Anyone Can Get Beat Up

Posted: October 28, 2012 in Attitude, Technique
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Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
~ Joe Lewis

I don’t know how long you have trained, how big/strong you are, how vicious a fighter you are but I can tell you this: you can get beat up. You are not invincible. Your martial art is not perfect nor have you perfected it. It has likely prepared you for defending yourself better than the average person, especially if it’s a RBSD style like Krav Maga, but you are not invulnerable. That’s right. I said it. I don’t know you but I can tell you with complete certainty that you can be beat. You can be hurt. You can lose a fight. Read the rest of this entry »

Partner up!

Posted: October 14, 2012 in Attitude, Class, Older
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I had to get up run in the morning for 2 hours, go to the gym and also get good opponents as sparring partners because I’m a big believer in that how you train is how you will fight; at least when it came to me that’s how it worked.
– Alexis Arguello

Photo courtesy of “Mixed Martial Arts in DC News Blog”

Few things can mess up your training than ending up with the wrong partner. A partner is not someone who just holds pads, succumbs to (or administers) the technique of the moment, or someone opposite you who’s waiting their turn. They are an integral part of your training and their importance cannot be overstated.

I’ve had bad partners, good partners, and phenomenal partners. If a partner’s no good you run the risk of being barraged with meaningless/inaccurate critiques, getting slightly (or seriously!) injured, not learning the techniques being focused on that day to the fullest, getting frustrated, or constantly having to readjust yourself (in a bad way) to accommodate your partner’s shortcomings. All of these make for a horrible training session in my book. True, there’s something you can salvage from even these sessions but, having been through a fair share of bad ones, I’d just as soon not have to be in that position if it can at all be avoided. Hey, I’m here to learn and only have 2 or 3 sessions per week to get it right so why not make each minute really count? Read the rest of this entry »

Green Belt Achieved!

Posted: October 2, 2012 in Belt Test, Belts
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Whew. After another arduous three months and lots of bumps and bruises I passed through to the other side and am now a Green Belt.

This cycle has been filled with lots of bear hug variations and neat takedowns. We were introduced to the Escrima/Kali sticks to focus on our striking technique and sharpen our perception of the opponent commencing an attack. We jacked up our aggression drills to levels I didn’t think I’d be able to participate a year ago.

Sparring. Lots of sparring. We’ve got some new techniques and built up some more endurance in this area, which is nice, and I never tire of learning more.

More reflections on the way over the coming weeks.

The Gatorade Myth

Posted: September 29, 2012 in Food, Older
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Glass bottle of Gatorade circa 1970’s.

I’m a kid of the 70’s. I remember playing football in New Jersey (one season and I sucked at it) when my parents bought me some stuff to drink after practices and games called Gatorade. It was green, sweet, and came in these clunky glass bottles. It was pretty new to us in that part of the country and I can tell you I loved it. My mother would pour a good amount into a Thermos and I’d be good to go. It only came in Lemon Lime back then but that was enough. I don’t remember much about the games, the play book, or much else about that season on the Ponies (yes, a football team called the Ponies. I don’t get it either) but I do remember that Gatorade all right.

A few years after that time I had moved on to other sports and Gatorade began offering Orange flavor. That blew my mind. You mean I now have TWO flavors?! WOW! And following that, Gatorgum. Boy, that was rough. Not sure if they still make that sour gum but it was pretty awful. Made your mouth water and, I suppose, that was what supported their claim that it quenched your thirst. Okay, sure, if you say so.

Fast forward to the 80’s, 90’s, and beyond and you have every color Gatorade under the sun. G1, G2, and G3. Low calorie, original, you name it. It’s the wonder drink with lots of imitators.

Read the rest of this entry »

Is Krav Maga Really for Everyone?

Posted: August 15, 2012 in Class, Older
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Krav Maga started out in the early part of the last century as a military-style of combat specifically and deliberately suited for everyone capable of walking — young, old, fat, skinny, man, woman, whatever. It made sense and it was essential to the survival of Israel in a time of intense conflict with Palestine. Everyone was necessary to join the battle and no one was turned away — they couldn’t be! It worked and, you know what? Krav Maga came about in these circumstances, designed to be suitable for anyone willing to defend the country and all its people not only in a military sense but also from everyday anti-Semitic violence. That doesn’t mean everyone was fighting with the same effectiveness or fury, certainly athletic men in their prime were “out-damaging” young 80-pound girls. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that everyone needed to join the fight and no one could be turned away if they were in any way capable of defending their country and themselves in a very turbulent and violent time in history. Read the rest of this entry »

Where Am I Now?

Posted: August 11, 2012 in Technique
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About a year ago I posted a list of techniques that I been taught by that point. I haven’t been keeping track with pen and paper since then (so this may be missing a lot) but what follows is an updated list for those keeping score.

