What I Deserve
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

November 3, 2026, Israel

These days I often hear the phrase "Don't I deserve ....." (fill in the blank).

I hear, we are a young couple with two children, don't we deserve a three-bedroom apartment in a decent neighborhood. 

Or, I work hard, don't I deserve an annual vacation to the Caribbeans, or the South of France? Don't I deserve to stay in a nice hotel?

I go to work every day, don't I at least deserve a Starbucks coffee on my way, along with a muffin? Don't I deserve to order takeout for lunch? 

My answer is simple, No. You do not deserve anything.

None of us deserve anything. Welcome to the Real world.

My father, may he rest in peace, taught us the School of Hard Knocks, and we learn that life is not easy, what we deserve is the opportunity to work hard, to suffer, and to learn life lessons, what he called Rebbe Gelt in Yiddish, or "Money paid to the rabbi", i.e. you pay for hard earned lessons. When I committed a traffic violation, I paid, and I learned. When I parked illegally, I paid, and I learned a lesson. My cousin left his bike unlocked, his father bought him a new bike, and so he did not learn this lesson, he became a Socialist and expected others to pay for his mistakes.

We are Capitalists, we work hard, we earn, and that belongs to us. 

My father taught me, finders keepers, losers weepers. That is life, you lose something, you weep, but you don't get it back; such is life. 

I saw my father struggle; I heard my parents talk about money. I recall the story of my grandfather Moe and his brother Uncle Seymour, pacing back and forth, walking up the street in Brooklyn, and then back again, trying to figure out how to make a living.

I saw my father with his old adding machine, each month, adding up every expense. And then at the end of month annoucing, this month we must cut back, peannut butter is off the list. Such is  life.

I recall one of my brothers saying, But Dad!! it is not so expensive? (I forgot regarding which event) and my father answered, multiply it by six (we were a family of six) and everything is expensive. 

I never forgot that lesson.

I recall we were out for hotdogs, and one of us wanted one more hotdog. That delayed us. We got back to the car and there was a ticket, which we could hardly afford. I recall my dad saying, "that extra hotdog cost us this parking ticket". 

I never forgot that. I learend to plan carefully, calculate every move, don't make costly mistakes. 

I remember when I wanted to open my own dojo, and I asked my parents for the help they had always promised, but they could not help. But I am made of the same material as my father, I did not give up, I turned my little apartment into a dojo, and made a deal with the building to turn the neglected bomb shelter into the main dojo hall. It worked, I built a school and eventually could afford my new place where I am still living and teaching. The School of Hard Knocks. 

One phrase I never heard, not once was, "I deserve". 

What do I deserve? Nothing but a fighting chance.

I hear people say, Don't I deserve nice things?

Where does this come from? I recall my mother's cousins, Mina and Yair, they had a one-bedroom apartment in Tel Aviv in the stark early years of the state. The one bedroom was for the three children, the couch became the "Master Bedroom" at night. They both fought in the War of Independence, Mina lost her first husband, they never used words like "I deserve nice things."

My grandfather arrived from Hungary, speaking Yiddish and Hungarian. He worked in an orphanage while attending Yeshiva, at night he attended the "School for New Americans". His mother volunteered to help the less fortunate. She always asked, What more can I do to help those less fortunate than I?

I learned that what you deserve does not matter, no one will give you anything. You work hard, you struggle, and make your own fate. In America you were given an opportunity, that was enough. 

No one cares what you think you deserve; it is only what you earned. You learn to save, eventually you learn to invest. I received a small allowance and the first thing my dad did was take me to the bank, to open a savings account, to learn the value of money. I learned not to buy what I think I deserve but only what I can comfortable afford. 

And now I apply this to our IKI Krav Maga training. I believe I deserve to be safe. Who cares! What you believe matters not at all. What you think you deserve interests no one at all. You have to fight for the privilege of being safe.

I see people training in certain styles of Krav Maga. I see knife "defenses" that involve grabbing the wrist, and stick defenses that are like traditional kata as if the attacker will comply with your pre-arranged Fantasy defense. I see people training this way, and they believe, that with all their hard work and dedication they DESERVE to be effective in self-defense, but the reality is otherwise. But why? Don't they deserve to be safe after all these years of training?

No, the world is not fair, and it does not operate that way. There is no "Deserve" in the lexicon of the world. I would call this dilemma Reality Krav Maga vs. "What I Deserve Krav Maga". and I see instructors arrogantly wearing their Red/White Master's belts, teaching such nonsense that any objective observer can tell them this is absurd, fantasy, as absurd as saying "Don't I deserve nice things!"

One might ask, don't we Jews deserve to be left alone after two thousand years of hatred and discrimination? As one comedian said when I was a child, the Bible says, And the land rested for forty years, we would settle for forty days. 

Don't we in Israel deserve not to be attacked, not to be at war, not to see grandchildren die in the same war as their grandfathers? I know families where the grandson was named for a grandfather who was killed in Auschwitz, and this grandson was killed on the battlefield, carrying the name of his martyred grandfather. Don't we deserve better?

And the answer is always the same, NO, the word deserve does not exist in the vocabulary of Reality World Combat.

A man is feeling quite sick, but he is the owner and manager of his family-owned Greek restaurant, he is sick, I can see it. But he is at work, he is wearing his apron, he is smiling at the diners, why does he not take the night off? Take some medicine and go to sleep? Does he not deserve a sick day?  

He is Greek, he is old-school, I don't need to ask, I know. I have never "called in sick" for a seminar. Sakis cannot call in sick for his restaurant, there is no "deserve", there is only responsibility, hard work. If you want your restaurant to succeed, you are there, no matter how you feel.

This is how we approach Krav Maga, there is no "deserve", we test every technique, under the worst situations, under the most demanding conditions. All we have is opportunity. And that should be enough.

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Moshe Katz, 8th 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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