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Synergistic Attack
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
April 16, 2026, Israel
People train in martial arts for many reasons. It is incorrect to judge a martial art based on what we expect it to be and then find it lacking. I have a relative who teaches kickboxing, she posts videos online only to receive nasty comments from guys that they could "beat her up" and that her aerobic kickboxing will not help her against a violent criminal. But that is not the purpose of her lessons. Her reasons are entirely different, for her it is self-expression, self-emowerement, and fitness. She had her only personal struggle and Fitness Kickboxing help her a great deal. Now she is a very happy young woman, and she wishes to share this blessing with others.
Others take up martial arts to gain self-confidence, or disciple, or just for a feeling of a positive activity. Not everyone is concerned with violent criminals, not everyone lives with the threat of terrorism. Not everyone is concerned about rape, or abduction.
But we are. That is where we come in. We have one goal, and that is your survival. Our goal is for you to get home safely. There are many beneficial side effects, and we are thrilled about that, but our goal, our focus, will always be on simple, practical, self-defense for ordinary people, which includes most of us. We are the Perfect system for Imperfect people.
The idea for this little blog came from what I was writing on our online training program, it occurred to me that the message might have a more universal purpose, so I decided to share it as a blog, but it was written regarding our defense vs a Push against the wall, followed by a violent deadly choke. So please keep that in mind while reading these words.
We continue with the choke series but this time we begin with a violent push, with our back to the wall, and then the choke. It is important to note that when an attack like this takes place it is a synergistic attack, by this I mean it is not only - the whole equals the sum of its parts - but rather than Whole, the Total Effect, is greater than the sum of its parts. This means the combination of the attack creates a greater effect than the individual attacks.
In practical terms this means it is not just a choke, it is first a violent push, this confuses us, disorients us, shakes us up literally and figuratively, at this point our brain is no longer the focused instrument we are used to but rather closer to a rattled machine on the blink, connections no longer functioning properly. Into that confusion comes the quick violent choke, your normal defenses are ...down. Your normal response time is...not on time. Your ability to perceive, reduced.
Martial artists think they are ready, but they are fooling themselves. Think of the Seinfeld episode where George has great "Comebacks" to the insults hurled at him, but only a few days later. I.e. he could not respond at once with a clever comeback but had to think about it later, when he was calm and could collect his thoughts.
Now that is just words, now imagine actions. We are not prepared, but our dojos would have us believe that we are indeed totally prepared. The martial arts movies are actively involved in perpetrating this myth that a martial artist can respond with perfect skill when caught by surprise. This makes for great action, but these films were never meant to be anything but Fantasy and Entertainment. We admire the tough guy actors who remain totally calm under the most terrifying situations, but none of this is real.
What is real is shock, Confusion, Disorientation.
Again, let us take an analogy from language, a subject I am very well familiar with. You can prepare for a vacation and practice a language for several months. I have seen many do this, in particular with Italian. They spend half a year practicing phrases, greetings, and then, when the arrive in Italy, they can barely squeak out an Buongiorno (Good morning), why? because practicing at home, in the dojo, and actually facing someone are two totally different creatures. You get nervous, tense, and your brain does not function the same way. Suddenly you cannot put two words together in Italian.
But that is only greetings, speaking, trying to order a cup of coffee in Italian, now translate that into being attacked, your brain, your body, does not respond the same way. We need to train differently!!!
Technique will only get you so far, fitness will only get so far. There are many schools out there that are really just fitness classes with a few old outdated Krav Maga techniques, commercially successful, perhaps, but not real self defense. It is very difficult to fight your way out, or "fitness" your way out of with a bad inadequate defense. That is where we come in. Train your mind, train your brain patterns and train your body to respond correctly under such circumstances. We train for the real, not the ideal.
The Video - As he pushes me, I want to protect myself. I do not want to go smashing into the wall. Should my head hit the wall, forget the choke, it is all over. I know of a young woman who was killed this way, not by the choke but by her head hitting the wall. Unless you have a thick head of hair like Marge Simpson or an Afro (or a JewFro) you must avoid having your head or even shoulders hit the wall. So, just move? Sure, that is an option if you are a member of Fantasy Krav Bama school, but in the Krav Maga school of Hard Knocks, or as Hal called it, The Church of the Painful Truth, we cannot allow ourselves that fantasy. Assume we will be caught off-guard, now we must recover as fast as we can. So we minimize the damage by letting our cushion, our buttocks, absorb the blow. The more cushion you have - the better! but whatever you have is better than meeting the wall with your head or back. From here we turn, to whichever side is more comfortable for you, we go with the flow of energy.
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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