If Peace Ever Comes
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

January 1, 2015, Israel

If peace ever comes.

Today, according to much of the world, is New Years day. Not for us, not for the Jewish people, but I thought I would have a day off as there are very few e mails today. I suppose people are on vacation, or getting over a late night of drinking and partying, or deep in prayer or meditation.

But a thought occurred to me. Perhaps, a New Years' thought. One of those strange ideas that pop into our heads from time to time.

What if peace ever came? What would happen to my career as a Krav Maga instructor? What would happen to our art of Krav Maga that we spent so much time developing and working on?

Of course this is all in the realm of fantasy. Every person with a brain on his head knows that peace will never come. Not to us at least. From Cossacks to Nazis, from Pharoe's to the Butcher of Bucharest, we have been persecuted in every land and at every time.

But, what if?

I picture ol'Tevye, the classic Jew in his Ukrainian village, wondering out load as he walked along with his milk wagon, having a casual chat with God.

What if?

What do you say God? What would be? You who make peace in the heavens, will this peace ever come to us!!

Tevye, the classic Jew, in the never ending conversation with God. We have always had a very personal relationship with God.

What if peace came and we no longer had to fight for our lives? What would come of Krav Maga?

Well I imagine it would go the way of other martial arts. It would go the way of Japanese martial arts as peace and unity was achieved in Japan.

It would develop "forms" and tournaments. It would develop artistic expressions of self-defense and practitioners would wear fancy outfits and compete in contests where points would be awarded for perfection and artistry, much like Olympic gymnastics. Perhaps it would be a "work out" LA style.

No longer would we fear Arab attackers, or Nazis or Lithuanian "partisans'" or the KKK or white supremacists or local hoods, or the UstaĊĦe, or the Spanish Inquisition, we would only have to fear that a judge might give us a low score.

Imagine...ahh...Tevye, what do you think of that?

I imagine his horse might raise an eyebrow.

Peace? Ahh, Tevye would say, I would sit with the learned and study the holy books seven hours every day!

Ah, peace. Difficult to say without a chuckle.

But alas it is not to be, not in our lifetimes. No one alive today will live to see peace. In fact things are only getting worse. Just the facts Jack. And I am an optimist.

So our Krav Maga will remain cutting edge. Our Krav Maga will be based on the latest research, the latest developments and the deepest caring for human lives.

We will remain alert!

We will continue to study surveillance tapes from around the world and learn to defend against every sort of attack. We shall not rest. We shall not rest until peace comes.

Perhaps, as was said by the mother of Zohan, ("Don't Mess with the Zohan"), "The fight has been going on for 4,000 years, it is bound to end soon."

Perhaps...

And I hear the melancholy tune, the eternal fiddler on the roof, trying to eek out a little melody while keeping his balance.

Join IKI Krav Maga

Stay on the cutting edge of self defense as we send you hundreds of new Krav Maga training clips every year. Start the year off with something positive.

Read about our On Line Krav Training, a great supplement to your regular in-person Krav training.

Krav On Line.

Krav Maga Membership packages

Krav Maga DVDs

Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.