Krav Maga

[Guest hifiguy]

For anyone that's truly interested in Krav and it's concepts, there is a Home Invasion Seminar coming up April 12th at the center by the Nashville
Armory. Go to the studio, facebook, or the website for details. Should be 8 hours of Krav Maga goodness. NO experience required.

[dwatts1984]

I'm no expert however I have been involved in a few different fighting styles. From boxing, to MMA, and muy thai. Im not a professsional fighter... However have sparred with those who have gone on to figh professionaly. One things I've noticed in any form of martial arts/self defense is the instructors. As many have mentioned... Some can be great and are real students of the art... some strictly preach "THEIR" way, and it winds up being incorrect or ineffective in some ways. One thing I can say for sure is to reasearch the instructor... Try a few classes here and there. However, seeki other instructors as well. Sometimes you can become more well rounded why pulling different skills from different instructors.

 

My expereience with Krav Maga is limited. However it is much more realistic (In my opinion) than most other martial arts. Taguth to defend against weapons, but most of all end a confrontation quickly and efficiantly. (NOT STAND UP PUSHING AND THROWING PUNCHES TILL YOUR EXHAUSTED)

 

Just my bit good luck

[TGO David]

Allow me to bring this thread back from the dead... 

 

So, twelve or thirteen years ago I started taking Krav Maga classes.  It lasted about 4-5 months and then I quit.  Work and other things in life got in the way and I just lost the drive.

 

>>> Fast forward to December 2024 >>>

 

While my brother in law was visiting for Christmas he told us that he and his wife had begun taking Krav Maga classes.  They spoke about how much they enjoyed it, how challenging it was, and so forth.  Given that several of my friends have been hounding me about coming back to join them at Krav classes, it set a slowly smoldering fire in the wet leaves of my give-a-damn.

One of those friends started his Krav Maga journey 12 years or so at around the same time I did and passed his black belt test in mid 2024.  Talk about something that catches your attention!  Realizing that two of us took wildly diverging paths and one of us ended up with their black belt while the other kept buying progressively larger belts....

Yeah.

 

>>> Fast forward to January 2025 >>>

One of those friends told me on New Years Day, quite coyly, about a gift pass that he had for a free month of unlimited Krav Maga classes.  It was the proverbial straw that broke the fat camel's back.  "Say no more.  I'm in.", I said.

 

>>> Fast forward to January 30, 2024 >>>

 

And now here we are at the end of my third week of returning to the art.  Three classes a week, more or less.  (I had to miss a Saturday due to family commitments)

I totally suck at it.  I've forgotten most of what I learned previously.  I'm nearly 15 years older and probably 75 pounds heavier than I was back then too.  BUT... I'm loving it.

Clothes are getting looser.  Stamina is increasing.  I'm allowing myself some grace and mercy and allowing myself to be terrible at it, rather than being the usual maladaptive perfectionist that I normally am.  It feels like the journey I am supposed to be on, embracing my limitations and imperfections, and trusting that the process will slowly erode both of those things while it also erodes some of those 75 extra pounds.

 

The point of all of this?  I just want to encourage you. 

 

You aren't out of the game until you sideline yourself.  Life will try to sideline you, but it can't unless you let it.  It may slow you down.  It may limit you.  But you don't have to quit unless quitting sounds like a good way to go out.

Get out there and do something that challenges you this year. 

 

Six months from now, I hope to be surprised at what I've accomplished.

[deerslayer]

I've done two injury-plagued stints at krav with some jiu-jitsu on the side.  I learned a lot but most of all, to never judge someone by their appearance.  I trained with 12 sandwich eating lardasses who were quicker than Connor McGregor and 130 pound weasels who could bench press a Volkswagon.  I would like to go back, but I'm dealing with a couple injuries that would make that impossible right now.  Good luck on dropping that 75 and getting some hand-to-hand wisdom in the process.  

[NoBanStan]

Would love to know where @TGO David I'm in desperate need of "movement" due to our similar careers. Good on your for encouraging others, but even more on you for taking that step to get active.

[monkeylizard]

On 1/30/2025 at 9:21 PM, TGO David said:

I'm allowing myself some grace and mercy and allowing myself to be terrible at it, rather than being the usual maladaptive perfectionist that I normally am.

Not Krav-related, but I took this same approach when I bought my first guitar about 9 years ago and started taking lessons about 8 years ago (which ended with Covid and I never started up again). I still suck and am a beginner at best, but I like it. My younger self couldn't have understood that I didn't have to be good at something to enjoy it. It's why I quit golf in my early 20s. I sucked at it and knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy it unless I got good and that was a long road between my hooks and slices to being anywhere close to "good". Now I think I could go and have fun even if I shoot double par but I have too many other hobbies to add THAT one to the list . . .

It took me a long time to understand what Kurt Vonnegut was onto with this:

“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of “getting to know you” questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.

And he went WOW. That’s amazing! And I said, “Oh no, but I’m not any good at ANY of them.”

And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”

And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could “Win” at them.”

 

Edited yesterday at 02:04 AM by monkeylizard

[chances R]

Great perspective!  Do you mind if I borrow? Credit to Kurt Vonnegut?

[monkeylizard]

It's all him. Not me. Or more accurately, his archeologist tutor. 

 

[peejman]

Good perspective. I'd likely fall into that maladaptive perfectionist category as well. I have a birthday of significance approaching and I'm trying to tell myself that it's time to start enjoying life a little more and dwell on my inadequacies a little less. I really don't like not being good at things.  Life is super busy with 2 teenagers so it's hard to find time to get (or stay) good at anything. 

Anyway... good luck with the Krav Maga. My kids took lessons for several years and got their Jr black belts. I thought looked like a great way to burn off some frustration, get fit and more confident, but I've never tried it.