The Four C's of Success
Every time there is a terror incident there is an increase of people contacting me with enquiries about Krav Maga classes. Once the hoopla dies down and terror becomes yesterday’s news and the interest in things like Krav Maga, guns, protection dogs and security systems also ebb.
This is not the case with me, I have made it my life habit to continue to practise and teach Krav Maga, to keep a rottweiler at home and to have a CCTV system rigged. An analogy that I like to use is that of a thermometer and thermostat. One passively reacts to the environment, the other one changes the environment. Terrorism, crime or otherwise I will keep doing what I do till my dying day.
I offer no strings attached free training session to those making the decision to enrol in Krav Maga to attract people and bring value into their lives because I feel self-protection is not a citizens’ right it is an obligation. Often my work colleagues would tell me they would like to practise Krav Maga but they feel they are unfit or do not have the time to commit. Like Nike my answer is – “Just Do It”. I call this syndrome paralysis through analysis. To quote Tony Robbins “The road to someday leads to a town called nowhere”.
The head of our organization, Moshe Katz, is always griping at the way Krav Maga is advertised and promoted in Europe and the US with glitzy photos of people who look like they have walked off the set of the latest action movie and scantily clad athletic women. Not knocking other styles in any way but this Jacky Chan, Chuck Norris fantasy although entertaining is also the downfall for the martial arts.
If I asked someone on the street whether they thought they were above average driver, above average lover or were better looking than average the answer would invariably be yes because people tend to believe they are better or smarter than they really are. In IKI we do not market ourselves on this Hollywood Israeli tough guy image and paradoxically we have an advantage because we only teach skills that are practical and realistic. The amount of rubbish being marketed as reality martial arts was the driving force for the establishment of Israeli Krav International by Moshe Katz.
It is scary going from 8th grade to high school, going to Uni, dating someone new, starting a new job, starting a new life likewise it is scary for the average person to make the decision to walk into a Krav Maga class. I totally understand this feeling. Making the decision to bungy jump off a bridge for the first time was courage but it also expanded my consciousness and made me realize that impossible was only in my head. Likewise, courage is what gets one to walk into a Krav Maga class, however it’s the commitment to train regularly which leads to competence and ultimately confidence; what I call the 4 C’s of success.