metro
Israeli Defense
Krav Maga studio opens for classes at the JCC.
Michael Higer
JN Intern
option, students are taught to end a fight
as quickly as possible by attacking the
most vulnerable parts of the body includ-
ing the throat, eyes, face and groin. It is
also important to have an awareness of
your surroundings and be able to defend
and counter against a variety of different
attacks.
T
Krav Maga Locally
In March, Ron Grobman and Eugene
Gershman of Krav Maga Centers of
America (KMCA) finalized plans with the
JCC for a studio in the West Bloomfield
building.
"We flew out here, saw the facility, start-
• ed planning ahead and saw it was a great
opportunity:' said Grobman, a KMCA
instructor. "That's what Krav Maga was
made for originally, defending the Jewish
community, so you could say it's come full
circle:'
Grobman, 22, teaches ages 4 and older.
Born in Israel, but raised in Austin, Texas,
he began Krav Maga training at age 14.
At 18, Grobman, then the youngest certi-
fied Krav Maga instructor in the U.S.,
returned to Israel to join the IDF as a Lone
by Jerry Zoly nsky
he Jewish Community Center in
West Bloomfield now has a state-
of-the-art facility for teaching
Krav Maga, an Israeli martial art focusing
on self-defense and fitness.
A Krav Maga studio in the JCC base-
ment across from the basketball courts
contains equipment, including pull-up
bars, mats, gymnastics rings and a punch-
ing bag. The studio was developed by Krav
Maga Centers of America, based in Long
Island, N.Y., which is renting the space
from the JCC. This is the JCC's second
outside venture, including the Adventure
Park, to utilize space and bring in extra
income for the center.
Krav Maga, "contact combat" in English,
dates back almost 100 years, before
Israel was granted statehood. Imre "Imi"
Lichtenfeld grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia,
in the 1920s. There he was active in a wide
variety of sports including gymnastics,
wrestling and boxing.
In the mid-1930s, when anti-Semitic
riots began to threaten his Jewish com-
munity, Lichtenfeld and some of his fellow
fighters took to the streets to physically
Ron Grobman demonstrates how to get the upper hand when confronted with an
opponent (student Marek Kadlecik of West Bloomfield) with a gun.
defend their fellow Jews. He quickly learned
his boxing and wrestling techniques did not
translate well to actual fighting and self-
defense, so he developed proper techniques
for self-defense that eventually became the
practices of Krav Maga.
In 1940, Lichtenfeld left everything
behind in Europe and fled to the Middle
East. When Israel was granted statehood
in 1948, he became the chief instructor
for physical fitness and Krav Maga at the
Israel Defense Forces School of Combat
Fitness.
Upon retirement, he taught a civilian
form of Krav Maga, suitable for all ages.
Eventually, Krav Maga spread worldwide.
Modern Krav Maga techniques encour-
age avoiding confrontation. When not an
Israeli Defense on page 20
Facing Death Again
D
Hospice of Michigan works to understand end-of-life needs of Holocaust survivors.
wring World War II, millions of
European Jews faced unspeak-
able horrors and death at the
hands of the Nazis in Auschwitz, Dachau,
Buchenwald and other concentration camps.
Decades later, most of these Holocaust
survivors are in in their 80s and 90s and
find themselves facing death again, causing
flashbacks and old feelings of panic and fear
to rise to the surface.
To provide better and more sensitive end-
of-life care to the estimated 1,000 survivors
in Metro Detroit, Hospice of Michigan
(HOM) has partnered with the Jewish
Hospice and Chaplaincy Network (JHCN)
to help its staff gain a deeper understanding
of the Holocaust and the unique end-of-life
needs of survivors.
"My mother lived through things that
most can't begin to imagine:' said Eva Freed,
daughter of Ilona Praeger, survivor and
HOM patient. "Her experiences during the
war have affected her throughout her life,
but even more so now that she's reached end
of life.
"My mother lost so many people whom
she loved during the Holocaust, including
her parents. In fact, her mother saved her
from the concentration camps by pushing
her out of line into a group of people so she
could escape and hide with a friend. That
18 June 26 • 2014
included a docent-led tour of the center,
followed by questions and answers with a
Holocaust survivor and a rabbi whose par-
ents are survivors.
Rabbi Freedman explains an aspect of the Holocaust to staff of Hospice of
Michigan at the Holocaust Memorial Center.
was the last time she ever saw her mother.
"Now my mother is experiencing extreme
guilt that she was able to lead a long life
when so many others died. She also has a
real fear of authority, which has become
more prominent recently"
Freed explains it's important for her
mom's hospice team to learn more about
her Holocaust experience so they can bet-
ter understand why she has such fear and
anxiety.
"Some people might just think my mother
is a difficult person, but if you take the time
to understand what she's been through,
you'd understand why she reacts to things
the way she does," Freed said.
As one of the first steps in this learn-
ing process, HOM staff recently toured the
Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington
Hills with the staff of the JHCN. The event
Unique Needs
"Holocaust survivors lived in an inhu-
mane world, being deprived of food,
dignity and respect," said Rabbi E.B.
"Bunny" Freedman, JHCN director. "They
lost everything, but somehow managed to
survive. Now they've been told they're ter-
minally ill and will face death once again:'
HOM staff now knows some of the
unique issues facing Holocaust survivors:
• Flashbacks: Many survivors start
reliving the panic and fear they experi-
enced in the concentration camps. Even
seeing people in uniform, such as doc-
tors, nurses and paramedics, can trigger
flashbacks of encounters with the Nazis.
Many patients suffer from hallucinations,
making them believe they are back in the
camps.
• Nutrition/hydration issues: When
patients reach end-of-life, they often
refuse food and water. Medical research
has shown this is natural as their body
begins the dying process, and forcing
Facing Death on page 20