October 24, 2024 • 39 mins
In Episode 12, we delve into the dynamic world of Krav Maga, a self-defense system that has captivated and empowered countless individuals.
Jim takes us on a personal journey, recounting his first encounters with Krav Maga and the transformative impact it has had on his life. From an intriguing conversation on a plane to the rigorous training sessions that followed, you'll be hooked by his passion and dedication.
Discover the origins of Krav Maga, founded by Emmy Lechtenfeld, and its evolution from military applications to civilian self-defense. Jim shares invaluable insights into the fundamental techniques, the philosophy behind training tired, and the importance of a never-quit mindset.
Whether you're a seasoned martial artist or someone curious about self-defense, this episode offers a compelling narrative filled with practical advice and motivational anecdotes. Jim's experiences and expert tips will leave you inspired to take the first step in your Krav Maga journey.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn about a powerful system that can make a real difference in your life. Tune in, get inspired, and be prepared to defend yourself and your loved ones with confidence.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:11):
And welcome to another episode of the Self-Initiative Project Podcast.
I'm your host, Jim O'Brien. Hey, everybody, and welcome back,
and thanks for listening.
Episode 12, we talk about Krav Maga.
Ever since I started this podcast 12 months ago, I've been wanting to talk on
the subject of Krav Maga.
(00:31):
This is super exciting for me, so I wanted
to make sure that But I definitely took an episode to talk about the self-defense
system to get the information out there and hopefully get everyone as fired
up about Krav Maga as I have and have been over the years that I've been involved with it.
(00:52):
So Krav Maga was founded originally by a gentleman by the name of Emmy Lechtenfeld.
Hopefully I didn't do him a disservice and pronounce that at least mostly correctly.
Directly, I'm not going to talk a lot about Emmy here today because quite honestly,
you can't do a search on Krav Maga or on Emmy and not stumble upon tons of history and overview.
(01:16):
And at the end of the day, because everyone talks about the history of Emmy
and the history of Krav Maga, it's a little redundant.
And so I'm not going to spend the time here to talk about it other than to mention he is the founder.
Krav Maga is Hebrew, and its English translation, its direct English translation is contact combat.
(01:39):
And Krav originally started out being more for military police applications
and then was kind of reformed, at least another version created for more of
the civilian population to get us where we are today. day.
And so Krav Maga is a self-defense system and there's not a lot of martial arts
(02:00):
to it. Some folks describe it as a martial arts.
And I guess for the sake of making the conversation easier, you could call it that.
I remember when I first got involved with Krav Maga and was first learning about
it, the guy that originally got me involved said it was more martial than art.
And after having trained in it for a while, I completely agree with that.
(02:22):
You know, opposed to martial arts and fighting in the ring and whatnot,
Krav Maga is all about effective self-defense techniques and being efficient
and based on natural movements that you're more than likely to respond with
in an attack scenario, physical attack scenario.
It's about using tools around you as weapons when you need to.
(02:45):
Being aware of your surroundings and what's going on around you the whole time,
including when you're having to deal with a straight on attack.
And it's about getting out of there and going home safe. And I don't want to
capitalize too much on some of the slogans that are tossed around in the community,
but I'd say the primary difference between Krav Maga and more traditional martial
(03:08):
arts is that there are no points. There's no forms.
There's no katas. There's no patterns. there's no tapping out,
it's straight up ass-whipping.
When you're being attacked, when you feel your life is being threatened or otherwise,
Krav Maga has some excellent tools.
For you to use to be able to defend yourself and get out of there and be safe,
(03:31):
get yourself and or your loved ones to a safe spot and go home.
It's not a martial arts, but there's elements of martial arts to it.
So Krav Maga at the end of the day is kind of a hybrid of a few different things.
It's got some Muay Thai in it. It's got boxing, a little bit of wrestling,
probably more starting to get more wrestling and jujitsu in it now than it ever has.
(03:53):
When I first started for the longest time, there was probably only 10 to 15%
groundwork in the overall program.
And that's because of the general philosophy it had.
But, you know, the realization is that most fights wind up on the ground or
can certainly wind up on the ground.
And then more recently, too, they've introduced the usage of more firearms,
(04:16):
getting firearms training, because a big part of Krav Maga, especially in the
more advanced levels, is defense against weapons.
I mean, at the the end of the day, you do or should at least have some options
when it comes to defending against guns, knives, and sticks,
blunt objects of any sort, whether it's a baseball bat or a broken beer bottle.
So it covers a wide range of things you're likely to find yourself in as far
(04:40):
as physical or potential physical, you know, altercations.
The first time that I ever heard of Krav Maga was back probably in the early
mid 2000s. I was riding on, I was on a plane.
I think I was heading out to Denver, Colorado if memory serves.
And I remember this older gentleman walking down the aisle and he had this t-shirt
(05:01):
on and I thought it had the coolest emblem and it said Krav Maga.
But of course I didn't know anything about Krav Maga. I'd never heard of it,
never seen it, never heard it pronounced before.
So he sits down, winds up sitting down next to me and.
I asked him, I said, Hey, what's that Krav Maga about?
And he says, well, it's pronounced Krav Maga. And he begins to give me the overview.
(05:24):
You'll hear the IDF, the Israeli Defense Force mentioned quite a bit.
I think they mentioned it as much as they do because it, you know,
makes it a little sexier to talk about the IDF.
But he gave me the overview of Krav
Maga and he was actually on his way out to Los Angeles
to test for his black belt which
now knowing what I know about what it takes to get the black belt in Krav Maga
(05:46):
I have a greater appreciation for that for meeting that gentleman and what he
was about to go through after that plane ride but that was the very first thing
that was the very first time I'd ever heard, even heard of Krav Maga.
And then it was, I believe 2008, a coworker of mine was training in Krav and
(06:06):
we got started talking about it in the office at some point.
And he said, Hey, we've got this seminar going on. Why don't you come check it out?
And I was curious. I had been curious since I'd met the guy on the plane and
my exposure to martial arts to that point was It was more of a traditional Korean
type of style of martial art. I have a black belt in that.
(06:30):
And there was some self-defense elements to that specific self-defense techniques to that.
But it was more of the traditional forms and patterns that that style I had been accustomed to.
So when this guy's name was Jesse Walker offered me an opportunity to go to
the seminar, I was like, absolutely, I'll do it. Well, I got up there and I
(06:52):
had no idea what to expect.
And I remember my first experience in Krav Maga was like this.
So it was on the other side of town, about 45 minute drive.
It was in the afternoon, early afternoon. And so I decided to eat lunch before
I went because I figured, hey, in 45 minutes, it'll be mostly digested. I'll be good to go.
(07:12):
So I eat my sandwich and chips or whatever it was I had that day.
And I went and, you know, however much time before I left the house to get over
there in time for the seminar, plus the 40, 45 minute drive, it took me.
Well, I got there and they started to warm up for this seminar because you'll
find that Krav Maga is very physically demanding.
And we'll talk more about that here in a minute. But I started going through the warm up.
(07:36):
And next thing you know, that lunch is not agreeing with me at all.
So I actually had the very first time, the very first seminar I ever took in
Krav Maga, I wound up having to sit out for a few minutes to collect myself.
I never, ever got sick, but it certainly got me to the point where I had to take a break.
And at that point in my life, I wasn't super fit either, or as fit as I ultimately
(07:59):
got through Krav and just general working out.
So it was just a double whammy that day. But anyway, I got back in and wound
up being a carjacking defense seminar.
And so we started out with the warm-up, which is very, very much traditional
in Krav Maga and very much a part of every class or generally most any seminar you'll take.
(08:20):
But we wound up moving into gun defense, which was new to me and a lot to take in all at once.
But we wound up going out in the parking lot and working between three or four different
vehicles that people were nice enough to volunteer for the afternoon and learned
how to do gun defense and handle people in and around your car when they're
(08:42):
holding you at gunpoint.
