What we are about

The gym exists to provide members with what we as coaches determine to be the fastest methods to reach your goals.  If you are looking for self defence then there is nothing better than Krav Maga.  Mix in some NSI and TE classes for completeness and you can be  fairly confident you are going to be able to deal with confrontation in a fairly short period of time.  If you want to get "FIT" then CrossFit is one of the best strength and conditioning programmes on the planet with a worldwide following.  In terms of children's classes I strongly believe that you can't do any better than our Little Ninjas programme. It's a great way to start the journey in the Martial Arts and learn positive skills.  Moving on from that you have the Jnr Kickboxing / Jnr Krav Maga for the teens.  There are even more classes on offer than the ones I have mentioned. In a nut shell we only teach what we think works well, has a proven track record and gives people what they want.  At times training might be tough and there is going to be repetition but see beyond that, train hard stick in and reach those goals.

Don't Be Selfish - Give your Partner Everything

When you train with someone in class they are your pupil and your friend.  I'm there as a coach, a guide, someone to point the way and lay the foundations of training. We all have different teaching styles.  I'm a group corrections man - unless I see someone who really needs help. I'm hiding in the shadows. I'm not walking about all the time in your face otherwise I'd be stopping you every two minutes to give you something else.  That being said, it gives me nothing but joy when I see guys training and offering each other advice and making that person better.  You are a teacher yourself and the best way to solidify your knowledge is to pass it on to someone else. They will ask you questions, and you sometimes have to think about the answers which is a good thing.  Don't look at it like 'oh hell, I'm partnered with a newbie'.  You were that guy once, and someone probably helped you along.  Come out your comfort zone once in a while and get a new partner and help someone out - that's what you are there for - to be a better person.  The benefit in Krav Maga, or in any of the other fighting systems, is that often with a new start you get someone untainted and raw and they fight in a more realistic way.  Remember, if you get drama outside its more than likely from a regular guy not someone with a lot of training.  They move completely differently.  So, wether your are in one our martial arts, Crossfit or technique classes, bear all this in mind and don't be afraid to help others out. Give them the benefit of your own learning curve. Help them avoid the mistakes you made and see your own skills and confidence accelerate. 

The Good Old Leg Kick

You've seen the Thai kick destroy an opponent - you've felt the power you can produce on the pads and you've even been kicked in the thigh with this kick.  It's a great tool, but not one that is always the best in a self defence situation.  If you do use it in self defence, remember you will be targeting the knee, and in order to compromise that joint you really don't need all that much power.  The knee is a weak point, and in self defence situations a low regular front kick or oblique kick is going to be your best friend.  You ever bang your knee? I mean really bang it. It brings tears to the eyes immediately. Anyone can learn to develop this kick.  If you can kick a ball then you can bust a knee.  The only caveat being you can sometimes miss in the heat of battle with the front kick.  This is where the larger surface area of the oblique kick comes into play. You can use it like you are kicking a ball or you can stamp down and literally destroy the joint.  People overlook this kick because they think martial arts, and they think of head height kicks.  Also, its a difficult one to practice. One way is to get someone to wear substantial shin pads and just drive the foot into the shin - you get the same reaction.  You can work it on a decent heavy bag, or one way we have found useful at the gym is some foam lagging duct taped around a metal pole.  Remember to be fast and accurate and follow up with good strikes.  Think about your fighting strategies such as attack by draw, so you low kick then attack high when they react. Alternatively, you drive the kick home and it becomes a single direct attack.  You want to take a tool and work it and see what you can come up with.  Train smart and intelligently and, most of all, safely.

Hooking Punch

The hook is generally used when there is a barrier in front of us and we require a strike that can flank it and land heavily.  The hook can come from the lead or the rear hand and can be done up close or at a more medium range.  The power comes from the hip and the arm comes round in a circular potion to strike and then follows the line back again. Think about the elbow being high and twisting through the target.  Depending on strategy and power you can recoil or punch through the target.  Keep in mind if we punch through then we can often leave our body exposed.  You can land the hook from the lead or rear hand.  You really need to keep the hip snap in mind when punching with the lead hand as it just doesn't have that same venom as the rear hand.  Often if you miss with the fist then you can land an elbow strike. The hand can either be in a horizontal or vertical fist.  Its down to personal preference. With the vertical fist your have a greater surface area to strike with in gloves but remember in reality you won't have gloves on and should be hitting with the first two big knuckles. Hands are delicate and we want to keep them in one piece.

Cross or rear punch

This is executed in the same way as the jab, however it comes from our rear hand.  Imagine you are in your guard position - the movement begins in the rear foot with pressure rebounding from the floor and the hip twisting towards the target.  This force travels up through the body and then the hand moves straight to the target and, once making contact, comes back on the same line.  Again, think about the power delivery.  When delivering the punch make sure the hand doesn’t pull back to gain power from the shoulder.  Instead power through the hip and start the hand's journey from the guard. We want to minimise telegraphing our strikes as much as possible.  Remember, true power starts from the floor and travels up through the body and out via the arm.  The core should be working the entire time.  If it isn't, don't be so lazy.

