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Three Amigos
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International
November 25, 2019, Israel
A few years ago there was a movie called Three Amigos, staring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short. It was a comedy. Today I want to write about three other amigos, friends, but this is not a comedy, not at all.
These three friends are what we call "fair weathered friends", i.e. they are sometimes around, and sometimes not, but when you really need them, they are usually not around.
I am referring here to unreliable Krav Maga self-defense friends, and I will name names!
These friends are Strength, Speed, and Precision. These are the friends you are to avoid if you wish to survive a real-world violent confrontation.
I shall explain.
I have been around the martial arts for a long time. I have seen pretty much what the world has to offer. I have traveled far and wide and trained with the greatest masters of this generation, and I have paid attention.
I shall explain.
Strength - If a technique, in order to succeed, relies upon the physical strength of the defender, or if the technique relies upon catlike reflexes, i.e. speed, and if the technique depends upon precision, i.e. accurately grabbing the opponent's gun, knife etc. under the pressure of a real threat; then man, you are in deep trouble. For those are unreliable friends, those are unreliable qualities.
I will break it down further.
If, for a technique to succeed, you need to overpower your opponent, this is unlikely to happen. You see he chose you for a reason; you looked like an easy target. He is most likely stronger than you and more experienced than you, possibly younger than you. He has chosen you; you have not chosen him. Think about it and you will realize I am correct.
If a self-defense program requires you to be fit and strong, for otherwise you will not be able to perform these techniques, well, brother, you are in trouble.
If strength is necessary to make a technique work, it is similar to a piece of a puzzle that needs to be forced into the puzzle in order to fit. This means it is not the correct puzzle piece for that spot. The correct piece will just slide right in. If force is necessary, it means something is wrong.
Speed - Speed is a great asset. Sadly, few people have this naturally. If the success of the technique depends upon us being Flash Gordon and Speedy Gonzalez, well, we are in trouble. Speed is unreliable. Sometimes we are fast and sometimes not so fast. At IKI we believe we should not depend upon this. It is like an unreliable friend. Under the stress and surprise of a real attack, you are likely to have a slower reaction time than in the dojo. Speed is not reliable.
Precision - Juggling and other performances depend upon precision. Your self-defense should not. If your self-defense technique depends upon precisely hitting a point, or grabbing a gun or knife, well...good luck with that. Under the stress of a real-life violent encounter such precision is physiologically very difficult to perform. This is not a show, or slight of hand, this is your life on the line.
Speed, Precision and Strength are nice to have but are not reliable assets in real life self-defense. At IKI we base our techniques on sound concepts that can be adjusted. We use Gross Motor moves that do not require extreme speed or precision. While no self-defense system is perfect, we reduce the chance for mistakes. We do not rely on unreliable qualities just as one should not rely on unreliable friends to pick you up at 4 am for the airport. They might pick you up, they might not, do you really want to depend on them?
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