Posted to Jewish News on
by Dovid Gold - VIN News

Brooklyn Jews Increasingly Turning to Self-Defense

Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jews are arming themselves with potentially deadly weapons – their own bodies: CBS2 reports that a growing number of religious Jews are taking self-defense classes in martial arts with Sensai Steve Issak who developed and teaches a course he calls Shima Juijitsu.

Issak says he’s been teaching his brand of martial arts for over 40 years in a Brighton Beach studio in an effort to teach Jews to defend themselves against anti-Semitic attacks. He travels from Myrtle Beach every two weeks back to Brooklyn to teach his class for a 5-day period. “Everyone needs self-defense, but they [Jews] need it more than most based on the history of the Jewish people,” he said.

Both men and women attend his classes, including Chavi Charlap, who says she gets “confidence” from attending Issak’s course. Although men and women train separately as per Jewish law, some female students allow touching during the class because of the nature of the program. “If I’m in a life threatening situation and because of this, I can save my life and other lives, then it’s definitely worth it,” Charlap explained.

Now 67, the Sensai has studied martial arts since the age of 12 when he was beaten up by two older boys. By the time he reached college, Issak was teaching self-defense classes and opened a martial arts school soon after graduating.

Shima Juijitsu works, Issak says, because it’s based on efficiency, not athleticism. Another student, Rabbi David Goldshyn of the Jewish Center of Brighton Beach says learning these moves are essential. “You don’t want to get into a fight every two seconds,” he remarked. “But you also want to have the confidence that if something happens, you can protect yourself.

Related Articles

5 Comments

  • Locked and Loaded Lubavitcher

    There is another great form of self defense out there which actually mitigates the need for contact in a confrontation…….Its called MARKSMANSHIP!!!

  • Marksman

    Steve Shlita could whip a gun out of the hands of an untrained “locked and loaded Lubavitcher” any day of the century.

    • Locked and Loaded Lubavitcher

      That doesn’t say very much for you as a “marksman” if you are under the impression that one needs to be within physical contact range of your target in order to deploy a firearm effectively! The entire point of having a firearm is so that you can control the situation from a distance without your target ever getting close enough to you without being neutralized to even touch you! Forget about attempting to harm or disarm you! Without ever having met “Steve Shlita” I would give him the benefit that he is proficient in his craft. If so, I’m also certain that he knows the golden rule of firearm retention vs. forced acquisition, which is “if you can touch it, you can take it”. Being that close-quarter-combat should NEVER be allowed in closer than 21 feet (preferably not closer than 30 feet ideally), I would be hard pressed to believe that Steve has an arm reach of 21 – 30 feet, and a hand speed ratio above 1203 FPS (average muzzel velocity of a 124 gr. + P 9mm Speer Gold dot hollow point bullet). In addition to the fact that I happen to hold a 4th Dan black belt in Krav Maga, as well as being a close-quarter-combat and tactical firearms retention specialist, i’m beginning to think that the title of “untrained” with regards to being a “Locked and Loaded Lubavitcher” seems to be losing it’s allure. A word to the wise (or in this case the “not very”) Be very careful about what you “perceive” to be someone’s abilities or inabilities before you go shooting (no pun intended) off your mouth, as it may be more than just your pride that ends up getting hurt next time, or worse. Be well and try to stay safe.
      Yours truly,

      A highly trained and exceptionally, tactically proficient “Locked and Loaded Lubavitcher”