The Things We Know
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

April 14, 2015, Israel

Yuriko from Chile, understands that review and practice are the key to excellence, not only learning new and fun things.

I was reading The Path of the Just by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707 - 1746, born in Padua, Italy), a book I have read many many times, and again I saw a Krav Maga application.

What is true for life is true for all aspects of life, and it is true for Krav Maga.

Rabbi Luzzatto states, I do not come to teach you anything new, in fact most of what you read in my book will not come as a surprise or an innovation at all...in fact here lies the danger, the reader may peruse through the book, see nothing new, and feel there is nothing to learn from this book.

He continues to explain that his entire point is that all the good and holy and important qualities are well known to us, but as much as they are well known, and perhaps because they are so well known, they are equally ignored.

It is focusing on these well known but forgotten aspects of life that is important. We know what is important but we forget it.

He asks; If anyone would be presented with these facts would they deny their significance? Certainly not! For each would say that these are vital and crucial to life.

And yet we all ignore it. We know it is important but yet we ignore it.

That is why Rabbi Luzzato writes that the "benefit from reading my book will not be obvious from the first read but rather from the repetition."

Truer words could not be spoken of Krav Maga training.

Everyone martial artist will agree that practice and review is the key to proficiency and skill. Yet when they show up for class they want something new, exciting, and fun.

They come to a seminar and expect new techniques, something sparkling and shiny.

But do they know the "old" techniques?

My friend, teacher and mentor Prof. Arthur Cohen said, "If I attend a seminar, pay $260, and walk away having improved one technique, I consider that money well spent."

That is the sign of a true martial artist.

He told me about a student who came in for a private lesson. Prof. Cohen said, "Show me your kata", and spent the entire lesson correcting mistakes and improving form.

At the end the student was dissapointed. He had "not learned anything new", and thus considered the session a waste of time.

Clearly it was the instructor who wasted his time, not the student.

Our goal with Krav Maga, or any endeavor in life, is to get better at what we are doing.

Do we want to learn new words in a foreign language every day? Or is it better to review the words we learned last lesson and make sure we actually remember them and know how to use them? Which will be of greater benefit?

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