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Self-defense; the opposite of what you thought
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
February 10, 2022, Delta Flight 585, ATL - Mexico City
Standing in a row, perfect stance, kicking in a rhythmic pattern, I thought I was on the path to self-defense, self-discovery and personal empowerment. Not to belittle or disrespect in any way the valuable training I received, I gradually came to the realization that self-defense it was not.
Does it have value? Without a doubt. But is this the protection we need to survive a violent encounter? not even close, in my opinion.
We can began with the fact that most of the traditional techniques learned will not be of any use in a wide variety of situations.
It can read like a Dr. Seuss book,
It will not save you on a boat, it will not save you when wearing a heavy winter coat
In will not save you on the stairs, it will not save you here and there.
It will not save you when in a small room, it will not save you against a broom.
It will not save you on a plane, it will not save you when in great pain.
It will not help you in an elevator, it may not work now or later.
It will not help you face the fear, it will not help you when attacked from the rear.
It may not help you when you are old, it may not help you when it is very cold.
It will not help you when surprised on the street, it will not help you if you slow on your feet.
So my friends the truth is sad, but do not get mad, for you have been had. Just keep seeking the truth.
During those years of my diehard devotion to traditional karate, I saw an advertisement in Black Belt magazine, a small low cost add in black and white, It was from Charlie Nelson. It was a man shoved against the wall with another man holding a knife to his throat. It read simply, Do you know how to get out of this situation?
It got me thinking, it planted a seed. That seed would grow in a forest.
Life can be harsh, life can be cruel. It is worse when we lie to ourselves, it is worse when we are not honest with ourselves. I answered myself clearly, No, I do not know how to get out of that situation, and with that a decades long journey began, it has not ended.
What I have learned:
Pre arranged forms are of little value; they do not follow any pattern that at all resembles a real fight. A real fight is totally unpredictable and each body/person is different.
Flexibility is rarely an issue: Way back in the day I spent a great deal of time trying to get my full split. It seemed that once you achieved that you were close to being superman. While stretching has health benefits I find it has almost no relevance to real life self defense. High kicks and back spinning kicks are not the most important elements in real life violent encounters. The amount of time devoted to flexibility is not rewarded in real life violent encounters.
Fitness, Power, Strength: While all are nice to have, again, I have found have very little impact on survival in a real life violent encounter.
I found that most of our true self-defense comes from brain, not brawn. We have reached the point where human beings dominate the world, for better or worse, not by being physically stronger than other creatures, but by our capacity to think, plan, and change our ways.
Unlike what most martial arts instructors tell you, it does not take years to learn to defend yourself, I have students who have yet to earn any belt rank whatsoever who have survived real violent encounters.
Unlike what you see in most martial arts schools, talking is not a waste of time. Talking is a way of transmitting valuable life saving information, even if you are not building up a sweat. At my seminars I have often said, if you find a 20 minute talk about true life survival to be a waste of time, you are at the wrong seminar. Please leave and go to the local fitness school. You will die beautiful.
Psychology, understand where the aggressor and the aggression is coming from, is very valuable in knowing how to avoid and if necessary, handle, violence. Walking into a new situation without any prior knowledge is like facing a pitcher in baseball, or a fighter in boxing, that you have no information about. You are placing yourself at a huge disadvantage.
In summary, most of what I believed when I first starting martial arts training, I have found to be false. We buy into a pack of what the school wants us to believe, we swallow it hook line and sinker while wearing outfits that will not mimic a street situation at all, we memorize drills that have no real life application. And worst of all, we lose the ability to think for ourselves.
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