And man, I was sold at this point.
Now that was the extreme. And probably as a beginner, I had no business attempting
to do those sorts of things out of context and with no foundation under me,
but it gave me the opportunity to see the potential and to understand what was,
what Krav could offer and give to me.
(09:05):
So I just want to extend a big thank you to Jesse Walker for getting me to go
to that seminar because that was the beginning of my journey.
But that seminar was just one time and you know, you can't go to any seminar and walk away.
You can walk away with bits of information and maybe a technique or two you
might remember under stress.
(09:26):
But the reality is you've got to train. And so I wanted nothing more than to
train after that seminar.
But the problem for me was it was a 40, at least a 45 minute drive across town
to get to this particular location where I'd done the seminar.
And I just knew that after work and with my work schedule and home schedule
(09:48):
and everything else, there was no way that I could drive 45 minutes one way.
Now that's not to and from, that's one way just to get the class a couple of
times a week. So it didn't happen.
So I knew that if I ever had the opportunity the next time, cause I was kind
of done with the traditional Korean thing.
I had exhausted, exhausted what I thought I could accomplish there,
(10:11):
especially given the politics of the organization at the time, et cetera.
And once I realized that I wanted to do more self-defense, practical self-defense
than the traditional martial arts stuff, I knew that I needed to look outside of that.
And after that seminar, I knew that Krav would likely be the route I would take
(10:32):
if a school would open up near me.
So I guess it was, well, I know it was early 2009 where I was on Facebook one evening, I think.
And I'll be damned if this Krav Maga advertisement didn't come up there on the left-hand rail.
And it was for a school that, as it turned out, was literally less than,
(10:52):
to be liberal, less than six minutes from my house.
It was probably more like four and a half, five minutes from my house. I couldn't believe it.
So the first opportunity I did, I reached out to the school I went and I signed
up because I knew that this is what I wanted to do.
So that was the beginning of my foray into Krav Maga. That was,
(11:14):
I believe, February of 2009.
Yeah, and it's been great ever since. I've worked my way and tested into level
three, which is no easy feat, at least for me.
So just to give you some ideas there, too, is, you know, Krav Maga is comprised
of a lot of different combat arts, like I mentioned previously.
(11:35):
Previously and you'll learn things like your basic stance, punching, kicking, elbows,
knees, groin strikes, eye gouges, choke, how to defend against all types of
different chokes from different angles, different approaches, bear hugs.
And then as I mentioned to some of the weapons defenses.
So I've made it all the way up to level three. One of the hardest things I've ever accomplished.
(12:00):
I think our test wound up being eight and a half hours long.
So Krav has levels and a lot of schools use belt system too.
But when I was going through, it was all about the levels. So there's five levels
and then you test for black belt eventually if you're so inclined.
But I got through level three and I remember the, when I got started,
(12:23):
they had at At the beginning, they had the concept of halfway test for level one.
And so my halfway test in level one, when I got started about mid-2009,
when we took that test, it was an hour and a half.
And it was a good hour and a half. But then I think my test to test from level
one to level two was six and a half hours.
(12:44):
And level two to level three was eight and a half, maybe closer to the nine.
Now I think they've changed that up some because they realize that's hard for
some people to get through.
So now they've broken it up, I think, over a couple of one and a half hour testing
sessions, something like that.
They've eased back on that a little bit, but certainly earned my keep.
(13:06):
And then after I went through phase three, I continued training,
not phase three, level three, sorry, differentiation.
We'll talk about here in a minute, but got to level three, trained through level
three, should have tested for level four into blue.
But quite honestly, I had transferred schools at that point,
(13:27):
and that school was less about leveling people up and more about just making
sure they got the training they needed as long as they came to school, getting that training.
So I haven't officially leveled up since, but I've trained all the way into some brown belt stuff.
And then at a point a few years ago, I went and did my phase A instructor certification,
(13:51):
which gives me the ability to teach basic, basically the beginnings for new,
new students, which was exciting, which was great. I love to do that.
So that's kind of a mixture of what Krav Maga is and my experience with Krav Maga.
So what can you expect? What is it going to be like for you to get into Krav Maga and go through it?
(14:11):
So for everyone, I think it's a little little different.
But to get started, you don't need a whole lot. You just need to make up your
mind you're going to do it. Sign up with the school that you choose.
If you're interested in formally getting certifications and leveling up or going up in belts,
then you want to find an official certified Krav school that's either their
(14:32):
own entity or they're an affiliate with a larger organization.
If not, you just need to find somebody qualified, you know, that has a history,
background in Krav and can teach Krav or any sort of self-defense techniques for you.
But certainly if you want to do Krav, it's just a matter of finding a school
that's convenient for you that you think you want to do.
(14:56):
You really just need comfortable workout clothes and some comfortable workout shoes.
I will tell you when I was doing it, shoes were a thing and it was perfectly
acceptable, which is a little odd compared to some martial arts schools, right?
Because shoes are no no, no, for whatever reason, but because Krav Maga is more
of a street self-defense art, you know, it's likely you're going to have shoes
(15:17):
on before you're barefooted walking down the street. So I get it. I see both sides.
Now it really just depends on the school. I think as to whether or not you'll
need to have training shoes or just,
you know, bring bare feet and a comfortable set of workout clothes.
That's all you really need to get started in level one and just the commitment
(15:38):
and mindset that you're going to stick with it and give it a chance.
It's not easy. Ultimately you will get bruised and battered.
You know, that's all just setting you up for the getting used to the idea of
defending yourself because that's what's going to happen.
Every class is going to start with a rigorous warmup because Because,
(15:58):
A, you need to get the blood flowing and get warmed up to move because you're
going to be doing all kinds of physical activity. So warming up is important.
But the other philosophy in Krav is that they want you to train tired because
it's not going to be easy to defend yourself.
Your adrenaline is going to dump. Your heart rate is going to go up.
(16:20):
You're likely to get tunnel vision.
You may even lose your hearing. Your IQ even may drop a few points.
And so the idea is if you train tired or train from this place of being strained
already or a little stressed out already and sweaty and hot,
then you're going to be better prepared than if you try to do it cold.
Because at the end of the day, there's no guarantee that any technique you do
(16:42):
is going to work and that it's going to be over with quickly.
So if you're prepared for the long haul and you're physically fit, you're mentally fit,
you got your cardio in good shape and you have the mindset of never quitting,
never giving up, then you're likely got a pretty good chance of better getting
through any situation you may find yourself in.
So that's why that initial warm-up is so key and I'm not gonna lie.
(17:06):
It can be strenuous at times That doesn't mean that you have to go to class
in the best of shape I will say though that after six months and you really
should give Krav six months I can almost guarantee you that if you put effort into it in six months,
you're gonna lose weight you're
gonna get in shape certainly cart from a cardiovascular standpoint and.
And you're going to feel better about yourself. And I also argue that once you
(17:30):
start going through self-defense training like Krav Maga, your outlook on things
changes to your perspective on things changes.
One of the things that you're likely going to notice is that you want to avoid
having to fight or having to defend yourself physically.
Once you've done some physical activity and done some sparring and worked with
(17:53):
your partner back and forth in these self-defense techniques,
you're going to realize hopefully sooner than later that it's a position you
do not want to find yourself in because it can be brutal, nasty,
but hopefully Krav Maga or something similar is going to give you the tools
that you need to be able to defend yourself.
And that's what it's all about. So go in with an open mind, work on developing
(18:15):
the never quit mindset and attitude.
I can tell you right now that when, When and if you do test to another level,
even if your techniques are not as crispy and sharp as they maybe should be,
and they should be when you test, you should be ready to test when they test you.
You should feel like you're ready to test when you test.
I can tell you right now that a big weight is given to the do not quit, never give up attitude.
