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Knowledge and Strength
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
July 15, 2026, Israel
When I was younger, training in Oyama Kyokushin Karate and later on at Itay Gil's full-contact kickboxing, I was often called "The Animal". It was a compliment and I saw it as such. I entered a world of tough guys, and I had to prove myself. My first month into the Kyokushin training an opponent landed a solid round house kick on my nose and I landed at St. Vincent's hospital. Over the years I would see the inside of many hospitals. Until today I am paying the price for those injuries.
With each fight I waited for the first blow, the first blood, and there was this fleeing of, OK, you got me, some pain, perhaps some blood, and now that the "Baptism of fire" is over, I got hit and I am still standing, now I am ready to fight, without fear!
I participated in hundreds of full contact fights, and I loved it.
I see value in this type of training. I see value in feeling pain, in seeing blood and learning that that is not the end of the world, in getting hit and learning to stand up again. But I also learned that there is more.
I learned that knowing how to fight, to give a blow and take a blow, while important, does not protect you against a knife, you will still get cut. The machete will still take off your arm, and you cannot outrun or out punch a gun, or a rifle. There had to be more.
But even in the world of boxing, I learned that strength, speed, is not enough.
Knowledge and Strength
I often use the example of the fictional Rocky and his coach Mickey, Mikey, a former boxer, is old, broken, short, weak, sickly, but yet he is the key to Rocky's success. Why? Because he has the knowledge, the skill. Thus, even in an aggressive, physical sport like boxing, physical strength, prowess, is not enough to win. You need skill, techniques, strategy. The fight does not always go to the strong, you need knowledge, wisdom.
In the self defense systems this is even more important. A quick stab to the heart will get you before your physical strength comes into play. A bullet to the head does not care about the size of your biceps or how fast you can run. Skill is a key factor. Strength plays a role, strength can help, and is important to cultivate, but it is not enough. The key is knowledge.
When a car breaks down, you need a skilled mechanic. When your computer is going crazy, you need a skilled computer technician. And when it comes to learning to defend yourself, you need someone who understands this field, who has trained for years, who has gained experience. Some say - It is not the system; it is the man. I totally disagree, it is the system; and the man or woman who learns the correct system, will be better able to survive a violent attack.
Let us look at the great world of nature, which man is constantly destroying.
There was a time when mankind was on the verge of extinction, other creatures had all the advantages. We are relatively weak, slow, have no claws, we can't fly, we can't climb on trees so fast. and yet we survived and came to dominate the world, causing many other species to become extinct. How? Because we developed our brains. We earned the art of sharing information and passing down information - do you know what this is called? It is called Teaching; Thus the profession of teacher is the most important profession in the history of mankind. It is the teacher that allows for information, wisdom and knowledge to grow from generation to generation. Imagine if each generation had to re-invent the wheel, reinvent language, reinvent the telephone, you would not have your -iPhone 11.
The Animals had physical power, strength, claws, speed, we had knowledge. We learned how to work as a group, how to communicate and plan ahead.
Perhaps the greatest discovery and the greatest change that took place was fire; learning how to cultivate and preserve and use fire. It was used for cooking, for warding off predators, for keeping warm, for building better tools, but there was something else.
Humans gradually developed uses for fire, starting and tending a fire. Learning how to use plants for medicine, Memory - passing on knowledge (the first teachers). It was knowledge, not strength, that allowed mankind to expand, grow in numbers, live in harsher climates. and now there was a place for older people who could no longer hunt. The older people, or those who were not so robust, could tend the fire, and remain useful. But there was more: tending the fire during the rainy season, during travel, became a skill, and the entire tribe depended on this skill. If the fire went out, death would probably follow. Sleeping at night would no longer be safe. Cooking would no longer be possible. So, the skill of keeping the fire, the holy flame, became more important than the common brute, the hunter. Skill, knowledge was more important that brute physical strength.
And now we come full circle. Krav Maga, is being fit, strong, fast, enough to survive a violent attack or threat? Have we learned anything from our human history? Knowledge is what brought us to the top, and knowledge will keep us there, we are not animals.
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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