Mna Amaina La
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

August 26, 2026, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, USA

Mna Amaina La; From where do I say my opinion?

Krav Maga Tour USA, Summer-Fall 2026. The tour is going well. I am keeping very busy, teaching seminars and logging a lot of travel time! Planes, buses, cars, a lot of time on the road, as of this moment I believe I have logged close to 50 hours of travel. But I try, as much as I can, to keep up with my Talmud stories, as I have since I was a child. 

I began studying Talmud in 4th grade at the Shilo school in Kiryat Ono. Move vivid memories remain of studying at the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva of Givat Shmuel with Rabbi Yosi Lugassi. The biggest impact was at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County under the guidance of Rabbi Jacob Whel (Germany - USA) and Rabbi Shlomo Wahrman (Leipzig, Germany - New York, USA), of blessed righteous memory. They instilled in me a desire to progress, to improve, to question, to challenge, to think and to grow. These are concepts that I use when I teach IKI Krav Maga; our style, our interpretation of Krav Maga.  

As I have written before, our style is based on Biblical values, and our development of techniques is based on Talmudic logic. 

As in the Talmud, we question everything, we challenge everything, we look at each technique and situation from every possible angle. To fully understand what I am saying you will have to immerse yourself in some Talmudic studies. This morning I came across a familiar line that appears often in the Talmud; a debate is taking place among scholars, and each must justify his position based on sources and logic. And the text continues with the Aramaic phrase Mna amaina la? which translates roughly as From where do I say it (my opinion). i.e. not everyone is entitled to their opinion, in fact, no one is, until you explain it, until you show your sources and demonstrate your logic. 

From where do I say my opinion? This means how did I derive this opinion; how did I reach this conclusion? What was the process of thought and development that lead me to this idea?

In many martial arts systems, it is Teacher say, Student Do. But when I teach I want you to understand how I reached this point, what systems did I study, what techniques, what approaches did I try over the years, why did I drop those old techniques and develop new ones, How did I develop new ones. This is not for historical reasons, and this is not to justify my techniques, it is for the student to fully understand why this technique is considered superior, why other techniques were tried and rejected.

As with the Talmud, it is a constant system of debate; ideas, challenges, new ideas, a constant state of improvement. Change is our tradition. 

From where do I say this opinion?, ask the scholars of the Talmud nearly 2,000 years ago, and we use the same system today. 

MosheProfile001

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

Start Your 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