Relying On Technology

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 30th Oct 2023

I am a fan of AI (Artificial Intelligence). I first started using machine learning to analyze data sets somewhere around five or six years ago and found that the machine does it much better than me. My manual linear regression analysis was significantly inferior to my computer’s multi-linear regression analysis, which it did in a fraction of the time. I didn’t instantly accept this, but over time came to find that the computer could analyze data, consistently, in many more different ways than I could, and come out with more useful results e.g., the computer was better at using past...Click To Read More

Microaggressions

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 23rd Oct 2023

It was a black Harvard professor, Chester Pierce, who in 1969/1970 came up with the term “microaggression” to describe some of the subtle and seemingly negligible “slights” and devaluing statements he received from some of the white students he taught. Sometimes these microaggressions came in the form of a compliment, and may have been well intentioned such as, “you’re a credit to your race”, however such statements may reinforce a stereotype and include an underlying implication; that African Americans are not as smart or educated as White Americans etc. To the person making the statement such a remark may seem...Click To Read More

Principles As Limitations

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 16th Oct 2023

I’ve never really liked multiple choice tests. I was fine at them for subjects like math and physics where there were “absolute” answers to questions e.g., four plus four always equaled eight etc. However, I have taken professional exams, where an answer might depend on a context, and if a particular context wasn’t given then there might be “alternate” answers to  the “correct” one etc. This is one of the reasons it is usually wise to buy the board’s official reference material before taking one of their exams, even if you have a wealth of prior experience, because you will...Click To Read More

Orde Wingate & The Foundations of Krav Maga

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 9th Oct 2023

Like everything, Krav Maga was not created or developed in a vacuum. Whilst Imi Lichtenfeld is credited with founding the system, he could also be looked on as a curator of many people’s experiences and ideas; a person who brought these things together, not necessarily as a “system” but as an “approach” to self-defense and fighting. A system is something that is defined by boundaries, and is limited, whereas an “approach” is something which is much broader and allows for things to develop in many different directions. A system is rigid, whereas an approach is fluid, and allows for development...Click To Read More

Solutions not Techniques

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 2nd Oct 2023

I’ve written before about scenario-based training for self-defense, and why I believe it’s not only important but essential. Training “techniques” is great but without putting them into context, they merely become choreography. Full-on scenario-based training can be time consuming to set up, as participants need to be “trained” to play roles and act on pre-built decisions e.g., if someone does this then do that, but if they do this then do that etc. However, simple contexts can be trained in regular classes, with simple decision-making being trained etc., and this is important, because how we train is how we act....Click To Read More