Lies Krav Maga and Truth
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

September 16, 2026, Israel

There was a movie called "Lies my father told me". It was about Jewish immigrants to the USA in the early part of the 20th century, and it hit close to home, as that is the time my own family arrived in the USA.

The Title of the movie caught my attention and hit me hard. Why would a father tell lies? I trust my father, we should all trust our fathers, and our teachers, and yet the movie title suggested that the father was telling lies. I had to see this. It is well worth watching. In the film it was the grandfather, from the Old Country, who was telling the truth and the father indeed was telling lies. More than this, you will have to watch it yourself. 

But the title hit hard precisely because we do not expect lies from those in positions of trust. Now we can call this blog, Lies my Sensei told me. And we shall apply it to Krav Maga. 

1. It will take years to attain mastery - No. It should not. We have broken it down to a few simple movements, as was the original intention of Imi Lichtenfeld, to actually be able to learn the basics in a single day! Yes, you heard that correctly. This is not designed as a Martial Arts system that takes years to learn, it is designed for Israelis who may be attacked on the way out of class. It is designed for soldiers who may be attacked long before they complete their course. Indeed, in our own times this danger remains real and imminent. While one can, and should, train for a long period of time, the basics should be mastered within days. 

So why the Lie? - Money. To keep students tied to the system for years, with all sorts of made-up ranks and levels. So many times visiting students, from other styles would say things such as, "Oh I do not know any gun techniques yet, I have only been training for one year, and have only attained the level of P3.4. With us you will learn the concept of gun, knife and hand to hand defense in the first few hours. 

2. You need to be young and strong - Nonsense. I have met original students of Imi Lichtenfeld, the man who did more than anyone else to spread and popularize Krav Maga. Those whom I met were mostly men who met him in his older years, and they were quite impressed with how well an older man could defend himself. They met an elderly Jewish man who could defend himself against younger men, that is the original goal. And yet today we see Krav Maga instructors who portray the exact opposite image; youth and big muscles. They do not realize that not only are they deviating from the original goals of Krav Maga but they are alienating the people who need the training most.

So why the Lie? - Image sells, youth sells, fit girls in camouflage bikinis sell. Old men with life wisdom and superior training methods, boring.

3. You need to be super fit - Absurd. Most human beings work full-time and do not have the time or energy to create the perfect cross-fit gym body, or to maintain it past our prime. While we all advocate a healthy lifestyle and fitness, the Tarzan-like body used as the model for Krav Maga these days is simply not attainable by people who need to work full time. 

So why the Lie? Again, money, image sells. Knowledge and wisdom are difficult to "see", they are not visual, but a young fit athlete, male and female, sells. The oldest rule in the book, sex sells. You want to sell a car? put an attractive alluring woman with a glass of champagne next to the overpriced car; it will sell. Start talking about superior engineering and motors, you will have a much smaller audience.

4. You need to be very coordinated - In traditional martial arts this may be true. With Krav Maga it should not be. 

Why the Lie? This means you need to come, and pay, for more classes. 

5. You need a great deal of endurance - Not so! Most fights end very quickly. and the critical part is the first split-second when the knife attack takes place, we all have enough fitness for that. We are not dealing with lengthy street fights. 

Why the Lie? - Instructors can devote at least a third or more of the classses to having students running around in a circle, doing pushups and sit ups and therefore less of a need to actually teach a class or deal with new criminal situations.

Conclusion - We must differentiate between good "Krav Maga business", and good self-defense survival training. I do believe that if we are faithful to the goals of Krav Maga, as originally stated, the students will come. The true students will find us, and they will stick with us. Those interested in the latest fad, they were never our students to begin with.

Believe in what you are teaching and stay true to your goals.

Moshe2021

Moshe Katz, 8th 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

CoverNationWarriorsNew

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.

Books by Moshe Katz

Let's Take your training to the next level of REAL Training TODAY

Or is someone coming to save you?

IKI Krav Maga online distance training - Leading to ranks and certification.

DVDs from Israel

Tour and Train Israel Experience

IKI Membership Options.

Krav Maga Certification

Krav Maga Instructors

Krav Maga Seminars

Personal Training - If you are interested in personal Krav Maga training please contact us on the form below. 

IKIFlag

Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.
Google