Sustainable Krav Maga
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

September 29, 2014, Israel

Sometimes I feel like the ancient Hebrew prophets. I have a message but I often feel like a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. And the temptation is always there; to fit in, to be like the others. Only I know that that would negate the prophecy and the message.

The "others", the other Krav Maga associations, are selling you camouflage pants, body building routines, brutal boot camp style training, intense aggression and the glorification of pain.

In Marketing they say, "Give the people what they want". But no, I shall not do that, I shall offer them what they need. And slowly the wiser are joining us, joining IKI. From all over the world high ranking martial arts experts and champions are eager to join IKI and start ...at the beginning.

Many of our new members already have high ranks but they seek nothing but to learn our way. In Portugal, Poland, Brazil and United States we have new members who are highly sought after by other Krav Maga organizations, but they chose us, and eagerly test for the rank of Apprentice Instructor.

We are the voice of reason, of wisdom, we are the Jeremiah of our time, calling out alone from the wilderness.

Last year for Tour and Train we were joined by an exceptional young man. "Kuda" originally from Zimbabwe and now from London, England, arrived with extensive experience, mastery, in Kung Fu.

He learned our way and blended it with his own. Today he is an instructor in London and I strongly encourage others to train with him.

He shared a very interesting article on Facebook (written by Jonathan Angelilli ) concerning the insanity of the Fitness industry. The message echoed my own, that the commercialization of fitness and martial arts actually scares many people away. More than that, it makes it unsustainable for most people.

As the article points out, fitness and martial arts are not only for the young and not only for when we are young. These are activities that should serve us during our entire lives. We must train in a way that is sustainable. For how long? For as long as we live.

"There is a massive trend in the fitness industry to glorify exercise as an all-out war on the body. I call it the militarization of fitness—all the boot camps, Marine-inspired workouts, ridiculously intense body building routines, and general glorification of pain".

People tend to think that to get fit you must torture yourself and to do Krav Maga you must come home with broken bones. Both are not true. In the end you will be left unfit, unable to defend yourself and in permanent pain.

Many of us went through that stage, and then we grew up.

The author of the article correctly states that the "militarization of fitness" actually prevents us from reaching our fitness goals. If it is true of the fitness industry it is even more true of the Krav Maga industry.

It is for this reason that many people feel they cannot do Krav Maga. They really want to learn but are afraid. The image of tough young people, sweaty and in intense pain, scares them off. Those who need it the most will never enter our training halls. Big thanks to the major Krav Maga organizations for their commercialization of Krav.

As the article points out, yes there may be some pain along the way, and yes there will certainly be some discomfort but no, there is no need to take this to extremes, it will only be counter-productive and prevent you from reaching your goals.

What we need, and what IKI offers, is a sensible and sustainable method of learning and training, something that will benefit you and your body for the rest of your life.

Kuda in Israel during Tour and Train.

IKI Krav Maga is based on the concepts that Krav Maga should be easy to learn, easy to apply in diverse situations and easy to retain.

Learn a system that will protect your life, for your entire life.

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