Why Continue Learning?
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

June 8, 2024, Israel

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Teaching children, many years ago.

I bumped into an old acquaintance; his son had been a student of mine many years ago. I recall when the boy quit his training. He had just earned his yellow belt and was feeling very proud. He must have been around 10 years old. He thanked me for the training and felt he had learned a great deal. In fact, he had learned so much that he felt there could not possibly be more to learn, and therefore, he was quitting. 

Wow, it is never fun to lose a student, but this really hit me. Yes, I was happy that he had learned so much and felt so confident, but nothing more to learn? That was over a quarter of a century ago and I know that I personally am still learning. I am still training and still trying to improve. I still feel that in order to deal with a real-life violent encounter, I need to train more. 

I think it is time I face this boys' question and deal with it honestly; is there really anything more to learn?

He had learned the basic kicks and punches. He had learned the basic defenses. He had learned some gun and knife defense and a little bit of ground defense, and yes that is a solid foundation. But there is so much more. 

I look back at all I have learned since then. I receive videos and reports from all over the world and while certain foundations remain, there is a great deal of innovation. There are also many cultural differences around the world that we study. Sometimes it is just a matter of nuances, a slightly different angle of attack, a slightly different knife attack, or it is held differently. All this adds up to significant differences. There are different ways guns are held and used. And there is the never-ending study of strategy and psychology. A gang member in London might act differently than a kid in Puerto Rico. There are endless variations on the same theme. If one only trains the basics, one is not really prepared. Daily I see videos where people get hurt badly, or killed. We need to study the effect of surprise, shock, fear, hesitation.

I feel we have improved greatly over the past few decades. In fact, I would say we are no longer the same system we were thirty years ago; we have advanced very far. 

We are always being exposed to new types of attacks, or variations on known attacks. We are always fine-tuning our defenses. And of course, we are always reviewing what we know. We cannot become complacent. 

Years ago when we started on Krav Maga online video program, I thought that after a year or two we would run out of new material, but it has been a couple of decades now and I find that I constantly have new material to film. Sometimes it is a new attack, sometimes a new situation and sometimes a new approach to an old technique or just a better way to teach it. 

We continue our training...

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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

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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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