(18:42):
So that attitude and mindset is as important,
if not more important, the physical aspects, because in
a real situation should you ever be physically attacked you're
going to need that mindset to get through there like i
said krav maga has nothing to do with fighting or traditional martial arts it's
nothing to do with what you see in the ufc as a matter of fact some of the techniques
(19:06):
if not a lot of the techniques that you'll find in krav maga wouldn't even be
allowed in ring matches and fighting it's all about straight up doing what it takes to get out of a
bad situation and be able to go home safe with minimal to no injuries.
So, yeah, as I mentioned, Krav Maga has nothing to do with martial arts or even,
(19:27):
you know, typical fighting in a ring match type of thing. UFC, it's not even the same.
Arguably, a lot of the moves, if not all of them.
Well, I won't say all a good number of the moves that you'll learn in Krav Maga
would never even be permitted inside of a ring in a fighting scenario because
it's more about those self-defense moves that you'll need to get home.
(19:49):
So back to what you can expect. So when you start off in level one,
you're just there to learn the fundamentals.
Like I said, you're going to go through strenuous warmup, and then you're going
to begin to learn the fundamentals, the stances, standing with your legs,
shoulder width apart, or a little wider with one foot.
Like you've taken a step forward, you're going to be up on the ball of your
(20:11):
feet because it's all about forward movement.
You never want to find yourself retreating in Krav. You're always going forward.
So the heel of your back foot's up, you're on the ball of that foot.
Most of your weight is towards the ball of the foot on the front foot.
You got a good stable platform for balance facing the target squarely.
And that's going to be some of the first, one of the first things you learn
(20:34):
is that proper stance, which gives you the foundation for everything else you'll do in Krav.
You're going to learn punches, how to do proper punches so that you're less
likely to get boxer's fractures from not knowing what you're doing, palm strikes.
You'll learn basic front kicks. Front kick to the groin is a big move in Krav as you'll see.
(20:56):
And so level one is about establishing the foundation.
And then you're likely to learn some of the choke defenses and learning how
the pluck plays into Krav.
Yes, pluck is reused quite a bit through all the choke defenses, as you'll see.
So level one's about learning the basics and you can never study the basics too much.
(21:18):
Even if you advance through Krav, you want to probably still take,
well, you don't want to probably, you still want to try to take level one classes
to hone those basics, to hone those fundamentals.
Because every time you change a level in Krav, it's like starting all over again.
Cause you're not, you've learned the foundations, you've learned the basics,
(21:38):
but the next level has nothing to do with the previous.
It's like all new techniques and approaches to things.
So just when you've gotten comfortable, you're going to start learning all over again.
And when you get to level two and beyond, that's when you're going to start learning to take hits.
You're going to start doing sparring and that's when your need for gear will change too.
(22:01):
So let's talk about that. You
know, so when I mentioned that when you get started, you really just need.
A comfortable set of workout clothes, what you'd wear to the gym, maybe possibly shoes.
If you follow us on Instagram, we recently made a post about some of the basic
gear you'll need in Krav Maga.
So if you do get shoes, you want shoes that have a little bit of grip.
(22:23):
So you can have some traction on the mats that you'll be working out on,
but you don't want so much traction that you can't pivot and turn and spin on those mats.
They can be a little grabby and, And, you know, you don't want to twist your ankle or otherwise.
So you want a good pair of athletic shoes that are comfortable and fit you right
(22:44):
with just enough grip, but not too much.
And you certainly don't want anything like aggressive, treaded trail shoes or anything like that.
When you get to level two, that's where they tell you you got to buy some gear.
And a lot of the schools sell their own gear, and that's fine.
For me, I found that that gear sometimes that the school sells is the lowest
(23:07):
end of the totem pole, so to speak.
When it comes to gear, it's very basic, very, let's just say, inexpensive gear.
There's nothing that says you can't go out and get your own.
But here's really what you're going to need starting at level two,
because again, that's when the more serious stuff goes, when the more serious
stuff starts and when you start sparring and things like that.
(23:27):
So you're going to want a pair of 16 ounce boxing gloves.
They don't allow anything lighter. And that's just simply because,
again, you're not there to fight UFC and you're not there to fight your partner.
You'll be sparring with your partner and working with your partner.
But the most important person in school for you is your partner.
And so it's a partner thing, not an opponent thing. So the 16-ounce is there
(23:53):
for safety because the 16-ounce glove has more padding.
Now, with that being said, you can certainly hit someone hard with a pair of 16-ounce gloves.
But the goal is to have a little bit more padding in there so they don't permit
anything lighter than the 16-ounce.
The next thing you're going to want is some shin guards. I can't tell you how
(24:15):
painful, if you don't already know how painful it is to get hit,
especially repetitively in the shins.
You're going to want to get yourself some shin guards, no doubt about it.
The headgear, they'll recommend headgear, which is basically this padded leather
helmet type thing that you'll put on.
Like you see boxers wear in the ring when they're practicing and working out
(24:35):
when they're training, it helps cushion the blow a little bit. it.
I find myself not liking them because they'll have a tendency to fall down over
your brows and block some of your vision.
At the end of the day, you can still get a bloody nose if you get hit just right
with the headgear. So a lot of the times I got to where I wasn't even wearing
(24:55):
it when I was doing sparring.
You'll want to get a mouth guard.
You don't have to spend the $750 on the dental provided mouth guard.
You can spend $25, $30 on a mouth guard.
I recommend spending a little bit more than not on one, but your lips and teeth
are going to really appreciate you having a mouth guard when you start sparring,
(25:19):
especially if you have a partner that doesn't pull their punches so well.
And I didn't mention this when talking about level one. It doesn't matter what level you're in.
Guys, you got to wear a cup in Krav.
It'll only take you a time or two to figure out that in Krav,
unlike some martial arts you may have been familiar with or trained in,
you can't get away without having a cup.
(25:41):
If you do, you're essentially not training and getting enough out of that session.
So you want to find yourself a good cup.
I actually had a buddy of mine, a partner, and he was actually a buddy and a
coworker. he need me so hard one day, he actually split a cup of mine.
And after that, I was like, okay, I got to find something that'll hold up to
(26:01):
this mess. So not that you're always getting need that hard or kick that hard.
Folks should be hold watching themselves better and pulling their knees and
kicks and punches better, but things do happen.
So he need me a good time in my groin and it split my cup ever so slightly.
I went and got a nutty buddy. Now I don't get paid for any of the The products
(26:23):
that I mention or bring up on my Instagram page or my podcast or anything,
but I'm going to tell you right now, a Nutty Buddy is a solid piece of investment for you guys.
So I highly recommend, even if you don't do the Nutty Buddy,
you've got to get a good cup and you've always got to come to class with your cup on.
So those are the types of gear. Those are the pieces of gear that you'll need
(26:46):
to train, especially once you get to level two and beyond or yellow belt and beyond.
And, you know, generally the schools offer provide the pads,
you know, the kick shields, the blast shields, the tombstone pads,
as they call them for the smaller ones that you'll punch on.
I really like working out with tombstones in general, whether it's punching
(27:10):
or kicking, of course, for front kicks and stuff, you got to have the larger
blast shields, larger kick shields, but that's not something you need to really
worry about buying for yourself.
The schools all have that, just like they have focus mitts when you're doing
your focus mitt training.
And they also typically have the plastic guns and knives and even the sticks,
(27:31):
whether it's Rotan or PVC, whatever they happen to have bought or made for themselves.
You don't have to worry about buying any of that. Now, with that being said,
if you plan on training with your buddy outside of class or on the weekends
when there is no, you know, when you got some free time and there is no school,
there is no classes offered,
you may want to invest in that. But even if you do.
(27:55):
You probably won't do it until later in your Krav career. So,
you know, in Krav classes, I've noticed over the years that level one has,
if it's a popular school, a busy school, level one has a lot of students.
And then as you begin to progress, the number of students fall off.
And the reason why that is, is because there is more aggressive self-defense techniques.
