What is the one thing all women must know about self defense? The recent reporting in TikTok and news channels of random, unprovoked attacks on women in New York City has sharply heightened public fear. While many people often view NYPD stats and news reports as a reflection of reality, they are overlooking the unreported events, which far outnumber those that make the news or enter the legal system. Justifiably, the sense of fear in the city is skyrocketing, and a significant number of individuals have begun seeking self-defense classes and safety training to feel safer on the city streets ..read more

Tracking Makes Us Better As humans, we are uniquely complex in our depth of emotional experiences, and in our ability to reflect on them and be driven by them. We navigate through life caught between logic and emotion, where logic means drawing conclusions based on facts, a straightforward approach to improvement. Undoubtedly, we’re driven more often than not by our emotions. This distinguishes personal opinions from scientific facts. Science relies on objective data and proven outcomes, while emotion guides us through a subjective lens shaped by our beliefs, values, and hopes for ourselves ..read more

Self Defense As a Response To Antisemitism Krav Maga was established as a pragmatic and intuitive system for self-defense and hand-to-hand combat, crafted by Imi Lichtenfeld (also known as Imi Sde-Or) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Its inception was driven by the necessity for Jewish communities in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, to protect themselves from the surge of fascist and anti-Semitic aggression in the period leading up to World War II. Now, in 2024, as antisemitism once again becomes a prominent issue, the acceptance of aggression towards Jews signals a dangerous recurrence of ..read more

How To Handle The Attacks On Women In NYC? With the recent news of women getting attacked in NYC, seeing the posts on social media, it’s pretty obvious we’re not just seeing random, one-off events. It’s a trend. Those are the attacks you have to learn about because they hit the news, but there are many others who didn’t make it to the NYPD stats or the tops of your media feed. My work always reflects the general sense of safety in the city – when people feel unsafe, more people show up at my door. It feels more like we’re getting a glimpse of something bigger and way more worrying that’s ta ..read more

Case Study of Brooklyn subway shooting on March 14th, 2024: 36-year-old man shot by his own gun Want to carry a weapon for self-protection? Read this before you do that. Too many times, I hear students asking to be trained in how to use a knife or a gun for self-defense. My immediate response is, “Your body is the first weapon you should learn how to use.” Carrying a weapon can increase a sense of safety and power. Knives and guns are game-changers in a fight, and usually, whoever holds them has a significant advantage. But before carrying a weapon, you must answer a few basic questions: Are ..read more

I always say that the mat is a microcosm of our society. People bring their personalities to the mat, and they express them loudly, without words, but with their bodies. I’ve identified three distinct approaches to training, and I’d like to share those insights in this article. Students’ approaches can vary as widely as their goals and personalities. On one end of the spectrum, we have students who understand the power of consistency, believing that steady, disciplined practice is the golden path to long-lasting results. These students often build their progress on a healthy routine, understan ..read more

Can You Win a Fight Against a Bigger Attacker? Before you continue to read this – I don’t have a magical answer to that question.  The internet is brimming with videos promising shortcuts to success, with titles like “How to win every fight,” or “Never do x y z,” and “You must do THIS to win every fight!” There are countless suggestions of quick and easy ways to achieve a remarkable and specific outcome to a very uncertain situation.  The reality is starkly different: there are no shortcuts. It is a long journey that demands hard work. Sadly, outside of the computer screen, there a ..read more

What Really Powers Success? How often have you looked at a successful singer, artist, businessperson, or athlete and thought, “They’re just so lucky”? In a society that credits serendipity for success, the common saying, “You’re lucky to do what you love,” perpetuates the myth that achievements arise from chance. Yet, success is rarely a gift of fortune. It’s not luck that propels people to the top of their game. Success isn’t a product of luck but mostly unwavering hard work, sacrifice, and the strength to weather storms. When you look at a tall, solid tree, do you ever say, “You are so lucky ..read more

When I was in my 20s, I remember a time when I thought about how my training had become stagnant. It felt like I was not improving anymore. I didn’t see what I didn’t see and I was not challenging myself in different ways. I kept working with the same training partners, mastering the same techniques, and not accepting my technical mistakes as an issue I could improve upon. But addressing fundamental technical issues in my craft was necessary.. I remember being drawn to practicing advanced techniques based on skills and aggression, and watched too many Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal movies. No ..read more

During the challenging times of the pandemic, my son and I decided one day to embark on what seemed like a pretty trivial endeavor – sprouting an apple seed. This small project unexpectedly unraveled a journey filled with profound insights on growth, teaching, and learning. I found that the lessons I learned from the metaphorical exploration of growing a seed resonated deeply with my work as an educator and a life-long student. The process started simply, choosing the container we would use to plant the seed, filling it with soil, and placing the seed inside. Our daily ritual involved waterin ..read more