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One Stop Shop
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International
June 4, 2015, Maaleh Adumim - Jerusalem Road, Judea, Israel, our home.
Our Krav Maga was born in Israel. Our source is our history and experience. But now we are all over the world and we incorporate your experiences with ours. We need simple solutions that will work for an attack that is common in Slovakia but also for an attack that is unique to South Africa. We need a simple thread that runs through all of our solutions.
That is what IKI is about.
We will never offer you anything fancy or complex.
As I was driving to Jerusalem tonight, stuck in traffic, I noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of me. It was for a garage/mechanic I used to go to to fix my car.
I began to wonder why I stopped going there, so many years ago.
The owner of the garage is a good guy, did good work, I never was dissatisfied, so why did I change garages?
His garage was close to my home, and it was convenient, but one day I needed a lot of work done on my car. He could handle the body work, the breaks etc. but for the electrical work he sent me someplace else, far away.
But why can't you take care of the electrical work? He just didn't. So part of the work was done one place and part another place. Too much of a hassle. I wanted a one stop solution for my car. So I changed to another garage/mechanic.
It is the same with Krav Maga.
We teach defense vs gun, knife, stick etc. But we teach more than that. We teach all aspects of personal self-defense.
Sometimes I hear of our students' attending seminars with other instructors. They might attend a judo seminar or a Brazilian Jujitsu seminar. And I have to wonder; what are they looking for? What do they find lacking in our system that they need "pasture in other fields"?
If they are going because they appreciate the sport of Judo, or the sport of Brazilian jujitsu, Knife fighting, or Russian Sambo, great. But if they are going because they want to "supplement" IKI Krav Maga with groundwork or take downs, this is a mistake.
IKI Krav Maga includes all aspects of personal self-defense, including takedowns, throws, groundwork. It is all already in the system. To go and add a technique here and there that you think is missing will hurt the integrity of the system.
Many years ago we began as a hodgepodge of different techniques. I trained in many styles and attended many seminars. For one situation we used a submission wrestling technique while for another we used a ninjitsu technique while for yet another we used a technique from Choy Lee Fut kung fu. But all that ended.
The last seminar I attended was with the greatest name in Brazilian Jujitsu, number one. I was advised not to attend, that I had nothing to gain from this. But I went and I gained something very valuable.
I gained an understanding that IKI has evolved into a unique system where a single thread, a single theme runs through all our defenses. To add a move here or there breaks that thread and hurts the integrity of the system.
The greatness is in the simplicity and that one idea connects everything we do. Please listen. In the past we had some techniques that were very good but they did not fit and we dropped them. We dropped them because they created confusion for the students.
For example, if for all our horizontal knife threats we use a certain move but for one situation we use a totally different technique - the students (and I include our instructors here as well) became confused. They could not remember when to use one technique and when to use another. We need a single thread to unite everything.
Thus even if a technique was good - it was useless because the practitioner would not be able to access it when he needed it most. Such a technique hurts the system because it does not fit it.
With real self-defense you cannot have a system that requires so much memory, it will fail you in a real time.
Jujitsu experts have seen this in our ground techniques as well; that the same concepts we use standing we use on the ground; one theme running through everything we do. IKI is a Total system. Everything we do is consistent.
But there are things we do not offer.
We stick to what we do best, Krav Maga, personal self - defense. There are related topics that we do not cover, and we advise you to seek expert training and advice in those important areas.
Gun - Is a gun right for you? how to use one, where to buy it.
Car - I have heard of Krav Maga driving, I have no idea what this is. But if you want to learn to drive in a combative way, seek expert instruction from someone who does only that.
Dogs - There are Krav Maga courses for dogs; train your dog to protect and attack.
Home - Alarm systems, locks, cameras, a safe. Speak to the experts in that field. Be wary of a Krav Maga instructor who sells these products on the side. Find someone who has studied this field, who has trained in it and become an expert.
Insurance - Another important field. You need good life insurance, health insurance, accident insurance.
Do you prefer to buy your electronics products at a Bazaar or at a licensed electronics store that specializes in this field and whose employees are specifically trained for this? Do you want to buy your computer parts in the Arab market in Jerusalem or from a trained computer specialist who knows the best product for your computer?
Think about it.
At IKI we focus on what we do best. We stick to our core and improve daily. We are not adding on every day, we are taking away every day. We are taking away an extra step here, a waste of a second over there. We are constantly making Krav Maga simpler and easier. We are never content.
Remember, our goal is not only to train hard-core counter-terrorists and security professionals, which we do, but to also train everyone, including you, the person who does Krav a couple of times a week after a long day at work.
We are proud to be IKI.
Proud to be IKI. (from IKI Puerto Rico, Instructor Jorge Castillo)
More about Moshe Katz
Moshe Katz Krav Maga information
Come to Israel and become a real Krav Maga instructor
Come to Israel, give us two weeks of your time. Immerse yourself in Krav training, Jewish history and culture and go home a different person. Cover all aspects of Krav Maga:
Hand to hand combat
Defense In and and around a car,
Hostage situations
Knife, gun, stick, long weapons, baseball bats and axe.
Fighting on the ground and in confined spaces.
For more information
Krav Maga Tour and Train Israel Experience.