Why is a nice Jewish boy like you doing something like this?:

Moni Aizik, Israeli-Canadian Martial Arts Master

 When my great-grandmother Sadie fled the Cossack pogroms that slaughtered Jews in Russia around the turn of the last century, she probably never envisioned combat systems created by Jews in what would become known as Israel.  At the time, she was more focused on getting her family safely to Canada, and then later helping them progress from working in sweatshops to becoming successful doctors and lawyers. 

 Since I had always been taught that that’s what nice Jewish boys do, they go to school and become professionals, I decided recently that I should delve more in depth into the fighting arts of this side of my family tree. Not an easy task if you are not familiar with them.  Krav Maga, Kapap, Lotar, Hisradut, Haganah – what do they all mean?  It’s enough to drive you meshugah (Yiddish for crazy)!  To figure it all out, I decided to go to Israeli-Canadian instructor, Moni Aizak.  According to Moni, these are all mixed martial arts with the differences found in the marketing not the curriculums.

 The more I delved into the background of this man the more I found that Moni is an instructor who can both talk the talk and walk the walk.   Moni started training in Judo and Jiu-Jitsu when most Canadians were lacing up their first pair of skates, and then became something of a prodigy winning seven national judo titles.  At an age when you and I were deciding what to do after high school, Moni became a member of an Israeli Special Forces Sayret commando unit responsible for counter-terrorism and intelligence gathering.  A veteran of the 1973 Yom Kippur war, he made many missions behind enemy lines including one that saw all but six members of his 64 man unit killed in action during an enemy ambush.  Having seen his fair share of bloodshed, the Israeli army decided to task him to work with Krav Maga (Contact Fighting in Hebrew)creator Imi Lichtenfeld updating the existing system.

 After he left the military, Moni did what most war vets do when they settle down to the easy civilian life  -  travel to Japan to endure arduous training with World Judo and Sambo champions Isao Okano and Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki and open up a school in Tel Aviv that just happened to producing Yael Arad, Israel’s first Olympic and World silver medalist in judo.  Clearly, this guy has trouble sitting back and watching the fig trees grow.  However, like the great Samurai warriors, Moni also has a balance to his combat side.  He is a pianist, painter and chess player.

 Combatant, competitor, coach, classically trained pianist.  Don’t you just hate a guy like this who turns everything he touches into gold?  Luckily for Canada, Moni came here in the 1980’s armed with a Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology and opened a school teaching his system of “Combat Krav Maga”.  In addition to providing self-defense instruction, his “golden touch” has also produced MMA champions like Carlos Newton, Joel Gerson and Omar Salvosa. 

 What impressed me most about Moni was that when I contacted him about doing a story on what he teaches he graciously sent me a few of his DVDs and did not ever once display any concern over what I would write.  This characteristic is one that I have found in many world champions and master instructors.  They know their stuff is the real deal, and aren’t afraid to offer it up for examination.  As such, they don’t worry about what a writer will say, because their product speaks for itself.

 I asked for something that would give me an overview of the different Israeli martial arts, so Moni sent me The Best of Israeli Fighting Systems  DVD series.  Featuring Kapap and Lotar experts Avi Nardia and Uri Kaffe, Moni himself and Israeli Tactical Shooting expert Albert Timen, it covered: knife against knife; unarmed against the blade; pistol and rifle disarming; takedowns; chokes; ground survival; and, Israeli Point shooting.  About the only thing not covered was how to evade Zeyda (grandma) when she does those infra-orbital nerve destruction cheek pinches.

 I also had Moni send me his DVD entitled Survive Any Gun Confrontation.  While the preponderance of weapons attacks in this country still deal with knives and blunt instruments, I dare say that it will only be a matter of time before guns become more prevalent.  With that in mind, I was happy to watch Moni’s DVD  that packed in 120 handgun and rifle disarming techniques.  This series was packed with many cool things, but the coolest were: quick release gun reversals that will make your attacker think that you are Houdini; quick reversals against the “gangster grip” (quickly becoming the grip of choice of the hip hop generation); and, most importantly what mistakes to avoid so you don’t get shot.

 To answer the question that is the title of this article, I would have to think back to a movie scene that featured a discussion between a Holocaust survivor and a native Israeli.  Without dwelling too much on politics, the survivor was describing the horrors of the Nazi camps and was telling the Israeli who easy it was for non-European Jews.  At this point the Israeli calmly told him that while the years under the Nazis were terrible, they were for a set period of time.  He pointed out that Israel from the time that the first settlers came, through statehood, until present day had been under attack, and that he had never in his life known a moment of peace.  So why do nice Jewish boys practice this unique form of martial arts?  Because being surrounded on all sides by enemies, they have to.  It’s just a fact of life. 

 Take the time to check out what Moni Aizik teaches.  It’s proven its success on both the mats and battlefields.  What better endorsement is there for a defensive tactics system could you find.

  Perry William Kelly

Perry William Kelly is a lawyer, author and consultant who for the past twenty five years has worked in the Canadian criminal justice system.

He has written three books and over twenty articles on law enforcement tactics and martial arts for such prestigious magazines as the RCMP Gazette, Martial Arts Success, Martial Arts Professional and the American Society for Law Enforcement Trainers Trainer Magazine.

An internationally renowned educator, multi-discipline martial arts instructor and certified law enforcement instructor-trainer he has taught students from all over the world.