Punches

  1. Left Straight Punch (jab)
  2. Cross-Body Punch (cross)
  3. Uppercut (left and right)
  4. Hammerfist to Side (with and without pushing/eyes closed)
  5. Forward Hammerfist
  6. Left Hook
  7. Spear jab
  8. Palm Strikes
  9. Bobbing and Weaving
  10. Focus Mitt Combos
  11. Advancing Punches
  12. Receding Punches Read the rest of this entry »

How Long Have You Been Training in Krav Maga?

Posted: July 30, 2012 in Poll
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training

 

You’ll notice that this post doesn’t have a survey, just results. That’s because the original survey tool, Polldaddy, now charges for use of its tool. As a result I have moved to Surveymonkey, which you’ll see in use from now on. For older surveys, I have included the results in the original blog post.

 

 

Things to Remember When Starting Out in Krav Maga

Posted: July 29, 2012 in Attitude, Class, Exercise, Injury
Tags: , , , , , ,
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I frequent /r/kravmaga on Reddit. It seems that a really common question is “I just joined a school. What should I expect? (somewhere around “Where can I find a school in ______?”). I was wondering the same thing, as you can see from one of my earlier posts.

It’s a very scary time. It’s exciting but also nerve-racking. Depending on your appetite for new things and being pushed outside your comfort zone (not to mention your current fitness level) you can be on the calm side of the spectrum or on the “I think I’m having a heart attack” side.

To help you address this challenging time I have put together a guide to tackle the most common questions people have. It’s a 74-page guide called the KMJ Guide to Starting Out in Krav Maga. It contains over 40 tips on what to expect and how you can make your transition into Krav Maga as smooth, stress-free, and comfortable as possible!

Two useful bonuses include a Cheat Sheet of tips for easy reference and email access to the author for any additional follow-up questions the student may have after reading the guide.

In this Guide you will have many (I hope most!) of your burning questions answered — and the best part?  There’s no need to take a notebook to the coffee shop to jot down notes! It’s all there for you, neatly typed out and organized clearly for your reference!  I’ve put a lot of thought into this material and have sweated over the contents, the structure, and the very nominal cost. It’s all there and I’m proud of the results.

Happy training!

Amazon-Buy-Now-Buttonbookcover

Snap Out of It!

Posted: July 25, 2012 in Attitude, Class, Video
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When thinking about intensity of training, it occurred to me lately that we don’t always train at the level we think we are. Sure, we’ve all been told time and time again that intensity trumps technique — it’s the more vicious dog in the fight that wins (even if it’s a little dog); that the enraged football player will thump the calm martial artist standing Zen-like before them; that cops would sooner face off with a black belt who’s posing in a crane stance in front of him, ready to defend, than an angry, deranged, and drugged out lunatic who’s screaming and flying towards him like a nuclear powered chainsaw — like those lightning-fast zombies from that movie 28 Weeks Later…

And yet.

As students we so often fall into an exhausted “good enough” frame of mind. I sometimes glance sideways during drills to guage how intense our class is. Some are brutally intense, almost psychotic. Others are going through the motions. Many are in between these two ends of the spectrum. Many start at the intense end and as they get progressively more tired and fatigued slide towards the other end. In fact, I bet that to some extent we all do that. Read the rest of this entry »

Blue Belt Achieved!

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20120625-222052.jpgWhew! Made it. After a tough three months I am one step closer to my ultimate goal.

Some reflections are to come. First, I gotta get some ice.

Posted: June 25, 2012 in Belt Test, Belts

Knife Defense CT 707

Posted: June 16, 2012 in Class, Technique
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“The winner in a knife fight is the one who dies the next day.”

HE’S GOT A KNIFE!!

Several weeks ago my school held a fantastic seminar on knife defense. The techniques we learned were from the Israeli Defense Force’s Counter-Terror Unit 707 (CT 707) and were brought to our school directly by our instructor who had trained with Nir Maman.

One of the biggest eye-openers I walked away with was that I didn’t know what I thought I knew about knife attacks and knife defense. What follows is a summary of the class that I hope you’ll find useful.

Knife is a Most Deadly Weapon
In the seminar we learned that the knife is the most dangerous weapon to defend, apart from someone shooting you outright with a firearm or cooking you with a flame thrower. We were told that if you fight you WILL get cut or stabbed. The reason for this is that the knife requires no kinetic motion to be deadly, unlike bat or other blunt weapons. This means that you really don’t need to swing it like other weapons for it to be deadly.

This was highlighted by a story. Our instructor told us of an altercation in a parking lot with a knife wielding moron. The first cop to arrive was able to capture the knife then subdue the loony.  As more cops arrived, a “dog pile” on the perp ensued as the assailant became hard to control, virtually crushing the bad guy and the first officer on the scene. When everyone finally got off the cop who had arrived first, disarmed the attacker, and began the dog pile sat up and gave a huge gasp for air — and dropped dead instantly. Turns out the bad guy had another concealed knife he was able to pull out of his boot. Even as he was piled on by numerous cops, his movements severely limited, he was still able to make small stabbing and sawing motions, enough to kill the officer on top of him. Read the rest of this entry »

Watch “Master K Freestyle on the 12” on YouTube

Posted: June 5, 2012 in Class
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