(28:18):
And there is, even in level two, the beginnings of, you know,
not getting punched out and punched hard.
They don't do that. It's all about safety and working with your partner,
like I said, but they do begin, you do have to start learning how to take a hit more.
And so, you know, with sparring, you'll, you'll take some head shots and body
shots and some kicks, but you're also learning how to defend against those.
(28:41):
And so you put it all together and, you know, you're learning and you learn
better by being thrown in the lion's den.
But with that being said, level two is where you typically see drop-off,
where you typically see attrition in class.
And that's just because a lot of people don't like getting hit.
But I will encourage you to stick through that, to give it a shot.
(29:04):
Hopefully, if you're going to a good instructor, a good school,
they're easing you into that and not just blasting you in your nose the first day out.
But I just want to give you a heads up that you should expect that.
But it's when you get to level two and beyond as you really start doing what
I would call the fun stuff and you really start learning the techniques,
(29:24):
the actual self-defense techniques that are going to help get you out of a situation,
more advanced choke defenses.
Bear hugs, all assortment of types of bear hug attacks, whether it's from the
front or from behind, what to do when you're on the ground, when you're stuck on the ground.
And then, you know, ultimately working into the weapons defense,
(29:45):
which some of that's a lot of fun.
Gun and stick defense is a lot of fun.
Knife, not so much because the idea of getting into it with a knife is not fun at all.
And I'll also say too that I think, and you know, if I had to say anything negative
about Krav, and I don't have a lot to say negative about Krav,
(30:05):
is when it comes to groundwork,
which is changing, and when it comes to dynamic knife defenses,
I think those are two areas that Krav typically has needed more help with or
different techniques or to be more honest about the techniques.
So, as I think I mentioned earlier, when I was coming up, Krav only was really
(30:28):
comprised of about 10 to 15 percent of anything on the ground.
And again, that was philosophical, right? The goal is, is, hey,
you're going to be getting your defending yourself just in time,
especially if you got your head on the swivel and paying attention to what's going on around you.
In public, you know, you're going to be able to better respond to attacks and
you're going to be able to take care of business and get out of there and hopefully
(30:50):
never find yourself on the ground.
The reality of it is, and I think most of the people that train in wrestling
or jiu-jitsu would contend that most fights wind up on the ground,
and therefore Krav Maga needs to start dealing with that more.
And the great news is, is a lot of schools have started incorporating more grappling
(31:10):
and groundwork, that push, pull, body, feel, knowing what to do when things do wind up on the ground.
And that's been added even since I started back in 2009. I think that's great.
The other thing that you just have to be honest about and realistic about because
all of these things are just tools for you to use.
(31:32):
And the only one that's going to work for you is the one that you know inside
and out. And the only one that you're going to know inside and out is the one
that you're training on all the time.
So when it comes to gun defenses, knife defenses, and stick defenses,
they're only as good, they're only as effective as you are at training in them.
But I have to say, based on my limited experience with them,
(31:55):
that when it comes to dynamic knife defenses, in other words,
the attacker is moving the knife at you in some regards, whether it's overhead,
underhead, a stabbing motion, slicing motion, whatever. I think some of those defenses.
They give you options if you were to be attacked by a knife,
(32:16):
but I don't have 100% confidence in them.
And in fairness to the system, that could just be because at the end of the
day, you got to train a lot in that stuff.
I'm way more comfortable even with gun defenses and especially stick defenses than I am knife.
Now, there's some static knife defenses, meaning the movement's not there,
(32:40):
the holding the knife on your, on your throat.
They're just holding a knife out at you.
I, I feel like I'm more confident in those certainly than the dynamic, but the knife defense,
I just, I say all that not to poopoo anything about Krav as much of just to
remind you that you're learning techniques that can work, but they're only as
(33:02):
effective as you train and are familiar with them.
So So just know going into this whole thing that there's no magic bullet.
This technique or that technique is not guaranteed to work.
As an instructor that I've trained under a handful of times and that I admire,
as Ryan Hoover says infamously, it depends. And it always does.
(33:25):
In teaching, you can change the scenario one little degree and it may mean an
entire new approach to what you're doing to defend yourself.
So it depends and there's no magic bullet.
So I just want to set level, set your expectations there as well.
So not, I don't want to spend too much on time on this, but come prepared,
(33:46):
bring water, bring your energy drinks.
I don't recommend bringing Red Bull and stuff like that to class.
There's probably some better options to replenish the
electrolytes and sodium you've lost through sweating in
class especially if you're doing a you know a two
three four hour long seminar or you're
testing for extended periods of time you want to make sure you're getting the
(34:07):
right fluids replenished into your body and be sure to bring snacks granola
bars or bananas make great snacks along the on the way as well and ladies look
i just want to say this touch on this real briefly don't be intimidated.
There's actually a lot of women and girls, ladies that come to Krav and,
(34:28):
and arguably Krav is just as
important and just as good for you guys to learn that it is for the guys.
So don't let that discourage you. Even if you wind up being the only woman in class, I say, go for it.
Again, you can't do anything but learn.
If you were to work with some big burly dude as your partner,
(34:48):
it's only going to make you learn and train that much harder.
So that's a good thing, but don't worry.
Generally, there's a, I find a good share of women come to class that want to
learn and are there to work hard.
I would say, though, that if you're going to take Krav, you can certainly come
to Krav for a physical fitness class type of thing, you know,
(35:09):
but I would take it a little bit more seriously than the kickboxing class you
try to take at your local gym.
It really is meant to be taken seriously because at the end of the day, it is serious.
It is serious defending yourself, learning how to defend yourself or learning
how to protect your child or your significant other, whatever the case may be.
(35:30):
So I expect 100% out of my students I want them to have that never quit never
give up attitude but also want them giving 100% in class too and that means
going all out all the time because again.
You're not going to be patty caking it out on the street if
you were to be attacked and so that's a point that
I want to make to you too that mindset of doing
(35:52):
whatever it takes to to get out of there and in
you know in reality you need to train that
way too so it's not about hitting that pad
slapping that pad like you're you know
doing your kickboxing at the local gym like i said it's hitting that pad as
hard as you can working on those techniques to make them as effective as possible
(36:17):
and taking it seriously because you know why you're training is a serious reason.
So you should take it seriously as well.
And, you know, look, the physical training, the physical fitness part of it
is just going to be a fallout. It's just a side benefit.
So I think that's a good place to stop. I feel like I've given,
you know, I could talk about Krav and the ins and outs and effectiveness of
(36:41):
techniques and all of that for a very extended period of time.
But I just wanted to try to at least give you an overview and a sense of what
Krav was about and some of the things you can expect and prepare for if you
venture into Krav or self-defense in general.
So I think this is a good point to stop.
We appreciate you listening. Hopefully you've gotten something out of that.
(37:02):
Hopefully you may have been inspired to go seek a local Krav school to go,
at least if nothing else, check out.
A lot of the schools offer your first class for free.
And so I would just encourage you to look at one. I do want to just throw a
quick mention here, a quick shout out.
So I've had the privilege of working under some great instructors over the years.
(37:23):
And the first instructor that I worked under, and most of these are in no particular
order, but it just so happened that Eric Sepeda was the first instructor that
I took that carjacking seminar from his school.
But I've worked under Jeff Mount. I actually took my phase A instructor course
with Jeff Mount and Eric Sepeta.
(37:44):
So kudos to them. Hats off for them.
I've worked with John Whitman. I've worked with Richard Swords,
Scott Sanchez, James Hiramasa, and.
And of course, I can't say enough good things about Ryan Hoover and what he's
doing with his school up there in Charlotte.
And last, but certainly not least by any stretch.
(38:05):
And of course I've worked, I've trained under a lot of other guys too, a lot of other good guys.
But when he was a part of the Krav Maga organization, um, and even now,
uh, I've had the honor and privilege of training underneath Jeff Gemma too.
