- Home
- Krav Maga Blog
- Krav Instructors
- Train in Israel
- Tour Train Israel
- Krav Shop
- DVD
- Kickboxing
- IKI Near Me
- Seminars
- IKI Membership
- On-Line Training
- Krav Maga Training
- Testimonials
- History Krav Maga
- Instructors Page
- Past Blogs
- Spanish
- Italian
- Certification
- Contact
- Holland Seminar
- Vienna Seminar
- Poland Seminar
- Italy Seminar
- Belt Requirements
Lesson from my Grandmother
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
February 2, 2026, Israel
The day of glory has come, many times over, because I was patient, kept my mouth shut, and worked hard.
My maternal grandmother, may she rest in peace.
My maternal grandmother, may she rest in peace, was certainly a feisty woman, no doubt about that. But she was not a Krav Maga practitioner, nor a practitioner of any martial arts. Her family arrived from Poland as penniless immigrants; she was the first in the family to be born in the United States. She taught English, Hebrew, spoke her native Yiddish, and lived through very hard times. She asked for nothing, often lived on a few figs a day as a young teacher who walked across the Williamsburg bridge every day for her second job. At the end of the month, she gave all her earnings to her mother, the matriarch of the family who then distributed the money as she saw fit. Brother Philip would become a doctor, that was a priority. No one complained, Times were tough. People were resilient. Life lessons were learned.
She stood tall at 4 foot 11, never backed down from anyone. I would say she was fearless. She devoted her life not only to teaching but to building schools, establishing charitable organizations and helping the needy. When Jewish refugees arrived in the USA from Hungary in 1956 following the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian uprising, my grandmother made sure that they entered homes fully furnished, with all the appliances set up. She simply went from store to store in the Jewish community and told them that this one would contribute a couch, this one a stove, this one an appliance. We help those in need, period! We were all refugees once, we were all immigrants (legal ones that is), we understand, we help each other. We don't ask for handouts.
She was a tough woman, and a wise woman. She knew when to be hard and to be soft, when to be demanding and when to be forgiving, when to stand up for an issue, and when to simply let it go for the greater good. Phrases like, better to be family than to be Right, were part of my upbringing, and part of the guiding principles of my life. She was a woman who knew how to cope in a challenging world.
A lesson I want to share happened in Florida. It was a family celebration, the bar mitzvah of one of my brothers. My maternal grandparents came of course, as did my fathers' side of the family. My grandfather Moe Katz passed away many years earlier, and my dear grandmother "Nanny" Mina, remarried a childhood friend from Romania, Uncle Sam.
Nanny and Uncle Sam were living near us in Florida, in fact that is the reason we moved to Florida, to be near my grandmother in her final years as she was battling cancer, and dear Uncle Sam stood by her day after day. Uncle Sam always came to the Synagogue on Shabbat, were my dear father, may he rest in peace, presided as rabbi. Uncle Sam was so proud and regularly referred to "my son-in-law the rabbi", and, "my grandchildren".
This did not bother any of us. We were happy for them, and he indeed treated us kids his grandchildren, and he was so devoted to my aging grandmother. And then when my maternal grandparents came, I asked my grandmother Henriette, "Does it bother you that Uncle Sam refers to us as his grandchildren, being that we are not his biological grandchildren, but yours."
Her answer reverberates with me throughout the years, "No, it does not bother me at all. If it makes him happy and it takes nothing away from me, I am fine with that."
That conversation took place about 47 years ago and it is as real to me today as it was then, for over the years I have seen the wisdom of this enlightening little remark, which is nothing short of life changing.
As director of IKI I am constantly plagued by an illness called Jealousy. I see people in one school criticizing students in another school. They see only the faults in others but only the virtues in themselves. Why was Tim promoted to Black Belt?! My students saw that you promoted him and they are furious, they are up in arms! He is not ready for Black Belt, (so they decided). Why was this one promoted to instructor before me?
And so forth and so on.
I often wonder, do these devoted instructors actually care about me, at all? If they did, would they hurt me so much? Every time I think of promoting someone I have to think of the naysayers in the peanut gallery who will criticize and question me, some openly and some privately. Some will threaten to leave the association if someone else gets a rank that they feel he/she did not deserve.
I never quetioned the decisions of my instructors, even when I was passed on, again and again. Itay would say, "Moshe, your day of glory will come", and it has, because I was patient and I worked hard.
There were times I felt someone did not deserve their black belt, that they should not have been awarded this rank. As the years passed, I passed them in rank and status, they quit, I continued. In retrospect that was just empty wasteful anger on my part, it served no purpose and only I was hurt. I have learned a lot along the way. and there are times I hear my grandmothers' voice, speaking to me from the beyond, If it makes someone else happy to think he is a great instructor, and it does not hurt me, let it go, it does not matter, you know how you are.
My grandmother knew she was our grandmother, having someone else share that title did not affect her status, or how she saw herself. So if a student in another school received a black belt, and you think that your performance for your black was nothing short of spectacular, but this Loser was unworthy, in your purely objective opinion, let it go. For your sake, for your peace of mind, and for the sake of the instructors. and for my mental health.
My mother, may she rest in peace, told me, nothing hurts a mother more than to see her children fighting. Be family, don't be right. Don't let sisters-in-law create conflicts between brothers. Let it go. Or as Paul McCarney's mother would always say to Paul and Mike, Boys, Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.
There will be an answer, Let it Be!
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.
Start Your REAL Training TODAY
Or is someone coming to save you?
IKI Krav Maga online distance training - Leading to ranks and certification.
Tour and Train Israel Experience
Personal Training - If you are interested in personal Krav Maga training please contact us on the form below.
