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Know your weakness
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
April 15, 2024, Königsbach, Germany
Are we supermen and women, or are we ordinary human beings with limitations and weaknesses? Do we live in the movies or in the reality of an imperfect world?
Once again I am in Königsbach, Germany. I have been coming here once per year, other than during Coronavirus, for about a decade. I am here to teach Krav Maga but also to connect, with dear friends, past and present. I connect here with the Jewish community that existed until October 1940. (241 years of Jewish life here). I "visit" them and I pray with them in their synagogue. The first Jewish families came here in 1699. They met for prayer in one of the houses. In 1806 the synagogue was built; a Jewish school was built in 1835.
1834 wurde an derselben Stelle eine Synagoge neu erbaut (auf dem Grundstück mit der früheren Adresse Pforzheimer Strasse 5, jetzt Saint-André-Strasse 5). Der Badische Großherzog gab zum Aufbau 100 Gulden aus seiner Privatkasse. Im Synagogengebäude war im oberen Stockwerk der Betsaal, im Erdgeschoss befanden sich die Lehrerwohnung (zwei Zimmer mit kleiner Küche), ein Schulzimmer sowie das rituelle Bad. Das Gebäude war Eigentum der israelitischen Gemeinde Königsbach, das Grundstück gehörte der Familie Saint André.
In 1834, a new synagogue was built on the same site (on the property with the former address Pforzheimer Strasse 5, now Saint-André-Strasse 5). The Grand Duke of Baden gave 100 guilders from his private treasury to build it. In the synagogue building there was a prayer room on the upper floor, and on the ground floor there was the teacher's apartment (two rooms with a small kitchen), a classroom and the ritual bath. The building was owned by the Israelite community of Königsbach, and the property belonged to the Saint André family.
Bis 1938 wurden in der Königsbacher Synagoge Gottesdienste gefeiert.
Services were celebrated in the Königsbach synagogue until 1938.
I walk the streets of Königsbach and I remember the Jews who lived here. How would they feel hosting a Krav Maga instructor from Israel? How would they feel that people come from all over Germany and from all over Europe to train here with two instructors from Israel? I hope they would be proud.
But we must always remain humble. Our Krav Maga must be a reflection of our culture, our values. It must come from our tradition of humility, and it must recognize that all human beings are inherently weak. We all possess weakness, and we must come to understand this.
Too many forms of Krav Maga have borrowed ancient Greek concepts, they strive for a perfect body, to be like a god, to be all powerful, to hide any imperfections. But our tradition warns us, never say, "My strength and the power of my hands have brought me this victory". No, we must recognize our weakness. We become strong when we recognize our weakness. The more a man recognizes his weakness, the stronger he can become. That is how we teach at IKI - Israeli Krav International. We do not pretend to be Mr. Olympic, we are for all people, "Ordinary" people with disabilities, and weaknesses. From this we can become strong, from this we gain confidence and can learn to protect ourselves.
At our seminar we dealt with many kinds of knife attacks. Our defenses did not look like the movies, there was no flash and drama, there were no reality defying acrobatic techniques. There were only simple, and imperfect, defenses, designed so that regular people can survive unpredictable and violent situations. We recognize our weaknesses, we have realistic expectations of what an ordinary human being can do, and we build from there. We design techniques that people can actually use. Once we understand our weaknesses, once we understand our inherent limitations as imperfect human beings, we can train in techniques that actually save lives. This is what we are about.
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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