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Learning IKI Krav Maga
by Moshe Katz
September 28, 2012
Every week I receive e mails from people who wish to be certified by IKI. These are "masters" from other styles, people who have trained for years in other styles of Krav Maga, recently left other organizations etc.
They all want to be certified but they cannot wait.
I cannot tell you how many Masters I have turned away.
I cannot tell you how many organizations I have turned away as they wanted immediate recognition for themselves and all their instructors and students. I.e. like prisoners surrendering they wanted to keep their weapons. But this is not surrender, a prisoner must relinquish his weapon as a sign that the war is over. When joining a different Krav Maga organization you must accept that your previous rank is not automatically recognized.
I would like to address some issues raised by our members from time to time.
The idea of the clips I send out is for you to watch them slowly and learn step by step. They are not intended to impress anyone, they are not "promotional" videos designed to show that I am a tough bad ass kind of guy. (I do not consider that a compliment for any teacher of any type).
Many instructors put clips on You tube. These clips are very fast, action packed with hard rocking music. They are done so fast and so aggressively that most people are highly impressed but do not see that most of the techniques are in fact – quite poor and ineffective. As I wrote before; they are flash and trash; big muscular guys, girls without much clothing, angry faces, muscle flexing and totally useless for real life. They are designed to impress and hide the flaws, much like women's' make up.
The clips I send you are born out of real life situations, trial and error. We learn from every success or failure on the street. You need to watch these clips carefully, more than once. These techniques are not the same as other styles, if you think they are – then forgive me but you are not paying attention.
Do not write to me that you already know these techniques. Time and time again when members send in videos of themselves, they prove to me that in fact they do not know these techniques. They only know something that appears similar. Unless I am sending out a basic knee kick (for beginners) or a front or side kick, it will always be something different.
What I am sending you is the result of my many years in martial arts and Krav Maga. As Tim Hillis pointed out in a recent seminar a certain new IKI technique reminded him of something he did years ago but yet it was different and superior and more effective.
Often I find that people who are testing revert back to their old way of doing things, this simply means they have not done the IKI technique often enough.
It is frustrating for me when people want to test and want to be promoted but then demonstrate for me techniques from other styles of Krav Maga; styles which I have rejected as less effective.
This is what I expect from all members:
Own all the IKI DVDs
View all the clips I send out, again and again, practice them slowly at first and later on with more explosiveness.
Read all the blogs.
Attend/host seminars whenever you can. Attend Tour and Train if you can.
My Training Plan
When I was a student of Itay Gil I often went 7-8 months without missing a lesson. Now that does not mean that I did not miss my regular weekly lesson, it means that I attended every single lesson that he taught. He used to say that "as much as I know that the sun will rise tomorrow morning I know that Moshe will be on the matt; the first one to arrive and the last one to leave".
I came early, swept the dojo, (yes, like in the old days, some traditions should never die), I put away all the sweaty equipment. If something was needed, like a shower matt – I went out and bought it. And of course, I paid my dues on time in cash as soon as they came due, no such thing as reminding me about that. Pay on time!
When he was away, I taught, and no I never was paid for this and never expected to be paid for this. Some traditions are worth keeping.
I purchased every video he made.
I purchased every T shirt he printed.
I attended every special training session (travel, extra cost).
And guess what? I became his only 4th dan.
Invest in your training
Another piece of advice I can offer is – Invest in your training, invest in yourself. If you view your training expense as an expense, then you should just quit right now. If you view it as an investment in yourself – continue, you have the correct attitude. For years I attended Karate College in the USA with Dr. Beasley. The cost of the flights and other expenses was quite great, in fact I saved up all year every year to be able to take the time off and fly to America for this purpose. This was my only vacation, this was the highlight of my year, and it was worth every penny. I was investing in myself as my late father had advised me.
Some tips for those testing online
Before you send me a clip, compare it to the clip I sent to you, or the technique on the DVD. Take a look at both techniques and ask yourself "are they the same or am I doing something different". I cannot test you on techniques you learned from other Krav Maga schools.
IKI is a unique form of Krav Maga, if you cannot see this, then IKI is not for you. If you already know everything I send out, then it means we must be twins because what I send you are techniques we developed here at IKI.
I ask you all to relate to IKI with traditional martial arts respect. Do not take our techniques, start your own organization and claim these as your own inventions. Do not take an "Apprentice Instructor" degree and claim yourself a new Grand Master, do not use the logo in a way that is inappropriate or illegal. Do not come to Israel and then copy my Tour and Train program. (yes all these things have been done)
If I send you an e mail I expect a timely response. As Bryan Ward of New Zealand pointed out no matter where I am in the world, I always answer him withing 24 hours if not sooner. I respect you, and I deserve the same respect. When my teacher calls me, I drop everything and take the call, respect is never out of style.
I echo the words of one of my first teachers, a Japanese gentleman by the name of Shigeru Oyama; hard work, respect, discipline, dedication and the results will come.
My teacher Itay made me work very hard for all my ranks, he would always say, "Moshe, your day of glory will come." And it has. I am trying to pass on to you the same values my teachers passed on to me.
"It really was fantastic!! Moshe has once again distilled Krav Maga to a smaller. easier to learn, more effective method of self defense. Some of the simple modifications he has made from the foundation we already had are quite ingenious. Funny, but incorporates methods so similar to other RBSD's I had certified in before coming to IKI that it's like going home again! However, the application(s) are far better and more effective." (Tim Hillis, Arizona, AZ Elite)
Tour and Train in Israel
Next session starts November 11, 2012