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Strength and Self Defense
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
April 23, 2025, Israel
I have always been deeply moved by the words we recite in our prayers during the period of Atonement, we ask God, "Do not forget us in our old age, as our strength fades do not abandon us".
Wow, as a young man this really impacted me. Someday we will all, hopefully, be in this position, an older person needing help. The message I felt was - Don't be arrogant, don't be cocky, don't disrespect the old guys.
We lived in southern Florida where old people were the norm, Northerners who moved down south to retire, get away from the bitter cold of the Northeast. My grandmother lived there, with our Uncle Sam. Our synagogue was filmed with old New York Jews, Yiddish speakers. I learned to like and relate to them.
The fortunate ones grow old.
A friend of mine made a comment about the use of strength in a fight, that strength is not a bad word, that using strength is not cheating. Well of course I agree with him, and if you are a fighter then strength training is certainly part of your regiment. We all grew up on those amazing Rocky montages where he goes through his routine, boxing drills, running, pushups and lots of demanding weightlifting, all accompanied by great music. Very inspiring.
Being stronger than your opponent, taller, faster, is of course not cheating just as being smarter in school is not cheating. Of course, if it is a sporting event there must be weight, age, and gender divisions. No one wants to see a big strong man beating up a little girl, that is not a sport, that is abuse. But on the street, if you are stronger, good for you.
So this friend asks, why is strength sometimes a "dirty" word in martial arts? I will put this in context. We should all try to remain fit, fit for life. We should all try to eat healthy and be healthy. The issue is when your technique, your self-defense moves, Depend upon Strength, Speed and Precision, the "Three Amigos", that is when it becomes an issue.
If you have to force your technique, if it only succeeds when you are strong enough, or fast enough, or precise enough to pull it off, then you are in a problematic situation.
Life is not fair; life is not a tournament with rules. You can't call "Time Out" and you can't throw in the towel. You fight or you suffer the consequences. In a self-defense situation odds are that the attacker would be stronger than you, better prepared for this situation, after all, they initiated the attack.
Our goal, the way we design our techniques, is that their success does not Depend upon you being strong, or fast, or precise, because those are unreliable qualities and they will fail you.
Let us take a wrist grab for example. Over the years I have learned dozens of defenses against a wrist grab, in all sorts of styles of Martial Arts, but for the most part they are very technical, they take too long, there are too many factors that can go wrong. Many require precision; grab the opponent's hand such saw, etc, nearly impossible in a stressful situation. Or they require you to Force your way out of it, i.e. using strength (against a probably stronger opponent), we reject all these as impractical and ineffective for most people. We do not make the assumption that you can overpower your opponent.
We advocate the true original concepts of martial arts, use stronger body parts against weaker body parts (of the aggressor), rely on proper body mechanics, use natural body leverage. Use the Totality of your body rather than just the strength in your arms. Control your aggression and channel it at the proper moment.
We use Gross motor moves, and we employ the entire body in our defense, i.e. Total Body Movement, Gross Motor Moves. This means we do not have to rely upon brute strength to make our techniques work. For more details, come to class, attend a seminar or sign up for our online distance training.
Time - People often speak of "Reality Training" but they have no clue what they are talking about. The image that this term congers up is a bunch of tough guys and masculine women crawling in the mud or climbing ropes, sweating bullets and jumping over hurdles. The reality is a bunch of people trying to juggle work, family, appointments etc and barely finding time to attend class once or at most twice a week. People simply do not have the time to train like professional fighters.
When I was preparing for my black belt, I trained 9 times per week plus strength training, and cardiovascular training, but I was the exception, and I had the time. I was completely devoted to my training, and I sacrificed a great deal to be able to do this. Over my many years of training I have hardly come across anyone who has this kind of time, or devotion. If you have a full-time job and a family, and if you observe the Sabbath and set aside time for prayers of study, this time simply does not exist. Thus, our system tries to maximize the use of our limited time that we have available. We want maximum results in the limited amount of time we have available. I cannot expect our students to find time for extra training outside of class. There are a few who in addition to coming to Krav Maga classes find some time to go to the gym, but there are the exception, for most people this option simply does not exist. Even the limited hours they devote to Krav Maga are difficult and come at the expense of other important life events.
Thus, in reality, time is a key factor. Our techniques must take this time factor into account. If a technique takes too long to learn, if it is too complicated, if it relies upon you going to the gym to become a lean, mean, fighting machine, forget it! Our system is designed for the common person, not only for the Olympic level athlete.
Age - As I began this blog by discussing old age and the prayer, Do not forget us in our old age, do not abandon us as our strength fades. The fortunate among us age, I am proud that in our organization we have many members over 70, and even 80, still training. Can we expect them to use brute strength to make techniques work? No, of course not. The technique must be good enough to work without you having to force it, to use your body-building power. A good technique should not depend upon your strength.
We have older people, we have teenagers, we have petite women, we have people who have recovered from severe accidents. And yes, we also have people that can make the cover of Muscle and Fitness magazine, our style, our techniques, are for all of them, for all of us. We are all imperfect.
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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