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Training like Singing a Song?
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
July 8, 2025, Israel
A certain law was being discussed in the Talmud, about 1,700 years ago. The law was about whether or not a certain type of animal skin was permissable for use. Rabbi Yosef said in the name of Rab Yehuda who said in the name of Shmuel.
Now this is Rabbi Yosef bar (son of) Hiyya who lived in Babylon in the third century of the modern era. Please note the respect offered here. We always quote words of wisdom in the name of the person who said it. We do not claim it for ourselves. Rabbi Yosef said this in the name of Rab Yehuda who said in the name of Shmuel. Give credit where credit is due. Always acknowledge your teachers.
What did he say? "The law (in this particular matter) is decided according to Rabbi Shimon ben (son of) Gamliel." (Avoda Zara, 32B)
Now his student, a scholar by the name of Abaye, questions this statement. Abaya was born in the year 280 and would go on to become the head of the Academy (Yeshiva) of Pumbeditha ישיבת פומבדיתא; a Talmudic academy in Pumbeditha, an unidentified location in modern Iraq.
What is Abaya's issue? If Rabbi Yosef says, the law is decided according to...this implies that the matter was disputed, i.e. that there were other opinions. and yet, no other opinions appear in this discussion! Thus, Abaye, the student, questions his teacher Rabbi Yosef, how can you say the law is according to Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, when we are not even aware of any dispute? If there was a dispute, who were the other disputants? What did they say, what learned arguments did they present? Why is all this omitted?
Rabbi Yosef responds with, "But what difference does it make to you?" What does it matter if the issue was disputed or not disputed? Either way the result is the same, the law is according to Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel!
To this Abaya responded, "Is the learning of our laws, the Talmud, to be like that of singing a song?" i.e. just repeating a tradition without understanding the arguments presented, the logical points made by all parties in this dispute, the back and forth, the debate, the discussion? Surely, we need to understand how this decision came about. And now, hopefully you can see the relevance of this passage to IKI Krav Maga.
Our techniques are not just traditions passed down unquestioned from previous generations. Every technique has been questioned, challenged, taken apart and put back together again. Every technique has been tested in every possible way, and this is an ongoing process which all our students are involved in. This is not a "song" that we repeat mindlessly. Abaye is making an excellent point here, the Talmud is not just a song that we repeat without understanding it. We need to know the process, we need to know how decisions are made, how conclusions are reached. It is the same with IKI Krav Maga. I will often explain, this is the way we used to do it, but the following flaws were found in the technique. And then we modified it as follows, but other issues came up, and currently I am presenting the best version, the best solution we have so far.
You will learn the learned arguments put forth by all parties involved, we tried it this way but ran into a problem etc. You will not be just presented with a "tradition", you will learn the process, how techniques are developed and how they evolve. Our DVDs of today are quite different than the ones we made back in 2010, in fact there is hardly a lesson, or a seminar, without some innovation or improvement. And questions constantly come in from our members around the world.
We evaluate these questions that come in, we observe the possible solutions. We do not just present the "law". As Bruce Lee once said, do not imitate the master, imidate the process that made him a master. Bruce Lee had some Jewish ancestry, perhaps some Talmudic wisdom filtered down over the generations.
Tradition is important, giving credit to the teachers who came before us important, and questioning those same teachers is all part of the process. We continue with our Talmudic studies and with our Krav Maga training.
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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