Krav Maga Free To Let Go
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

May 14, Maaleh Adumim,

Freedom is essential to our lives. We are born free, all of us, all creatures. And then we are trained to live in captivity. We are trained to submit to rules and regulations and tow the line. Otherwise we become outcasts. 

From the earliest years we are taught to submit to authority without question. I believe we should respect authority but be encouraged to ask questions. As in the classic film Yental when the rabbi says, "In this academy we judge students by their questions rather than by their answers".

Too many institutions exist simply to perpetuate themselves without any concern for the truth. That is how incorrect information and incorrect doctrine is based down throughout the generations and never questioned.

In time it becomes "the holy truth" and "untouchable" and all heretics must be eliminated. Sadly this is also true of martial arts, and even sadder, it is true of most Krav Maga schools. Questioning is out, blind acceptance is in.

Bruce Lee was a great innovator. How great a fighter he was or how good he was at actual self-defense is up to debate. He himself has become the myth he so fought against. He who advocated change has developed a legion of devout followers. He died young and the stories about him only continue to grow.

But like others before him his message was: Think, Challenge, do not accept things as they are. Think and question. He never intended to be worshiped, he only intended to challenge the way we view martial arts.

Bruce Lee, in his death he has become that which he fought against; rigid acceptance and a fear of change.

Bruce Lee spoke of "Using no way as the way". In Krav Maga we have the same philosophy, That is why I joking call him Bruce Leevine and say he should have been with us, a Krav Maga instructor. We share the same ideas.

Krav Maga was established for one reason only; self-defense. There is no need for yet another martial art. The idea was simplicity, and just like Bruce Lee, use whatever works, do not be limited by old ideas. But, alas, this is exactly what has happened.

Krav Maga too has created its idols, its' "saints" and its' untouchables" . No one is allowed to criticize or question. The accepted history is not to be questioned, although it is blatantly false and this is easily proven.

Most commercial styles of Krav Maga use old and outdated techniques that no one questions, and the image of the Israeli army, which has never used Krav Maga to win any wars, is used to sell Krav Maga to foreigners.

Sad times we have fallen upon...

Our style, IKI Krav Maga, returns to the original idea, freedom. We are free to let go. We do not publish a "Bible of Krav Maga" (which costs a huge amount of money). We do not invest in studio DVDs, (which costs can run to the tens of thousands of dollars). We keep our costs modest so that we can change our DVDs without a great loss and we have an on line program so that our students and instructors can stay up to date on the constant changes. And every student and instructor in our system is free to question any technique or suggest a new situation. In fact this is how most of our new applications of techniques come about.

It is the interchange between instructors and students, it is the freedom to ask and our freedom to let go of past techniques, that is our greatest strength.


Difficult to let go

It is difficult to let go. It is difficult to leave a job where you feel you are not free to grow. It is difficult to end a relationship that you know is wrong but yet provides you with some comfort. The next morning you wake up empty and lonely but if you know you did the right thing, if you are strong, you stick with your decision and move forward. And it is difficult to look at a style of martial arts, or at an individual technique and admit that it is time to say goodbye. Time to move on.

But once you let go, once you leave that job, that relationship, that technique, you are free once again. You are reborn. You are, once again, the person you were born to be, free with unlimited possibilities.

The history of Krav Maga

IKI Krav On Line  - Stay up to date, do not become part of the past.

Krav Maga Certification

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