And, uh, he, he's, he's, uh, he's, uh, one of my faves for sure.
But a lot of good guys out there a
(38:28):
lot of guys know what they're doing do a good job in their
instruction and work with their students and I can't
say enough good things about them so I hope you've enjoyed our episode today
talking about Krav Maga if you have like I say about all of our episodes feel
free to share it with your friends and family put it out on your Facebook page
we would greatly appreciate you getting the word out and we look forward to seeing you all next time.
(38:53):
Music.
Music.
(00:11):
And welcome to another episode of the Self-Initiative Project Podcast.
I'm your host, Jim O'Brien. Hey, everybody, and welcome back,
and thanks for listening.
Episode 12, we talk about Krav Maga.
Ever since I started this podcast 12 months ago, I've been wanting to talk on
the subject of Krav Maga.
(00:31):
This is super exciting for me, so I wanted
to make sure that But I definitely took an episode to talk about the self-defense
system to get the information out there and hopefully get everyone as fired
up about Krav Maga as I have and have been over the years that I've been involved with it.
(00:52):
So Krav Maga was founded originally by a gentleman by the name of Emmy Lechtenfeld.
Hopefully I didn't do him a disservice and pronounce that at least mostly correctly.
Directly, I'm not going to talk a lot about Emmy here today because quite honestly,
you can't do a search on Krav Maga or on Emmy and not stumble upon tons of history and overview.
(01:16):
And at the end of the day, because everyone talks about the history of Emmy
and the history of Krav Maga, it's a little redundant.
And so I'm not going to spend the time here to talk about it other than to mention he is the founder.
Krav Maga is Hebrew, and its English translation, its direct English translation is contact combat.
(01:39):
And Krav originally started out being more for military police applications
and then was kind of reformed, at least another version created for more of
the civilian population to get us where we are today. day.
And so Krav Maga is a self-defense system and there's not a lot of martial arts
(02:00):
to it. Some folks describe it as a martial arts.
And I guess for the sake of making the conversation easier, you could call it that.
I remember when I first got involved with Krav Maga and was first learning about
it, the guy that originally got me involved said it was more martial than art.
And after having trained in it for a while, I completely agree with that.
(02:22):
You know, opposed to martial arts and fighting in the ring and whatnot,
Krav Maga is all about effective self-defense techniques and being efficient
and based on natural movements that you're more than likely to respond with
in an attack scenario, physical attack scenario.
It's about using tools around you as weapons when you need to.
(02:45):
Being aware of your surroundings and what's going on around you the whole time,
including when you're having to deal with a straight on attack.
And it's about getting out of there and going home safe. And I don't want to
capitalize too much on some of the slogans that are tossed around in the community,
but I'd say the primary difference between Krav Maga and more traditional martial
(03:08):
arts is that there are no points. There's no forms.
There's no katas. There's no patterns. there's no tapping out,
it's straight up ass-whipping.
When you're being attacked, when you feel your life is being threatened or otherwise,
Krav Maga has some excellent tools.
For you to use to be able to defend yourself and get out of there and be safe,
(03:31):
get yourself and or your loved ones to a safe spot and go home.
It's not a martial arts, but there's elements of martial arts to it.
So Krav Maga at the end of the day is kind of a hybrid of a few different things.
It's got some Muay Thai in it. It's got boxing, a little bit of wrestling,
probably more starting to get more wrestling and jujitsu in it now than it ever has.
(03:53):
When I first started for the longest time, there was probably only 10 to 15%
groundwork in the overall program.
And that's because of the general philosophy it had.
But, you know, the realization is that most fights wind up on the ground or
can certainly wind up on the ground.
And then more recently, too, they've introduced the usage of more firearms,
(04:16):
getting firearms training, because a big part of Krav Maga, especially in the
more advanced levels, is defense against weapons.
I mean, at the the end of the day, you do or should at least have some options
when it comes to defending against guns, knives, and sticks,
blunt objects of any sort, whether it's a baseball bat or a broken beer bottle.
So it covers a wide range of things you're likely to find yourself in as far
(04:40):
as physical or potential physical, you know, altercations.
The first time that I ever heard of Krav Maga was back probably in the early
mid 2000s. I was riding on, I was on a plane.
I think I was heading out to Denver, Colorado if memory serves.
And I remember this older gentleman walking down the aisle and he had this t-shirt
(05:01):
on and I thought it had the coolest emblem and it said Krav Maga.
But of course I didn't know anything about Krav Maga. I'd never heard of it,
never seen it, never heard it pronounced before.
So he sits down, winds up sitting down next to me and.
I asked him, I said, Hey, what's that Krav Maga about?
And he says, well, it's pronounced Krav Maga. And he begins to give me the overview.
(05:24):
You'll hear the IDF, the Israeli Defense Force mentioned quite a bit.
I think they mentioned it as much as they do because it, you know,
makes it a little sexier to talk about the IDF.
But he gave me the overview of Krav
Maga and he was actually on his way out to Los Angeles
to test for his black belt which
now knowing what I know about what it takes to get the black belt in Krav Maga
(05:46):
I have a greater appreciation for that for meeting that gentleman and what he
was about to go through after that plane ride but that was the very first thing
that was the very first time I'd ever heard, even heard of Krav Maga.
And then it was, I believe 2008, a coworker of mine was training in Krav and
(06:06):
we got started talking about it in the office at some point.
And he said, Hey, we've got this seminar going on. Why don't you come check it out?
And I was curious. I had been curious since I'd met the guy on the plane and
my exposure to martial arts to that point was It was more of a traditional Korean
type of style of martial art. I have a black belt in that.
(06:30):
And there was some self-defense elements to that specific self-defense techniques to that.
But it was more of the traditional forms and patterns that that style I had been accustomed to.
So when this guy's name was Jesse Walker offered me an opportunity to go to
the seminar, I was like, absolutely, I'll do it. Well, I got up there and I
(06:52):
had no idea what to expect.
And I remember my first experience in Krav Maga was like this.
So it was on the other side of town, about 45 minute drive.
It was in the afternoon, early afternoon. And so I decided to eat lunch before
I went because I figured, hey, in 45 minutes, it'll be mostly digested. I'll be good to go.
(07:12):
So I eat my sandwich and chips or whatever it was I had that day.
And I went and, you know, however much time before I left the house to get over
there in time for the seminar, plus the 40, 45 minute drive, it took me.
Well, I got there and they started to warm up for this seminar because you'll
find that Krav Maga is very physically demanding.
And we'll talk more about that here in a minute. But I started going through the warm up.
(07:36):
And next thing you know, that lunch is not agreeing with me at all.
So I actually had the very first time, the very first seminar I ever took in
Krav Maga, I wound up having to sit out for a few minutes to collect myself.
I never, ever got sick, but it certainly got me to the point where I had to take a break.
And at that point in my life, I wasn't super fit either, or as fit as I ultimately
(07:59):
got through Krav and just general working out.
So it was just a double whammy that day. But anyway, I got back in and wound
up being a carjacking defense seminar.
And so we started out with the warm-up, which is very, very much traditional
in Krav Maga and very much a part of every class or generally most any seminar you'll take.
(08:20):
But we wound up moving into gun defense, which was new to me and a lot to take in all at once.
But we wound up going out in the parking lot and working between three or four different
vehicles that people were nice enough to volunteer for the afternoon and learned
how to do gun defense and handle people in and around your car when they're
(08:42):
holding you at gunpoint.
And man, I was sold at this point.
Now that was the extreme. And probably as a beginner, I had no business attempting
to do those sorts of things out of context and with no foundation under me,
but it gave me the opportunity to see the potential and to understand what was,
what Krav could offer and give to me.
(09:05):
So I just want to extend a big thank you to Jesse Walker for getting me to go
to that seminar because that was the beginning of my journey.
But that seminar was just one time and you know, you can't go to any seminar and walk away.
You can walk away with bits of information and maybe a technique or two you
might remember under stress.
