"Uncommon" Sense

Two years ago during Tour and Train in Israel somebody asked me whether as a Taekwondo black belt I found the Krav Maga techniques taught too basic. That individual obviously failed to grasp the fundamental of what was being taught that it is that the basic moves are the ones that are likely to work when the proverbial hits the fan. Real fighting and self-defence is nothing like Jackie Chan movies, that is just common sense.

It was common sense which made me decide to supplement my Taekwondo training with Krav Maga many years ago. It was also common sense five years ago that made me align myself with IKI, a Krav Maga style committed to innovation and simplifying defences making them easy for anybody to use. It is also because of common sense that I am an ardent supporter of Israel. Unfortunately common sense is not all that common in the world that we live in.

Millions if not billions of dollars of European money go out to fund lavish lifestyles of corrupt bosses and salaries for imprisoned terrorists whilst Arabs struggle below the poverty line. As European nations default on their debts and the economy collapses they condemn Israel whilst channelling cash flow to terrorist regimes with preposterous wealth disparities.

Money is nothing more than the exchange of values. That’s common sense, the law of the jungle, from the corporate office blocks to the prison yards; we value that which serves our survival. I believe Israel has more value for Europe and the civilized world than some parasitic despot regime. To me that is common sense but I am not a politician, I am a Krav Maga instructor.

The trending topic currently in the news and on the Internet is Martin Shkreli. He increased the cost of a lifesaving drug from $13.50 per pill to $750 per pill, an increase of 5000%. The value placed on human life enables this unscrupulous individual to charge $750 just for one pill and unfortunately people right now are paying over-inflated costs for such drug. As I am typing up this blog probably there is someone somewhere threatened with a knife, a woman maybe is losing consciousness as a sexual predator chokes her into submission. How much would a choke or a knife defence be worth to these individuals?

$750, the cost of just one pill, would buy over six months training at twice a week with me at my school; more than ample time to learn to apply theses defences under duress. Victims who survive such violence not only sustain physical scars but mental and psychological ones, it can also mean exposure to diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis. Fortunately for these individuals I operate under IKI values and Israeli spirit and principle of devotion to mankind so my training costs remain affordable for anybody wanting these skills.