I started well ahead of time by googling krav maga + Jerusalem. What I found was a fairly short list, and I contacted everyone on it. And I got answers, all of which were brief but encouraging - something along the lines of "you're welcome to train with us". I thought I would be able to visit and evaluate the various programs, and there was no doubt in my mind that I'd find more once we were settled. I couldn't have been more wrong. Of the schools I emailed, one was GU (geographically undesirable) as it was located in Maale Adumim which would have been fine if we had a car, but an hour each way without. After a class that ended at 10PM I didn't want to schlep on public transportation so I didn't even bother making a visit. Another, which was easy to get to by bus, was so esoteric I decided it wouldn't be a good fit. There was one more, also very GU, that was more for security professionals and I didn't want to get in over my head.
That left Moshe. He was one of the people I emailed, and one of the first calls I made after we arrived. His "school" is non-traditional, meaning he doesn't have a location, but spins it as "I'm the only one who trains outdoors". Like that's a good thing. He's also the only one I encountered who doesn't teach mixed classes. This wasn't a problem per se, but it did make a difference in cost. He would have been happy to take me on as a private student. I wanted to be in a class because it's better to have a training partner who isn't also the instructor, and it's about half the price. Problem was, he had no girl students. I decided to follow up anyway, and went to see a class. Unfortunately I got the time mixed up and by the time I arrived he was nearly finished teaching the regular class. But he did let me stay, and participate in, a weapons class. It was very cool, learning to disarm a gun and a knife. But it was also a bit repetitive, and it's not how I wanted to spend 2 days a week. He told me he was trying to form a class for girls and would be in touch.
About mid-way thru the 3 months I got a phone call from Shefa, who had been given my number by Moshe. She said he was trying really really hard to find an indoor training space (this was right around the time of the big snowstorm when the weather turned very cold after having been in the 70's for the first month and a half), and she wanted to know if I was still interested in training and when would I be available so we could get something going. The phone call was followed by an ongoing email correspondence for the next month. He had a space, he didn't have a space, she was having a hard time clearing her calendar to make a commitment to a twice a week class. Etc etc etc. It was becoming clear that this goal was not going to be realized.
When we were down to our last 2 weeks I had an out-of-the-blue email from Shefa, letting me know when Moshe would be available for private lessons only. I was somewhat out of sorts. I had already come to terms with the fact that my Israel experience wasn't going to include krav maga. I let it sit for about a week, then contacted Moshe. The fact is I really couldn't show up at my gym without at least some training. Time was getting down to the wire but we managed to schedule 2 lessons and I'm really glad it worked out. He's an excellent teacher and we packed a lot into 2 hours. He also has an interesting story, but it's not mine to tell. Next time I hope he will have a girls' class because I'd love to learn more.
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