Teaching Krav Maga
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

June 12, 2025, Israel

In our style of Krav Maga there are belt ranks, there are instructor ranks, and there are no ranks. 

There are those who want to move up the belt system. The belt ranks indicate and recognize the skill level you have attained. I believe his is important. The instructor rank indicates that you have been qualified as an instructor in our system of Krav Maga. No ranks mean you are here to learn survival tactics but are not interested in any rank. And that too is fine. It is all up to you.

The question comes up now and then, if I have earned a black belt, why do I also need to take, and pay for, an instructor exam?

Good question and I have a good answer. 

They are two very different concepts. 

The belt rank indicates your skill in our style of Krav Maga, your instructor rank recognizes your teaching ability, of the material we teach. Yes, there is a relation between the two, you cannot teach what you have trained in. But knowing the material is not enough. 

A child's first teacher is a parent, usually the mother. I can say my first, and best, teacher was my dear mother, may she rest in peace. She was also a teacher by profession, and I learned my key skills of teaching from her personal example. A teacher is a teacher; the subject matter is secondary. 

My mother was a kind and patient teacher, and she loved teaching, she was passionate about teaching. She taught me patience, although I am not as patient as she was. She taught me to share in the enthusiasm of the students' progress. She taught me how you must love your students. 

She taught me how to be systematic, and careful. She taught me to teach with logic. You don't say - me went to the store, therefore it is incorrect to say, Me and Johnny went to the store. I went to the store; therefore, Johnny and I went to the store. I learned that you must share the logic with the student, not just tell them.  You must explain the process to the student. 

I speak English, it is my mother tongue, and yet when I was hired to teach English, I had to take a course. In fact, I took two courses, teaching English to school age children, and teaching English as a second language. But why? Isn't being fluent in English qualification enough?

No, it is not. You need to learn how to teach. And so it is with IKI Krav Maga. 

Having a black belt is great, but that does not mean you have mastered or even understood how to teach. Believe me, I have had plenty of martial arts Sensei's who had not a clue how to teach. 

I was qualified as a black belt by Itay Gil, a master Krav Maga instructor, but that was not enough. In order to teach in Israel, in order to be able to rent a place, take out insurance, in order to teach in the school system, I had to earn a teaching degree in martial arts. But wait, isn't earning a black belt enough?

No, it is not. Earning a black belt was enough to apply to Wingate for the martial arts instructor course. 

I trained for a full year with Kancho Roni Kluger. I studied teaching methodology, I studied anatomy, first aid, and basic medicine. I prepared research papers, I was tested both with oral exams and written exams, and finally I was qualified by a national state exam. But ...no, having a black belt is not enough.

Recall the Rocky movie, the frail old Mikey was the coach, the young muscular Rocky was the fighter. Being a fighter is one thing, being a teacher is another. 

Esther is a certified instructor in more fields than I can count; Krav Maga, spinning, aerobics, water fitness, the elderly, the teenagers etc. For each certification she had to attend a course at Wingate (national Sports and Fitness Institute), train, and pass exams. Again, why? Because you have to learn how to teach a specific subject. Of course, having experience teaching in other fields does help. If you are a high school math teacher, that will help you be a better IKI Krav Maga instructor, but it is not enough. You need to prove you can teach our specific material. 

I am in my fourth decade of teaching, and I am still learning and improving in the art of teaching. When I began as a student we were all lined up, based on rank, in rows, and we followed commands, front kick, straight punch, Yoko geri. Every now and then there would be a correction, in a stern commanding voice. Fair enough. 

Over the years I began to feel a different method. I taught children and I wanted to know why they were coming to class, were they dealing with anger issues, aggression, violence, meekness, weakness, lack of self-confidence? I needed to know, I needed to understand them and guide them accordingly. No, having a black belt was not preparation enough for being able to teach. 

The art of teaching is an art unto itself. Before you represent IKI as an instructor we need to know that you can teach our material, in the proper way. 

MosheKatz2024

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

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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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