guards and "regular" people. It has also proven effective in full contact fighting.
The background to my search.
I had been training already for many years, and teaching as well. I had fought full-contact in Israel and the USA, in the toughest schools including the Jerusalem gym of Itay Gil, the New York dojo of Saiko Shihan Shigeru Oyama as well as some fights in California, (Benny the Jet and others).
My strength was always my legs, my kicks, but when it came to blocking punches, that was not easy. I found that boxers were hitting me, and being hit in the head and just "taking it", is not a long-term practical solution. So I began to search.
I traveled back to the USA and rejoined the Oyama dojo. I fought full contact against their champions, paid my visits to the emergency room and needed stiches to my forehead. I fought the Kyokushin karate champion of Poland and knocked him down with a kick. I trained in Wing Chun Kung Fu, I trained with Professor David James, I trained with Muay Thai champion Kru Phil Nurse, I travelled to California and trained with Benny the Jet and his team. I returned to Israel and trained not only in kickboxing, but I also took up boxing with the Israeli champions, three brothers from Russia. I also purchased every video that seemed to offer a solution. I take my training seriously; I needed to block punches to the face.
None of these met my needs.
And then like a bolt of lightning the Universal Block came to me, a simple, natural, instinctive block that blocked most of what came my way. It developed, evolved, over time, how to use it, how to explain it. It is different, although on the surface the difference seems minute perhaps, but it is very significant. That I can only explain in person or via videos, I will not attempt that in writing.
One of the principles is to respond before the attack begins, and yet not anticipate it. We do this by reacting to body movement before we know the nature of the body movement, thus, it might be a forearm strike, it might be a push, it might be a knife attack, it might be a punch, it might be from the right side, or from the left, it might be a feint, a fake with one side and then surprise strike from the other, it might be a chest-to-chest "macho" shove. It might be a deadly attack, or it might not. If you use a violent defense and then it turns out not to have been a violent attack, if you are a security guard, you are now a former security guard. If you are a police officer, you may be suspended and face charges. The Universal Block will work against all these cases, without unnecessary damage to the innocent, but sufficient violence to the guilty, as I have demonstrated at over 1,000 seminars, thousands of classes, and in countless videos. But that is not the point of this blog today.
Today I want to focus on the Universal Block against a committed knife attack.
Here is the key point I wish to make today; when we see some body movement, and if there is a knife involved, there are only two possibilities of what will happen.
1. You respond before he has committed to the attack, or,
2. You respond after he has committed to the attack
I shall explain.
In many styles of Krav Maga the practitioner tries to anticipate the attack, or charge forward before the attack takes place. They see this as the correct Krav Maga approach; always offense, never defense, the best defense is a good offense, attack his set-up, burst into him, etc. i.e. there are many words, catch phrases, to describe the same thing, or Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. All of these share the same approach; don't wait, be aggressive, after all, isn't that what Krav Mag is all about?
So you see he has a knife, and you charge in. Now let us look at the two, the only two possibilities again.
1. You respond before he has committed to attack. Allow me to compare this to a batter in baseball. Once the batter has committed to the pitch, and he is in full-swing, he cannot stop. Attempts at doing so have resulted in broken bats, or other mishaps. But before he has committed, and the pitch is on its way, he still has options: he can not respond at all, he can swing for the fences, or he can do a "sacrifice bunt", which is a modified strike. The point is that if he has not committed to a full swing, he can still change what he is doing.
In the case of a knife attacker, it is the same. Once he has committed, he cannot change directions, but before he has committed he can!! Now if you chose option 1, the so-called aggressive approach, the offensive approach, if he has not yet committed, he can still change the direction of his attack, and he will cut you very badly. You are charging into a lawn mower, a propeller, a man with a knife who is moving, slipping, changing angles, up down and all around, you will get sliced and diced like a salad. Remember, a knife cuts when it is coming and going.
2. but if you say he has already committed to the attack, then it is too late to charge forward, but only to respond, which is the Universal Block, a defensive move.
i.e. by simple logic, if he is already in a committed motion, you are too late for your charging-in attack. And if he is not yet in motion, then it would be suicidal to charge it as he can and will change directions. Thus, either way, you cannot charge in!
Our approach is a general defense. We do not chase after the attack, we protect our "strike zone". We do not charge in because if he has not yet committed to the attack, he can still change directions in a way that will be too difficult to block, and if he has already committed, then by simple logic we are no longer able to charge in, it is too late, we can only defend and block. It is only one or the other, than is no third option.
The Universal Block is not the perfect block for any particular/specific attack, but it is a general block that takes the edge off a myriad of possibilities of attacks. It is like a sensor, a response to suspicious Body Movement and a wall of protection against an endless possibilities of attacks including hidden weapons. By not being too specific it allows us to cover a much wider range, and minor adjustments can be made based on the circumstances. Again, that is more than can be covered in a blog, for that one needs to come in for training.
For now, this blog is just focusing on one aspect of the Universal Block, the knife attack. To summarize; There are two possibilities; you respond to the attack before he has committed to his full swing, or after. If you charge in "aggressively" before he has totally committed to the knife attack, he can change directions. Even a minor change of direction can be fatal, slicing wrists, arteries. Remember, the knife cuts in all directions. I have seen this happen, police officers charging in on a man with a blade as he swings and turns, many died, many lost limbs. The other option is you respond after he has committed, and at that point you no longer have the time to charge in, to preempt his attack, it is already in motion, that train has left the station. All you can now is respond, and that is what the Universal Block is all about.
I hope this brief explanation adds to your understanding, and the rest is, as we say in Aramaic, Zil Gmor! Go study.
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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