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Majority Krav Maga
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
August 17, 2025, Israel
Our Sages relied on the statement of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel and on the statement of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Sadok, who would say: One does not issue a decree upon the congregation unless the majority of the congregation is able to withstand it. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Horayoth, page 3B)
It is late at night, or actually, it is early morning, about 2 am, and I am studying Talmud, what a glorious time to study. So peaceful. And I came across this passage which I have known my entire life but until now did not see this particular source, for this is the first time that I am studying the somewhat obscure tractate called Horayoth (Instructions, or Rulings), (it also appears in Tractate Avoda Zarah 36A, and Bava Batra 60B), and I see the Krav Maga application.
The idea behind this ruling is that it is pointless for the rabbis or the courts to issue a decree that many will find too difficult to follow. If the majority cannot handle this decree, drop it!
This actually an amazing concept. We are talking about important religious doctrines, so we might think, well, this is the law! and the law must be followed no matter what. If it is too difficult, well, so be it, up your standards, try harder, but you must uphold the law. But no, the rabbis derive a lesson from the Bible itself that there is no point in causing people to fail. Better to drop the strict regulation and not cause people to transgress a law that is too difficult for most people to follow.
perfect system for imperfect people
This became a major principle of Judaism, and it is also a major principle of IKI Krav Maga. For a technique to be included in our curriculum it must be one that "the majority of the congregation is able is withstand.". In other words, the average person can do this self-defense technique under the pressure of a real-life violent encounter. We are not teaching the Chinese Opera, fantastic athletes and jugglers who have devoted a lifetime to their craft and are able to perfrom superhuman feats. No, this is the perfect system for imperfect people, and we do not have superhuman expectations. If the majority of the people cannot do it, we drop it. We don't have "elite" techniques, we don't have "women's techniques". We just have good, solid, logical techniques that an avearge semi-coordinated human being can learn and use.
We also avoid techniques that we believe people will never actually be able to bring themselvs to do, an example is the eye-gouge. This is a very popular technique in traditional Krav Maga, but we have dropped it. Number One reason, you can never actually practice it. We will not actually poke people in the eye or gouge out their eyes. This cannot be practiced. Reason Number Two, I believe than what the time comes, most normal human beings, not Hamas members, will find it too repulsive to do, regardless of the situation. They will be able to hit, to kick etc., but I don't think most would be able to gouge out an eye, and I don't want to wait for the moment of truth to find out. Thus, it does not meet the standard of the majority of the congregation is able to withstand it.
The rabbis had the right idea, encourage proper religious observance but don't overburden the people with regulations that are bound to cause failure. Likewise, I do not teach techniques that take years to learn or require unusual athletic ability, strength, youth, extra speciel coordination etc. We teach what you can learn, easily, we teach what can save your life.
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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