You Kids Don't Know
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

August 12, 2024, Israel

When I was growing up, I often heard things like, when I was your age I already spoke 4 languages, when I was your age, we walked 5 kilometers in the snow to get to school. And so forth. This is so common that there is even a great skit by Monty Python called "Four Yorkshiremen". Four now successful men are thinking back to their youth and how tough they had it then. The common refrain was...you were lucky! We had it tough!

The idea being that back in the day when we were kids we struggled, but that made us strong, that made us whom we are today. We had it tough, but today's kids won't understand. 

Some classic lines...

Nothing like a good glass of Château de Chasselas, eh, Josiah?

You're right there, Obadiah.

Who'd have thought thirty year ago we'd all be sittin' here drinking Château de Chasselas, eh?

In them days we was glad to have the price of a cup o' tea.

A cup o' cold tea.

Without milk or sugar.

Or tea.

I was happier then and I had nothin'. We used to live in this tiny old house with great big holes in the roof.

House! You were lucky to live in a house! We used to live in one room, all twenty-six of us, no furniture, 'alf the floor was missing, and we were all 'uddled together in one corner for fear of falling.

Eh, you were lucky to have a room! We used to have to live in t' corridor!

we had it tough

And you try and tell the young people of today that ... they won't believe you.
ALL: They won't!

When I was young, hanging around the synagogue with the old men, I would hear tales of life in Europe. At the age of five I had already mastered the five books of Moses, 

Next Guy: By 5 I was already studying the Talmud and mastered ancient Latin and Greek!

or, My father, God bless his soul, could stick a pin in the Talmud, and you could count 7 pages and ask what was written in that exact spot, 7 pages forward, and he would be able to quote it exactly. 

Later I would hear such things from Russian Jewish immigrants, when I was your age I was already the boxing champion of my region. Or, I could already play the violin with the local philharmonic.

But look at you kids today!  Nothing!!

Now the thing is that...they were actually not exaggerating. I know this for a fact. My own grandfather was studying the Talmud at a very young age. And yes, he did master 8 languages, and yes, he did author at least 10 books, one of which was used by none other than Yale university. 

And my grandmother from Czernowitz did play the piano magnificently. I heard her myself. 

So what is my point here? My point is that the parents of all these old guys and gals raised them right. But most often they did not pass on this same blessing. They raised their kids in the modern world, with an easy life, without the struggle. How often did I see a disappointed Jewish grandfather looking at this grandson and saying, My God! When I was that age, I was debating the Talmud with the rabbis and my grandkid can't even say a simple prayer in Hebrew.

Now who is to blame?

We are.

We are to blame for not passing on these values, for not giving them a better foundation, for not demanding and expecting more of them. Children are capable of learning a great deal, and this will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Try learning a language at 30? You will have a very challenging time, try learning a second language at age 3? Much easier. 

I recall as a child how envious I was of those old men who remembered entire passages of the Talmud from their youth, but I wondered why they no longer studied, and why they did not teach their children. They spoke longingly of the good old days but did not seek to perpetuate that way of life. I wanted to have their solid foundation. I wanted their knowledge and wisdom. I was baffled why they longed for a past but did not seek to make it part of their current lives. I am trying to do that. 

Teach your children well, and even as they grow old, they shall not depart from these ways. 

Teach them while they are young and capable of absorbing a great deal, like Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Twins", raise a child with language, fitness, martial arts and general knowledge. This is how it was done many years ago. Teach them well.

Sign up your child for Krav Maga or another martial art today!

Moshe2021

Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt hall of fame, USA and Europe.

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What are the Biblical origins of Krav Maga and who was the first Krav Maga instructor?

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How has Krav Maga developed in Israel and what are its goals?

All that and more in this unique book.

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