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Single Student Seminar
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
November 30, 2024, Israel
IKI Krav Maga seminar in Costa Rica, great success
IKI Krav Maga seminar, Mexico City
IKI Krav Maga seminar, Germany
לפיכך נברא אדם יחידי ללמדך שכל המאבד נפש אחת [מישראל] מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו איבד עולם מלא וכל המקיים נפש אחת מישראל מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו קיים עולם מלא
"It was for this reason that man was first created as one person [Adam], to teach you that anyone who destroys a life is considered by Scripture to have destroyed an entire world; and anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world." (Sanhedrin, Chapter 4)
Note: This blog was inspired by one of our students/IKI Instructors, who held a special event. "Only" one mother and daughter attended, but this instructor gave it her all, and will continue to do so.
It is always a wonderful feeling to have a great turnout at a seminar. I will never forget the feeling when I entered the hall for my very first seminar in Costa Rica. More than 50 students lined up like soldiers, all wearing uniforms and IKI T shirts with my name on it, welcoming me. The head instructor brought over a student and said, Ericka is here to take care of you; you need coffee, water, a snack, she will take care of it. At moments like that one feels they are at the top of the world; I have just reached the top of Mount Everest.
But it is not always like that, and that is not what it is all about. It is about each and every individual present. I began this blog with a quote from the Talmud that has become well-known even outside of Jewish circles. It dates back to the 3rd century. The section deals with warning witnesses in cases of capital punishment that they must be very careful in their testimony because human life is on the line.
Now please understand the context. This is a time, and a region, where not everyone valued human life so greatly. One should not take such things for granted. Just look at our current situation in Israel, we are dealing with an enemy that does not place the same value on human life as we do. In the context of the 3rd century, where slavery was the norm, where death as a punishment was the norm, these warnings to the witnesses in Israel are rather progressive. The witnesses are severely warned before giving testimony, remember what is at stake, human lives!
This is part of our values as a people, even the enemy's lives have value. Israel takes greater precautions that any nation in known history, to avoid civilian casualties (despite what the world propaganda claims). Each and every human life has value.
The Talmud teaches that mankind began as one individual, for a reason. Now some people take every word of the Bible literally, some take it as allegorical lessons, whatever your belief, however you choose to look at it, I take the following as truth: If a story survived close to 4,000 years, there is a lesson to be learned from it. You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy Levy's rye bread, and you don't have to be a religious believer to benefit from the Biblical lessons. The lesson here is very important, it is that each human being has value, and each human being is worth investing in.
I have had seminars with over 150 participants, and I had one seminar with "only" one participant, (mishaps on the part of the organizers, someone dropped the ball, until the last minute we did not even know where the seminar was meant to take place). In both seminars I gave my all. In both cases I devoted myself entirely to the student/s, because each human being has value. Seeing 150 students is great, but one student is just as important. Perhaps you can make a major difference in that one student's life, perhaps you can save his life, perhaps he or she will go on to become and instructor and help many future students. You never know what your impact will be, things are not always as they appear. A success is not always a success, and an imagined failure is not always a failure.
When I first started teaching seminars, I met a remarkable young man at VCU, Virginia Commonwealth University. I will leave his name out for the sake of privacy. Let's call him George, just to have a name. George was Jewish. His mother was Jewish, but his father was not. His mother wanted him to have some Jewish awareness in his life, to develop a Jewish identity and connect to his roots. She made him promise that he would attend one Jewish event while in college. Until that point he was not involved in Judaism in any active way. But a deal is a deal, and a promise to your mother is not to be broken. He attended a "Jewish Treasure Hunt" (do not ask me what that is, for I do not know). He attended but he was the only participant. The organizer, rather than going home and calling it a failure, decide to talk with the young man. They spoke until the break of dawn, by which point our young George was enlightened and decided to become a dedicated and active Jew.
This George, without any real knowledge or training, organized a Jewish club on campus, where Jews, mostly unaffiliated and not active, were only 1,000 out of a student population of 60,000. He formed a "Jewish swim club", he arranged a Passover Seder for over 100 Jewish students who otherwise who have passed over this very important Jewish holiday. And he invited speakers with Jewish content, such as myself. This man is an inspiration. And it all happened because the organizer of the Treasure Hund decided that one student was a good enough reason to still hold the event, to stay up all night and engaged a student in meaningful conversation. There is no failure, and if you save one life, it is as if you saved the entire world, for the world was created for just one person.
Now we don't have any scientific knowledge of exactly how mankind began, fair enough, my point - it does not matter in the slightest. The story, the legend, has value. The lesson being that even for one individual, it was worth creating the earth, the trees, the rivers, the mountains. If ever you feel insignificant, think of that. Think, Look what God has created for me to enjoy! Look at the beautiful sky, that was created for me, look at that magnificent ocean, that too was created for me. I matter!! That is the lesson.
Now you do matter, but how much, that depends on you. Are you going to be a burden to others, or are you going to make a positive difference in this world? Are you going to complain that the world has not given you enough, or are you going to make an active effort to give back, to contribute to this world? That is in your hands. If you change one life, you changed the world for that one person, and that person in turn may change the lives of many others.
Moshe Katz, training continuously for nearly 4 decades, 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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