(09:26):
But the reality is you've got to train. And so I wanted nothing more than to
train after that seminar.
But the problem for me was it was a 40, at least a 45 minute drive across town
to get to this particular location where I'd done the seminar.
And I just knew that after work and with my work schedule and home schedule
(09:48):
and everything else, there was no way that I could drive 45 minutes one way.
Now that's not to and from, that's one way just to get the class a couple of
times a week. So it didn't happen.
So I knew that if I ever had the opportunity the next time, cause I was kind
of done with the traditional Korean thing.
I had exhausted, exhausted what I thought I could accomplish there,
(10:11):
especially given the politics of the organization at the time, et cetera.
And once I realized that I wanted to do more self-defense, practical self-defense
than the traditional martial arts stuff, I knew that I needed to look outside of that.
And after that seminar, I knew that Krav would likely be the route I would take
(10:32):
if a school would open up near me.
So I guess it was, well, I know it was early 2009 where I was on Facebook one evening, I think.
And I'll be damned if this Krav Maga advertisement didn't come up there on the left-hand rail.
And it was for a school that, as it turned out, was literally less than,
(10:52):
to be liberal, less than six minutes from my house.
It was probably more like four and a half, five minutes from my house. I couldn't believe it.
So the first opportunity I did, I reached out to the school I went and I signed
up because I knew that this is what I wanted to do.
So that was the beginning of my foray into Krav Maga. That was,
(11:14):
I believe, February of 2009.
Yeah, and it's been great ever since. I've worked my way and tested into level
three, which is no easy feat, at least for me.
So just to give you some ideas there, too, is, you know, Krav Maga is comprised
of a lot of different combat arts, like I mentioned previously.
(11:35):
Previously and you'll learn things like your basic stance, punching, kicking, elbows,
knees, groin strikes, eye gouges, choke, how to defend against all types of
different chokes from different angles, different approaches, bear hugs.
And then as I mentioned to some of the weapons defenses.
So I've made it all the way up to level three. One of the hardest things I've ever accomplished.
(12:00):
I think our test wound up being eight and a half hours long.
So Krav has levels and a lot of schools use belt system too.
But when I was going through, it was all about the levels. So there's five levels
and then you test for black belt eventually if you're so inclined.
But I got through level three and I remember the, when I got started,
(12:23):
they had at At the beginning, they had the concept of halfway test for level one.
And so my halfway test in level one, when I got started about mid-2009,
when we took that test, it was an hour and a half.
And it was a good hour and a half. But then I think my test to test from level
one to level two was six and a half hours.
(12:44):
And level two to level three was eight and a half, maybe closer to the nine.
Now I think they've changed that up some because they realize that's hard for
some people to get through.
So now they've broken it up, I think, over a couple of one and a half hour testing
sessions, something like that.
They've eased back on that a little bit, but certainly earned my keep.
(13:06):
And then after I went through phase three, I continued training,
not phase three, level three, sorry, differentiation.
We'll talk about here in a minute, but got to level three, trained through level
three, should have tested for level four into blue.
But quite honestly, I had transferred schools at that point,
(13:27):
and that school was less about leveling people up and more about just making
sure they got the training they needed as long as they came to school, getting that training.
So I haven't officially leveled up since, but I've trained all the way into some brown belt stuff.
And then at a point a few years ago, I went and did my phase A instructor certification,
(13:51):
which gives me the ability to teach basic, basically the beginnings for new,
new students, which was exciting, which was great. I love to do that.
So that's kind of a mixture of what Krav Maga is and my experience with Krav Maga.
So what can you expect? What is it going to be like for you to get into Krav Maga and go through it?
(14:11):
So for everyone, I think it's a little little different.
But to get started, you don't need a whole lot. You just need to make up your
mind you're going to do it. Sign up with the school that you choose.
If you're interested in formally getting certifications and leveling up or going up in belts,
then you want to find an official certified Krav school that's either their
(14:32):
own entity or they're an affiliate with a larger organization.
If not, you just need to find somebody qualified, you know, that has a history,
background in Krav and can teach Krav or any sort of self-defense techniques for you.
But certainly if you want to do Krav, it's just a matter of finding a school
that's convenient for you that you think you want to do.
(14:56):
You really just need comfortable workout clothes and some comfortable workout shoes.
I will tell you when I was doing it, shoes were a thing and it was perfectly
acceptable, which is a little odd compared to some martial arts schools, right?
Because shoes are no no, no, for whatever reason, but because Krav Maga is more
of a street self-defense art, you know, it's likely you're going to have shoes
(15:17):
on before you're barefooted walking down the street. So I get it. I see both sides.
Now it really just depends on the school. I think as to whether or not you'll
need to have training shoes or just,
you know, bring bare feet and a comfortable set of workout clothes.
That's all you really need to get started in level one and just the commitment
(15:38):
and mindset that you're going to stick with it and give it a chance.
It's not easy. Ultimately you will get bruised and battered.
You know, that's all just setting you up for the getting used to the idea of
defending yourself because that's what's going to happen.
Every class is going to start with a rigorous warmup because Because,
(15:58):
A, you need to get the blood flowing and get warmed up to move because you're
going to be doing all kinds of physical activity. So warming up is important.
But the other philosophy in Krav is that they want you to train tired because
it's not going to be easy to defend yourself.
Your adrenaline is going to dump. Your heart rate is going to go up.
(16:20):
You're likely to get tunnel vision.
You may even lose your hearing. Your IQ even may drop a few points.
And so the idea is if you train tired or train from this place of being strained
already or a little stressed out already and sweaty and hot,
then you're going to be better prepared than if you try to do it cold.
Because at the end of the day, there's no guarantee that any technique you do
(16:42):
is going to work and that it's going to be over with quickly.
So if you're prepared for the long haul and you're physically fit, you're mentally fit,
you got your cardio in good shape and you have the mindset of never quitting,
never giving up, then you're likely got a pretty good chance of better getting
through any situation you may find yourself in.
So that's why that initial warm-up is so key and I'm not gonna lie.
(17:06):
It can be strenuous at times That doesn't mean that you have to go to class
in the best of shape I will say though that after six months and you really
should give Krav six months I can almost guarantee you that if you put effort into it in six months,
you're gonna lose weight you're
gonna get in shape certainly cart from a cardiovascular standpoint and.
And you're going to feel better about yourself. And I also argue that once you
(17:30):
start going through self-defense training like Krav Maga, your outlook on things
changes to your perspective on things changes.
One of the things that you're likely going to notice is that you want to avoid
having to fight or having to defend yourself physically.
Once you've done some physical activity and done some sparring and worked with
(17:53):
your partner back and forth in these self-defense techniques,
you're going to realize hopefully sooner than later that it's a position you
do not want to find yourself in because it can be brutal, nasty,
but hopefully Krav Maga or something similar is going to give you the tools
that you need to be able to defend yourself.
And that's what it's all about. So go in with an open mind, work on developing
(18:15):
the never quit mindset and attitude.
I can tell you right now that when, When and if you do test to another level,
even if your techniques are not as crispy and sharp as they maybe should be,
and they should be when you test, you should be ready to test when they test you.
You should feel like you're ready to test when you test.
I can tell you right now that a big weight is given to the do not quit, never give up attitude.
(18:42):
So that attitude and mindset is as important,
if not more important, the physical aspects, because in
a real situation should you ever be physically attacked you're
going to need that mindset to get through there like i
said krav maga has nothing to do with fighting or traditional martial arts it's
nothing to do with what you see in the ufc as a matter of fact some of the techniques
(19:06):
if not a lot of the techniques that you'll find in krav maga wouldn't even be
allowed in ring matches and fighting it's all about straight up doing what it takes to get out of a
bad situation and be able to go home safe with minimal to no injuries.
So, yeah, as I mentioned, Krav Maga has nothing to do with martial arts or even,
(19:27):
you know, typical fighting in a ring match type of thing. UFC, it's not even the same.
