Kadima - Forward
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

October 22, 2015, Pensacola, Florida, USA

Krav Maga Tour

Touring the world and teaching Krav Maga I try my best to impart a little of the spirit of Krav Maga, the spirit of Israel and the Jewish people. This is the spirit behind all we do, and it permeates every technique and strategy. We are taking the bitter lessons of our people, our experience, and sharing it with the world in an attempt to help people cope with violence and every day life.

Krav Maga is not only about physical violence, it is about coping with life. Sometimes life can hit us harder than any opponent.

Last night I taught a seminar and among the many women in the group were some who had experienced physical and emotional abuse for many years. Some could not even stay for the entire seminar, the thought of the abuse was too much.

Teaching the physical techniques is important but it is not enough. For some the very sight of a rubber training knife or gun is enough to cause anxiety. These fears and trauma are real and we must deal with them.

But to all these things we say Kadima, Forward!

Imagine an entire nation traumatized. A nation on the brink of destruction coming back to life. From the hell and gas chambers of Europe to the fire and brimstone of hatred in the Middle East. How many families do I know where the grandfather was killed by the Nazis and their associates, and the grandson, named for the martyred grandfather, killed in the line of duty protecting Israel from its enemies that surround her.

Yes, I know many. And yet we came home and moved forward, Kadima. We move forward because there is no other option. Backwards does not exist for us.

We move forward because backwards are the trains headed for Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor, our families have been on those trains. If you think those trains exist only in the past you are delusional. There are those ready to get the engines started. They are waiting...

So we have no way to go back. We are a small people and a very very small country. On all sides are enemies except for one side where we have the sea. Our enemies have a slogan, Throw the Jews into the sea. 

We have no where to go but forward.

So when life hits hard we look straight into the storm and say....We have survived Pharoh of Egypt we shall survive this too. We say you have no idea what this people is made of. We shall build an iron wall out of straw if we must be we shall not retreat.

Forward, Kadima, is our only direction.

Kadima is an attitude, a forward moving attitude. But this does not mean a strict policy of combat. In our style of Krav Maga we do advocate a forward movement all the time however at a certain point, depending upon the situation, we also advocate a strategic retreat.

We do not advocate the Hitler philosophy of never retreating, this policy unnecessary led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of German soldiers, kids sacrificed for a bizarre ideology. For us there is a time to take a small step backwards and regroup. Constant forward motion could be suicide. With Krav Maga we advocate APC; Ability, Circumstance and Purpose to determine how to finish every technique. There is a time to continue forward and a time to get strike and get away.

So while our philosophy is always forward we must not confuse this with blind moving into enemy territory. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Kadima is the attitude of never giving up. Kadima is taking a step in the right direction, despite pain and trauma.  And Kadima is used a great deal in our Krav Maga approach.

Israel, A Nation of Warriors
By Moshe Katz

Learn the true story of a nation of warriors. Learn the attitude develop over thousands of years. Understand the modern and ancient nation of Israel. From the first warrior Abraham to the modern Israeli army of today, the same values, the same ethics, the same attitude.

$16.99 Paperback

Israel, A Nation of Warriors

Kindle version $9.99

Israel, A Nation of Warriors

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