Krav Maga

[RevDahlia]

Krav, for those not in the know, is a fighting system developed in Israel and used by the IDF as well as many other military and police organizations. (Wikipedia has a good article about it. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_maga)) It bears little or no resemblance to most other martial arts, except the butt-kicking part -- there are no competitive aspects, no meditation, no history, no formality, no woo-woo of any kind. It is very brutal and very practical, not to mention horrendously, wonderfully physically taxing.

I've been taking Krav classes for four months now and I LOVE it. I have never been a workout-type person -- gyms depress me -- but here I am, in the best shape of my life. My posture is the best it's ever been, my wind is great, and my definition is getting there. Another six months and, well, I pity the fool. For those in need of a great workout and a shot of courage, I can't recommend this thing enough -- and the Krav network is worldwide, so once you've signed up somewhere you can train anywhere, pretty much.

Any other Krav Maga enthusiasts in the house? I know martial arts and physical fitness are political and controversial among practitioners, so if anyone feels like telling me that I'm destroying my joints and should take ba gua or aikido instead, go for it.

[Dingfod]

If I was going to take a self-defense martial arts class, Krav Maga would be it.

[RevDahlia]

If I was going to take a self-defense martial arts class, Krav Maga would be it.
I've taken a few martial arts forms in my day, including tai chi, Thai boxing and shorin-ryu karate, and Krav is the only thing I've learned that is practical from a self-defense perspective. Other martial arts are beautiful and cool and valuable in many ways, but unless you get very very good they're not going to help you much if you get jumped in a parking lot in the the dead of night.

[Dingfod]

Head butts are taught in Krav Maga. I think I would wear a helmet when I do a head butt though, head butts hurt. I could knock someone seriously coo-coo head butting them while wearing my motorcycle helmet.

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

I've seen it, and it looks great. :wriggle:

[Dingfod]

My motorcycle helmet? It's just plain white.

[ms_ann_thrope]

Sounds very interesting. I've never done martial arts. Boxed for a little while, but I sucked, because I couldn't stop telegraphing my punches. :sadcheer:

RevDahlia, what are the workouts like in terms of intensity and duration? How frequently do you take classes?

[Crumb]

Hmm... Interesting. I have been looking for something to keep me physically active. :chin: Maybe this would be something I could do.

[livius drusus]

Have they taught you any head butts yet, Rev? Incidentally, Krav Maga has without question the baddest name a martial art could ask for.

[RevDahlia]

RevDahlia, what are the workouts like in terms of intensity and duration? How frequently do you take classes?
The workouts are very, very intense. Just to give you an idea, I threw up either during or after the first two classes I took. The warmups alone are enough to render one jelly-legged and wheezing. I found that I got used to it very quickly, though, and I was in unusually bad shape (smoking a lot, getting no other exercise whatsoever) when I started. Also, the instructors I've encountered (quite a few, there seems to be a revolving door at my local school) are very nice about letting one sit down if one has had enough; Pai Mei isn't going to pluck out your eye if you can't do something.

The classes are an hour long and usually go warmup --> stretching --> learning combatives and bag drills with partners --> final drill, which combines all the moves the students learned during class. According to my regular instructor (and Wikipedia) that's standard -- Krav is pretty standardized overall.

I take two Krav classes per week and one other thing developed by the head of my particular studio, which is an hourlong aerobic/strength training workout designed for Krav practitioners specifically. I like to flake on that one though, because they make us jump rope. I despise jumping rope.
Boxed for a little while, but I sucked, because I couldn't stop telegraphing my punches.
There's quite a lot of boxing in Krav, but there's lots of other stuff you can do too, so you don't have to rely on boxing if you suck at it. I really suck at it; my jab is the ugliest, most spastic thing on the planet ... but I'm good with my elbows, so it's OK.

Also, I figure that most bad guys you meet in the real world don't know what a telegraphed punch even looks like. This is my excuse for telegraphing like mad.
Have they taught you any head butts yet, Rev?
Not yet. Head butts are pretty advanced, because they're very hard to do correctly. I have learned a little bit about how to evade them, however.

[Stiletto Null]

I keep meaning to get back into Tae Kwon Do and start in on Krav Maga.