- Home
- Krav Maga Blog
- Krav Instructors
- Train in Israel
- Tour Train Israel
- Krav Shop
- DVD
- Kickboxing
- IKI Near Me
- Seminars
- IKI Membership
- On-Line Training
- Krav Maga Training
- Testimonials
- History Krav Maga
- Instructors Page
- Past Blogs
- Spanish
- Italian
- Certification
- Contact
- Holland Seminar
- Vienna Seminar
- Poland Seminar
- Italy Seminar
- Belt Requirements
Trauma and Sensitivity
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
July 3, 2026, Israel
When a new student signs up to learn Krav Maga, whether in person on with our Krav Maga online program, I always conduct a little interview. I tell them that I want to know a little bit about them, I want to get to know them; why are they signing up for training? Is it a hobby, or "did something happen?" That question will often lead to the true underlying reason for them taking the big step of stepping outside of their comfort zone, thinking outside the box, and entering a world that is unfamiliar to them.
For most people this is not a simple matter. The training is physical and deals with very violent situations. For most people training with replica guns, knives, sticks and even AK-47s is not a simple matter. They are not used to violence; they are not used to training with tools that are designed to kill people. For us this is normal, OK, today we will be dealing with knife attacks, drill number one: someone grabs you by the hair and tries to slit your throat, everyone find a partner, let's go!
This is not "normal" for most people. and often we forget this. I was staying with friends in New York and my dear friend and teacher Arthur Cohen, may he rest in peace, came over for some training. He said, Hey Moshe, don't forget the guns and knives. My friend Amy laughed and said, "Moshe, be careful what you say, that sounds quite strange to most people".
Paris, a few years ago, teaching a new group whom I had not met before. I casually take out my collection of training knives. A young woman walks in, and..walks out. The knives freaked her out. Why? because she had been a victim of a knife attack, that is why she joined our seminar, but the sight of those knives, even though they were rubber training tools, triggered a traumatic response, a bad memory, a personal nightmare.
We as instructors must be aware of this possibility, we need to be somewhat sensitive.
Now I am not talking about the modern "woke" idea of sensitivity to protect people from God-knows-what, I am taking about being aware that people signing up for our classes are disproportionally traumatized. Many of them are joining our classes precisely because they or a loved one was the victim of a violent crime. We must take this into account, or we might end up doing more harm than good.
Over the years I have had students who have been the victims of nearly every sort of crime imaginable. I have also had students who lost loved ones to violent acts of suicide. I had a student whose sister was murdered by terrorists. Imagine if I were to say, OK, everyone grab an AK-47 Kalashnikov and take a hostage, and let's work on this drill! That is fine, as long as we know there is no one in the room who actually went through such a situation. The last thing we want to do is wake up old demons.
When my home was robbed, I felt a terrible sense of personal violation. I took that pain and used it to gain a deeper understanding of what victims of violent crime go through. Please see my blog Too Late. and The Day After.
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.
Start Your REAL Training TODAY
Or is someone coming to save you?
IKI Krav Maga online distance training - Leading to ranks and certification.
Tour and Train Israel Experience
Personal Training - If you are interested in personal Krav Maga training please contact us on the form below.
