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Measure of Success
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
May 29, 2025, Israel
I just returned from a series of seminars in Europe, and, as usual, friends and students ask me, "Was it successful?"
Sometimes the answer is easy, a resounding yes, but sometimes the answer is not so easy. In order to answer whether or not it was a success, we first must ask what our goals were. Once we can define our goals, we can define whether or not we met them, and thus, whether or not it was a complete success, a partial success, or a complete failure.
What are our possible goals?
In no particular order, spread the system and reach as many people, publicize our system of Krav Maga, make money, have fun, teach people effective self-defense and inspire them to continue training. All these are goals.
There are trips when all these goals are met and achieved and that is wonderful. In my most recent trips this was not the case.
Was the trip a success? Yes, and ...less so. It was a success in the most important categories: For me the most important aspect of success is that the instructors understand, appreciate, and accept the new techniques, the improvements, the modifications, and the applications to new situations. If I fail in this department then it is the end, no more seminars, no more visits, no more trips. Thus, this is the most important aspect to me and in this regard, I can say confidently that all my recent seminars have been great successes.
The next category for me would be, did the students benefit? and again, I can say confidently say Yes, I saw students grasp the techniques and apply them. I saw the students improve and grow in their self-defense abilities, so this was another success.
Attendance - We all like a room with a hundred students, and I have had that, but not on this trip. While it feels great to see such a turnout it is impossible to truly connect with the students, it is impossible to give personal attention, correct their techniques and help them grow. So, a failure in this category is not so bad.
Money - Money is great, we are not socialists or communists, we need money to live, to pay our bills, and at the very least to cover the expenses of the trip, travel, food, hotels, transportation. This is a need which must be met.
Publicity - We believe in what we are teaching, and we want to spread the good word.
Personal growth - On this trip I know there were many students who were truly inspired, and this will change their life. So having ten inspired and motivated students is more successful than one hundred students who just had a nice time. This is another measure of success.
I was taking with a dear friend today and he asked this question. I gave the above answer and then I thought of something from the past. Rabbi Meir Kahane, of blessed memory, was a great leader and role model for many, including myself. He played an important role in my early years, including inspiring me to take up martial arts for self-defense. But to many, he was a radical. He rocked the boat and challenged accepted norms. He coined the phrase Never Again, and formed a group of tough Jews, the JDL, the Jewish Defense League, of which I was an active member. To some he was too radical, and they shunned him.
When he was murdered (by an Arab while speaking in New York City, shot dead in front of the crowd), many "quiet" followers emerged. These were people who owed the rabbi a debt of gratitude but would never publicly identify with him, for fear of being too "right wing". I recall one such person, a woman I worked with. This was her story; she was an ordinary American Jew, a college student, not terribly affiliated with Judaism, not a Zionist, i.e. no interest in the State of Israel, no plans to move to Israel, just a regular low key, somewhat assimilated American Jew. But something about the planned lecture of the rabbi caught her attention and she decided to attend. The weather was bad, circumstances worked again the event, and the attendance was nearly non-existent.
When the rabbi showed up, after a long and exhausting trip, he found only 5 students in attendance. So what did he do? Walk out and say, this is beneath me, I did not come for such a poor attendance, this is not worth my time? No, he dropped the planned lecture and spoke with the university students. My friend said they spoke all night. By morning she was a changed person. She never "joined the party", she never became a card-carrying member of the Jewish Defense League and in fact I would say she was always a little left of center politically, but as a result of that all night encounter she decided to become a real Jew, not an assimilated American Jew. She completed her studies and moved to Israel; she accepted Judaism as her way of life. She married and raised a beautiful family here in Israel. Her children served in the Israel Defense Force, all as a result of the rabbi not walking away from a "failed" poorly planned event.
So was that event a success? You be the judge, I say YES, it was, but at the time, when he showed up expecting a full room and found only 5 students, I am sure it felt like a failure. but Rabbi Kahane was a special kind of man, with truth and values. With him there was no failure, there was no giving up. So if I show up for a seminar, and there is one person, and I have had such a case in Los Angeles, I still teach, because our Talmud teaches us that one who saves one person is as if he saved the entire planet.
So, now I can answer, was my recent tour a success? By every important measure, by the long-term, by the values and ethics by which I live, Yes. Financially, let's hope for better times.
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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