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Shock Attack
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
February 26, 2026, Mexico City airport
At the airport in Mexico City, flight delayed, caught between a war and a storm. I am trying to get home before Shabbat begins and before the expected war begins. When I left I was warned that there might be trouble coming home as there is an expectation of another round with Iran.
On Sunday violence erupted between the Mexican (and American) government and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Roads were blocked with burning vehicles and food distribution was disrupted. In New York, where I am meant to connect to my flight home to Israel, storms have closed the closure of the airport, at the moment it is open but there are constant delays. I need a plan to get home. Such is life, full of unexpected events. And this leads me to some thoughts.
I have just completed another Krav Maga tour, USA and Mexico, and I am pleased with the results. I am grateful that the instructors and students were happy with the improvements and techniques. But we must never be content, we must never fall into a sense of I know it all. Never. I saw issues even with the most basic techniques.
Reality - when the attack is unexpected, the shock, the suddenness of it all, is nearly impossible to deal with. Even in the context of a Krav Maga seminar, where, by definition one knows something is going to happen, many, even outstanding experienced martial artists, were killed with rubber knives. In a real situation with a real killer, not a gentle person like myself, and a real blade, the result would have been a pool of blood. How can this happen? What can be done about this?
Here is the key point, training is not enough, not even close. Martial arts schools focus on training, on techniques, on drills, even on full-contact fights. Students will come home from tournaments with big trophies and feel "We are the Champions of the world!", but the sad truth is, they are not prepared for real violence, they are not prepared for reality. The training is incorrect.
When real violence happens, or even fake real violence with rubber knives as I demonstrated at many seminars, no one is prepared. What we need is not more training but a different sort of training. We need an Awareness, of violence, of hate, of brutality. When we are ready for an attack, it is all very simple and it is almost as if - we are we even wasting time on this. But when we remove the anticipation of an attack, (Now teacher will attack you), and it is a surprise, suddenly the tragic ugly truth emerges, we are simply not ready for real violence.
There is no easy solution to this, I am not trying to sell any magic beans, but I am saying there is a way to minimize damage, there is a way to be better prepared, and it is not about physical training. However, that better way does not involve telling the instructor, "Oh please, don't waste our time with that technique again".
Even the simplest technique must be reviewed and practiced on a regular basis, and it must be applied and adapted to many different circumstances, but more than anything we must remember, violence is all around us, it can erupt suddenly and unexpectedly like the cartel war in Mexico where people were left without food because they were not prepared. Violence sleeps besides us ready to explode without warning, and therefore we must sleep with one eye open like a partisan in the forests of Belarus. Constant awareness and vigilance, accompanied by scenario training and mental training, this will reduce the impact of surprise. Be prepared. Evil walks behind us, Evil sleeps beside us, Evil is all around us. One eye open all the time.
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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