The Krav Maga Code
by Moshe Katz

November 3, 2013 USA Krav Maga Tour, American Airlines flight 002, LAX - JFK

First coffee served, napkins serves as a note pad for some thoughts...

The Code. When we think of a code we often think of something outside of ourselves, a fixed set of numbers that someone needs to tell us, a secret password that only certain people know. But other times a code is right there in front of us, we just need to decipher it, we need to figure it out. This can be done by observing patterns.

Seminar 19 out of 19 on this tour was with my dear friends in San Luis Obispo, the only non-IKI group on this tour but long time honorary IKI members.

I was impressed with their students. In particular a guy name Nate kept asking excellent questions. At one point he grabbed a gun and put me in a situation I had never experienced before. He asked what I would do.

Geri, (Geraldine), my host, watched carefully as I executed my escape. I told her "first time I tried this." Impressed, she asked me to do it again slowly, she said, "I would to this how your brain works."

Actually it was not too difficult, as Al Greene in Arizona often says, it is all just a "variation on a theme" and once you get the concept, or the "code", it all fits into a pattern and makes sense. After that each new situation is easier to handle.

 

With Instructor Geri Ooi and the group at Budo Ryu, San Luis Obispo, California. A great conclusion to my Fall 2013 USA tour.

The Code

The code of IKI Krav Maga is actually not a secret, it is simply the thread that runs through all of our techniques.  Once you decipher that code you will have in your hands, in your mind, the solution to every situation.

Situations are limitless, there is no possible way to have a different technique for every situation. It would take too many lifetimes to learn and memorize so many techniques. So while situations are limitless, our techniques and strategies are finite but they are adaptable to nearly every possible situation. (admittedly some situations are so unique that they may require some additional original thinking, but even those follow the same thought pattern).

 

As Bruce Lee pointed out; it does not matter if we are White, Black, Asian, Caucasian, Middle Eastern - We are have the same bodies. Therefore the same Krav Maga techniques and principles apply to all of us.

The only difference is cultural; i.e. our approach and understanding of violence. And regional: each region has some sorts of violence unique to that region.
Krav Maga is Israeli, Direct, Aggressive, and immediate but with IKI Krav Maga we also get the wisdom of the ages; Chinese tradition: we learn the flow, Wu Wei - Effortless efforts, penetrating power.

 

However our patience level is different.

The nature of our conflict is different, our conflict demands Rapid Brain Solutions. TIME is a commodity we have in very short supply. The Six Day War lasted only six days because we did not have time. We are a small nation, we need to end conflicts rapidly. Our man/woman power is limited. We are not Russia or China. Our soldiers are also our teachers, our postal workers, bankers and rabbis. We cannot leave them on the front lines for years or even months.
Our economy cannot sustain a long conflict. We need immediate solutions. We need Immediate Stopping Power. In order to survive we need wit, (humor), brain power, ingenuity and creativity; these have always been our tools for Survival.

Witness Israeli Hi Tech creativity. We have more start ups per capita than any nation in the world. People all over the world would be amazed if they realized how often during their daily lives they use and benefit from Israeli and Jewish technology.

Krav Maga is not hi tech, in fact it is the opposite. However Krav Maga  uses the same spirit of creativity and ingenuity; thinking on your feet, finding rapid easy to use solutions.

 

Israeli Hi Tech, Low Tech - same spirit. One Spirit.

 

 

Israel: A Nation of Warriors
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How did The United States of America begin as a Warrior Society and then change?

What is the true origin of Krav Maga?

What makes Israeli security and fighting unique?

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