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Krav Maga Fighter
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
March 27, 2025, Lod Airport, Business Lounge, Israel
I recently read a comment criticizing a certain Krav Maga instructor, grand master, (unknown to me who this was) who said that "Krav Maga is not about fighting, it is about self-defense". I could not agree more. And yet, the critic was so adamant that he put the title, grandmaster in quotation marks, to say, "the so called 'grand master'". That is quite a judgmental statement.
This opens up a certain can of worms which I wish to address, as I do not back away from controversy. Seeking the truth will always involve controversy.
The argument put forth by the critic was that all Krav Maga practitioners should be fighters. He himself says he trains in Brazilian Jujitsu a certain number of days per week, and then Muay Thai, etc. One can also see that he is young and incredibility fit. His style of Krav Maga indeed seems to be based on strength, fitness, aggressive and yes, fighting. Fair enough, good for him.
I see it differently.
Our goal is quite simple - Survival. If you can read a book on avoiding violence, and this gets you home safely, great. As Bruce Lee said, the art of not fighting, and I think he is a fair authority. Our goal, I will say this again, is to survive, to make it home, or to the hospital, and live. It is not to win, it is not to earn a trophy, it is not to be a K-1 champion or an MMA champion, that is a different field, a sport.
To clarify I will share a little of my background for those that do not know me. I have spent more than 40 years in the martial arts and have trained in many styles. I have gone through a process of evolution over the years. My story is on the website for those who want the details, there are no secrets. I have never shied away from a fight. I have fought in Israel, New York, California, USA. I have participated in every form of fighting; Karate, Kung Fu, Kickboxing, Thai boxing, boxing, wrestling, Judo, Mixed Martial Arts. At a certain point I decided I could not teach all this, and I must make a choice. I choose to focus my career on teaching pure self-defense, we call it IKI Krav Maga.
Now what is the difference between fighting and self-defense? and why is this important?
As my Judo teach Tony said many years ago, I have a souvenir from every fight I have ever participated in (street fights), as he proceeded to show us a broken thumb, a mangled toe, various body parts that no longer function as they were intended to, etc. His message was, avoid a fight if you can, finish it quickly if you must.
The lesson has stayed with me.
I will repeat, our goal is to get home safely, or at least to the hospital in decent condition, to survive. We are not interested in proving anything to anyone. This is not Fight Club; this is not the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). This is Survival, by any means.
The Difference:
So what is the practical difference between a fight and self-defense?
Let us look at self-defense first, and then the difference will be obvious. Self-defense is defined in terms of its goal, rather than the action. The action itself may be "fighting", but the goal is not fighting just as the goal is not the negation of fighting. i.e. we neither seek to fight or not to fight, we only use what is necessary to survive. Self-defense can be running away, it can be blocking a knife attack and escaping, or it can be preempting a strike by hitting another person, thus you are fighting until the person is no longer a threat.
Hegel speaks of abolishing and upholding as two sides of the same idea, like an opposing theory of which we use both without negating either. We fight and we dont' fight, that does not matter. What matters is only survival, by whatever means that takes. As such we don't define our system as "fighting".
Thus, the goal of self-defense is survival while the goal of fighting is winning. As such I do not use the term "Krav Maga Fighter".
We all hope to reach old age. We may reach an age when we can no longer be called fighters, but no matter how old we are we must still be able to defend ourselves. Not everyone can be a fighter, but everyone can learn self-defense.
Full contact fighting, hundreds of fights, of all sorts.
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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