Arguably, a lot of the moves, if not all of them.
Well, I won't say all a good number of the moves that you'll learn in Krav Maga
would never even be permitted inside of a ring in a fighting scenario because
it's more about those self-defense moves that you'll need to get home.
(19:49):
So back to what you can expect. So when you start off in level one,
you're just there to learn the fundamentals.
Like I said, you're going to go through strenuous warmup, and then you're going
to begin to learn the fundamentals, the stances, standing with your legs,
shoulder width apart, or a little wider with one foot.
Like you've taken a step forward, you're going to be up on the ball of your
(20:11):
feet because it's all about forward movement.
You never want to find yourself retreating in Krav. You're always going forward.
So the heel of your back foot's up, you're on the ball of that foot.
Most of your weight is towards the ball of the foot on the front foot.
You got a good stable platform for balance facing the target squarely.
And that's going to be some of the first, one of the first things you learn
(20:34):
is that proper stance, which gives you the foundation for everything else you'll do in Krav.
You're going to learn punches, how to do proper punches so that you're less
likely to get boxer's fractures from not knowing what you're doing, palm strikes.
You'll learn basic front kicks. Front kick to the groin is a big move in Krav as you'll see.
(20:56):
And so level one is about establishing the foundation.
And then you're likely to learn some of the choke defenses and learning how
the pluck plays into Krav.
Yes, pluck is reused quite a bit through all the choke defenses, as you'll see.
So level one's about learning the basics and you can never study the basics too much.
(21:18):
Even if you advance through Krav, you want to probably still take,
well, you don't want to probably, you still want to try to take level one classes
to hone those basics, to hone those fundamentals.
Because every time you change a level in Krav, it's like starting all over again.
Cause you're not, you've learned the foundations, you've learned the basics,
(21:38):
but the next level has nothing to do with the previous.
It's like all new techniques and approaches to things.
So just when you've gotten comfortable, you're going to start learning all over again.
And when you get to level two and beyond, that's when you're going to start learning to take hits.
You're going to start doing sparring and that's when your need for gear will change too.
(22:01):
So let's talk about that. You
know, so when I mentioned that when you get started, you really just need.
A comfortable set of workout clothes, what you'd wear to the gym, maybe possibly shoes.
If you follow us on Instagram, we recently made a post about some of the basic
gear you'll need in Krav Maga.
So if you do get shoes, you want shoes that have a little bit of grip.
(22:23):
So you can have some traction on the mats that you'll be working out on,
but you don't want so much traction that you can't pivot and turn and spin on those mats.
They can be a little grabby and, And, you know, you don't want to twist your ankle or otherwise.
So you want a good pair of athletic shoes that are comfortable and fit you right
(22:44):
with just enough grip, but not too much.
And you certainly don't want anything like aggressive, treaded trail shoes or anything like that.
When you get to level two, that's where they tell you you got to buy some gear.
And a lot of the schools sell their own gear, and that's fine.
For me, I found that that gear sometimes that the school sells is the lowest
(23:07):
end of the totem pole, so to speak.
When it comes to gear, it's very basic, very, let's just say, inexpensive gear.
There's nothing that says you can't go out and get your own.
But here's really what you're going to need starting at level two,
because again, that's when the more serious stuff goes, when the more serious
stuff starts and when you start sparring and things like that.
(23:27):
So you're going to want a pair of 16 ounce boxing gloves.
They don't allow anything lighter. And that's just simply because,
again, you're not there to fight UFC and you're not there to fight your partner.
You'll be sparring with your partner and working with your partner.
But the most important person in school for you is your partner.
And so it's a partner thing, not an opponent thing. So the 16-ounce is there
(23:53):
for safety because the 16-ounce glove has more padding.
Now, with that being said, you can certainly hit someone hard with a pair of 16-ounce gloves.
But the goal is to have a little bit more padding in there so they don't permit
anything lighter than the 16-ounce.
The next thing you're going to want is some shin guards. I can't tell you how
(24:15):
painful, if you don't already know how painful it is to get hit,
especially repetitively in the shins.
You're going to want to get yourself some shin guards, no doubt about it.
The headgear, they'll recommend headgear, which is basically this padded leather
helmet type thing that you'll put on.
Like you see boxers wear in the ring when they're practicing and working out
(24:35):
when they're training, it helps cushion the blow a little bit. it.
I find myself not liking them because they'll have a tendency to fall down over
your brows and block some of your vision.
At the end of the day, you can still get a bloody nose if you get hit just right
with the headgear. So a lot of the times I got to where I wasn't even wearing
(24:55):
it when I was doing sparring.
You'll want to get a mouth guard.
You don't have to spend the $750 on the dental provided mouth guard.
You can spend $25, $30 on a mouth guard.
I recommend spending a little bit more than not on one, but your lips and teeth
are going to really appreciate you having a mouth guard when you start sparring,
(25:19):
especially if you have a partner that doesn't pull their punches so well.
And I didn't mention this when talking about level one. It doesn't matter what level you're in.
Guys, you got to wear a cup in Krav.
It'll only take you a time or two to figure out that in Krav,
unlike some martial arts you may have been familiar with or trained in,
you can't get away without having a cup.
(25:41):
If you do, you're essentially not training and getting enough out of that session.
So you want to find yourself a good cup.
I actually had a buddy of mine, a partner, and he was actually a buddy and a
coworker. he need me so hard one day, he actually split a cup of mine.
And after that, I was like, okay, I got to find something that'll hold up to
(26:01):
this mess. So not that you're always getting need that hard or kick that hard.
Folks should be hold watching themselves better and pulling their knees and
kicks and punches better, but things do happen.
So he need me a good time in my groin and it split my cup ever so slightly.
I went and got a nutty buddy. Now I don't get paid for any of the The products
(26:23):
that I mention or bring up on my Instagram page or my podcast or anything,
but I'm going to tell you right now, a Nutty Buddy is a solid piece of investment for you guys.
So I highly recommend, even if you don't do the Nutty Buddy,
you've got to get a good cup and you've always got to come to class with your cup on.
So those are the types of gear. Those are the pieces of gear that you'll need
(26:46):
to train, especially once you get to level two and beyond or yellow belt and beyond.
And, you know, generally the schools offer provide the pads,
you know, the kick shields, the blast shields, the tombstone pads,
as they call them for the smaller ones that you'll punch on.
I really like working out with tombstones in general, whether it's punching
(27:10):
or kicking, of course, for front kicks and stuff, you got to have the larger
blast shields, larger kick shields, but that's not something you need to really
worry about buying for yourself.
The schools all have that, just like they have focus mitts when you're doing
your focus mitt training.
And they also typically have the plastic guns and knives and even the sticks,
(27:31):
whether it's Rotan or PVC, whatever they happen to have bought or made for themselves.
You don't have to worry about buying any of that. Now, with that being said,
if you plan on training with your buddy outside of class or on the weekends
when there is no, you know, when you got some free time and there is no school,
there is no classes offered,
you may want to invest in that. But even if you do.
(27:55):
You probably won't do it until later in your Krav career. So,
you know, in Krav classes, I've noticed over the years that level one has,
if it's a popular school, a busy school, level one has a lot of students.
And then as you begin to progress, the number of students fall off.
And the reason why that is, is because there is more aggressive self-defense techniques.
(28:18):
And there is, even in level two, the beginnings of, you know,
not getting punched out and punched hard.
They don't do that. It's all about safety and working with your partner,
like I said, but they do begin, you do have to start learning how to take a hit more.
And so, you know, with sparring, you'll, you'll take some head shots and body
shots and some kicks, but you're also learning how to defend against those.
(28:41):
And so you put it all together and, you know, you're learning and you learn
better by being thrown in the lion's den.
But with that being said, level two is where you typically see drop-off,
where you typically see attrition in class.
