what you see from here
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

September 20, 2022, Delta Airlines, Flight 234 JFK - TLV

There is an old expression in Israel, and I imagine a similar expression in most cultures; what you see from here is not what you see from there.

Basically, where you stand on an issue depends on where you are sitting. If you are sitting in government, in power, you see things one way, if you are sitting in the opposition, out of power, you see things differently. There are many applications to this concept. In other words, don't judge someone until you have walked a mile in his shoes. Or your perspective changes based on your circumstances. 

Today many young people are judging those who lived long ago. They are criticizing people who lived in very different times, while of course they see no wrong in anything they are doing. While it is easy to criticize those who lived in a different world, a different era, with different perspectives and values, it is also easy to imagine how disgusted people of former eras would be of today's generation. I recall my late grandmother looking at a couple of young women and saying in utter disgust, "in my days, young ladies, you would be arrested for indecent exposure". Today arresting anyone, for nearly anything, is practically unheard of, unless you stood up for traditional values, or committed a serious crime.  

It is easy to judge and criticize from a distance, of space, of position. What I wish to point out in this blog is how we imagine we would fare in a real-life violent situation. I imagine it is very similar to the young people of today judging those who lived in the place, who lived in different circumstances and held different values. As just one example, there is no known record of any culture, religion or way of life that condemned the practice of slavery. It was a given. Yet today these people are judged harshly by those who live in very different, and comfortable, circumstances. Nearly every great city was built by slaves. That is just the way it was. 

Now relating this to Krav Maga/Self-Defense. How often do we hear the boastful comments of those who fancy themselves great warriors; if I were there, I would hammer strike him in the heart, if that guy touched me, I would throat punch him and rip out his gizzards...or whatever. Fact if most of these people are more likely to urinate in their pants or self-defecate. Real Violence is not pretty, and it is scary as all hell. If you don't know that, well, you are not ready for prime-time players, you have not even begun your real training. 

As we say in our daily prayers, we begin all study with humility, with acknowledging our weakness, not boasting of our strength. We need to understand that we could be facing a terrifying situation, one that will catch us totally unprepared, even if we hold a high rank in martial arts, even if we competed in boxing or MMA. None of that is adequate preparation. We need to prepare ourselves psychologically and we need to drill our techniques, over and over and over again, and then some more. 

I never, ever, want to hear...But we already did that technique before. Those are words of future victims, of losers, of lazy people. Humble warriors understand, review, practice, drill, do scenario training, keep moving forward, never be content. What we see from the comfort of our imagination is not what we will see when confronted with reality. As my dear father would say, be ready for when the Sh...hits the fan. It can get messy. 

We train, we repeat, we need to be ready. Moshe training US Special Forces, somewhere in the USA.

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