And that's just because a lot of people don't like getting hit.
But I will encourage you to stick through that, to give it a shot.
(29:04):
Hopefully, if you're going to a good instructor, a good school,
they're easing you into that and not just blasting you in your nose the first day out.
But I just want to give you a heads up that you should expect that.
But it's when you get to level two and beyond as you really start doing what
I would call the fun stuff and you really start learning the techniques,
(29:24):
the actual self-defense techniques that are going to help get you out of a situation,
more advanced choke defenses.
Bear hugs, all assortment of types of bear hug attacks, whether it's from the
front or from behind, what to do when you're on the ground, when you're stuck on the ground.
And then, you know, ultimately working into the weapons defense,
(29:45):
which some of that's a lot of fun.
Gun and stick defense is a lot of fun.
Knife, not so much because the idea of getting into it with a knife is not fun at all.
And I'll also say too that I think, and you know, if I had to say anything negative
about Krav, and I don't have a lot to say negative about Krav,
(30:05):
is when it comes to groundwork,
which is changing, and when it comes to dynamic knife defenses,
I think those are two areas that Krav typically has needed more help with or
different techniques or to be more honest about the techniques.
So, as I think I mentioned earlier, when I was coming up, Krav only was really
(30:28):
comprised of about 10 to 15 percent of anything on the ground.
And again, that was philosophical, right? The goal is, is, hey,
you're going to be getting your defending yourself just in time,
especially if you got your head on the swivel and paying attention to what's going on around you.
In public, you know, you're going to be able to better respond to attacks and
you're going to be able to take care of business and get out of there and hopefully
(30:50):
never find yourself on the ground.
The reality of it is, and I think most of the people that train in wrestling
or jiu-jitsu would contend that most fights wind up on the ground,
and therefore Krav Maga needs to start dealing with that more.
And the great news is, is a lot of schools have started incorporating more grappling
(31:10):
and groundwork, that push, pull, body, feel, knowing what to do when things do wind up on the ground.
And that's been added even since I started back in 2009. I think that's great.
The other thing that you just have to be honest about and realistic about because
all of these things are just tools for you to use.
(31:32):
And the only one that's going to work for you is the one that you know inside
and out. And the only one that you're going to know inside and out is the one
that you're training on all the time.
So when it comes to gun defenses, knife defenses, and stick defenses,
they're only as good, they're only as effective as you are at training in them.
But I have to say, based on my limited experience with them,
(31:55):
that when it comes to dynamic knife defenses, in other words,
the attacker is moving the knife at you in some regards, whether it's overhead,
underhead, a stabbing motion, slicing motion, whatever. I think some of those defenses.
They give you options if you were to be attacked by a knife,
(32:16):
but I don't have 100% confidence in them.
And in fairness to the system, that could just be because at the end of the
day, you got to train a lot in that stuff.
I'm way more comfortable even with gun defenses and especially stick defenses than I am knife.
Now, there's some static knife defenses, meaning the movement's not there,
(32:40):
the holding the knife on your, on your throat.
They're just holding a knife out at you.
I, I feel like I'm more confident in those certainly than the dynamic, but the knife defense,
I just, I say all that not to poopoo anything about Krav as much of just to
remind you that you're learning techniques that can work, but they're only as
(33:02):
effective as you train and are familiar with them.
So So just know going into this whole thing that there's no magic bullet.
This technique or that technique is not guaranteed to work.
As an instructor that I've trained under a handful of times and that I admire,
as Ryan Hoover says infamously, it depends. And it always does.
(33:25):
In teaching, you can change the scenario one little degree and it may mean an
entire new approach to what you're doing to defend yourself.
So it depends and there's no magic bullet.
So I just want to set level, set your expectations there as well.
So not, I don't want to spend too much on time on this, but come prepared,
(33:46):
bring water, bring your energy drinks.
I don't recommend bringing Red Bull and stuff like that to class.
There's probably some better options to replenish the
electrolytes and sodium you've lost through sweating in
class especially if you're doing a you know a two
three four hour long seminar or you're
testing for extended periods of time you want to make sure you're getting the
(34:07):
right fluids replenished into your body and be sure to bring snacks granola
bars or bananas make great snacks along the on the way as well and ladies look
i just want to say this touch on this real briefly don't be intimidated.
There's actually a lot of women and girls, ladies that come to Krav and,
(34:28):
and arguably Krav is just as
important and just as good for you guys to learn that it is for the guys.
So don't let that discourage you. Even if you wind up being the only woman in class, I say, go for it.
Again, you can't do anything but learn.
If you were to work with some big burly dude as your partner,
(34:48):
it's only going to make you learn and train that much harder.
So that's a good thing, but don't worry.
Generally, there's a, I find a good share of women come to class that want to
learn and are there to work hard.
I would say, though, that if you're going to take Krav, you can certainly come
to Krav for a physical fitness class type of thing, you know,
(35:09):
but I would take it a little bit more seriously than the kickboxing class you
try to take at your local gym.
It really is meant to be taken seriously because at the end of the day, it is serious.
It is serious defending yourself, learning how to defend yourself or learning
how to protect your child or your significant other, whatever the case may be.
(35:30):
So I expect 100% out of my students I want them to have that never quit never
give up attitude but also want them giving 100% in class too and that means
going all out all the time because again.
You're not going to be patty caking it out on the street if
you were to be attacked and so that's a point that
I want to make to you too that mindset of doing
(35:52):
whatever it takes to to get out of there and in
you know in reality you need to train that
way too so it's not about hitting that pad
slapping that pad like you're you know
doing your kickboxing at the local gym like i said it's hitting that pad as
hard as you can working on those techniques to make them as effective as possible
(36:17):
and taking it seriously because you know why you're training is a serious reason.
So you should take it seriously as well.
And, you know, look, the physical training, the physical fitness part of it
is just going to be a fallout. It's just a side benefit.
So I think that's a good place to stop. I feel like I've given,
you know, I could talk about Krav and the ins and outs and effectiveness of
(36:41):
techniques and all of that for a very extended period of time.
But I just wanted to try to at least give you an overview and a sense of what
Krav was about and some of the things you can expect and prepare for if you
venture into Krav or self-defense in general.
So I think this is a good point to stop.
We appreciate you listening. Hopefully you've gotten something out of that.
(37:02):
Hopefully you may have been inspired to go seek a local Krav school to go,
at least if nothing else, check out.
A lot of the schools offer your first class for free.
And so I would just encourage you to look at one. I do want to just throw a
quick mention here, a quick shout out.
So I've had the privilege of working under some great instructors over the years.
(37:23):
And the first instructor that I worked under, and most of these are in no particular
order, but it just so happened that Eric Sepeda was the first instructor that
I took that carjacking seminar from his school.
But I've worked under Jeff Mount. I actually took my phase A instructor course
with Jeff Mount and Eric Sepeta.
(37:44):
So kudos to them. Hats off for them.
I've worked with John Whitman. I've worked with Richard Swords,
Scott Sanchez, James Hiramasa, and.
And of course, I can't say enough good things about Ryan Hoover and what he's
doing with his school up there in Charlotte.
And last, but certainly not least by any stretch.
(38:05):
And of course I've worked, I've trained under a lot of other guys too, a lot of other good guys.
But when he was a part of the Krav Maga organization, um, and even now,
uh, I've had the honor and privilege of training underneath Jeff Gemma too.
And, uh, he, he's, he's, uh, he's, uh, one of my faves for sure.
But a lot of good guys out there a
(38:28):
lot of guys know what they're doing do a good job in their
instruction and work with their students and I can't
say enough good things about them so I hope you've enjoyed our episode today
talking about Krav Maga if you have like I say about all of our episodes feel
free to share it with your friends and family put it out on your Facebook page
we would greatly appreciate you getting the word out and we look forward to seeing you all next time.
(38:53):
Music.
Popular Podcasts
United States of Kennedy
United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com