The uppercut

The uppercut can be executed at a close or medium range and is often used when we are in the 'furball' of fighting at close quarters.  If our opponent is protecting his flanks and the centreline is open then the uppercut will cut him right up the middle.  This will often be targeted underneath the jaw.  The legs will corkscrew down and the power will again be delivered from the ground and released upwards towards the target.  The knuckles should be facing your opponent.  Normally you will only uppercut from the rear hand but it's possible, and many people make it work, from your lead almost like a jab. Experiment with what works for you.

The jab or lead punch

No two people will tell you how to jab the same way.  Some will say you flick it out like a probe, others will say it’s a solid landing blow.  In our curriculum you find your own way, and again it depends on the situation.  In simple terms you clench your fist and project it straight out in front of you, aiming to strike with the two large big knuckles on your hand.  Once your hand has connected with the target you bring the hand back to guard on the same straight line that it went out on.  Imagine that you are punching down a tube. Think about the power driving up from the floor and twisting your hip and then your shoulder as the arm straightens out towards the target.  The power in all our strikes comes from the hips and you punch through the target.  Imagine the target is extremely hot so recoil the hand quickly.  Don't telegraph your strike by drawing the arm back simply move it forward from the guard.  If you want more power drop your weight through the front foot as you strike. Practice punching in place to begin with, then add movement.  Drive off the back leg as you strike and remember, only hit when you think you can land a strike. Don't waste energy.  

Wednesday and Thursday night round up

Our amalgamated class looked at portions of panantukan kickboxing.  We used some basic kickboxing combos as a template, but we added some limb destructions, takedowns and traps into the mix.  For a lot of the guys training this was somewhat out of their comfort zone. However, this is why the amalgamated classes are so good - because it forces people to try something new. It's understandable that people are nervous about maybe trying a different class but, as you all proved, you guys can step up and get stuck in. Trying out some of the other classes is what will bring your skill set on leaps and bounds. There are a few folk who were there on Wednesday that I've heard say in the past 'oh no, that stuff looks to hard' when referring to the T.E. or N.S.I. classes, but I was genuinely impressed with the effort everyone put in. I swear I even saw some of you almost enjoy it!

Must also give a short shout out to everyone at KettleBells on Thursday night - with that horrid humidity in the air it would have been easy to hold back and trundle through the workout, but everyone smashed it. A quick warm up and mobility check and we were off, into a 3 phase workout split up into a KB endurance set running every minute on the minute, a set of KB swings and sprints starting at 10 reps and working down and then our final phase was a simple body weight workout. Smashed! An excellent effort from everyone.

Michael

Power Development

We are concentrating heavily on squats, jump squats, deadlifts and push press to name a few exercises.  These explosive movements have been worked on along with the kettle bell training.  This is all to enhance your ability to strike an object at any given time with maximum force.  Now that object can be close, where you might employ a knee strike, or it might be further away where you can use a regular front kick. What we want is to be able to deliver as much power as we can as quickly as possible.  So in our training, be it bodyweight or under load, we need to move fast, to flow and have great form.  

It is the little things that count and often we can overlook them. Do you have your core engaged when you strike with your knee, or are you lazy and simply deliver the force thinking about your leg only?  If it's the latter, and you strike hard, think how much more force you will deliver when you have your core braced. Sometimes in class, people are so concerned with simply getting through a round they don't think about their body as a unit.  For example, when punching, it's all arms with no hip twist, or kicks with all legs and the legs look like spaghetti flying everywhere.  The fact of the matter is, your body is a whole and we need to use it all together - not parts in isolation.  Let's use a punch as an example. It starts life in the guts, moves down a leg into the foot, rebounds off the floor, back up the leg, through the guts, up through the chest and the shoulder then down the arm delivering the strike with the fist.  That's a lot of stuff going on to through a punch, but that's how it is done correctly. 

If any of this sounds familiar think about how you can correct it in class.  Take more time during a round or combative set.  Think about your start and finishing position and the movements in between.  Think about your timing, rhythm and tempo and be smooth like glass.  I guarantee in a few weeks your power delivery will have increased. 

My Krav Maga Is Not Your Krav Maga.

No matter who you train with or what organisation you are with your Krav Maga will have similarities. It should be as it all was supposed to originate with the founder Imi Lichtenfeld.  It has then obviously gone through a transformation as it has been taught by his instructors and they have added in what they felt necessary, as the years progressed, based on their experiences from training with others around the globe (if they have in fact done this). No matter who you train with or who you BELONG to, if you train in a system then you should embrace other practitioners and look for the commonality and not the differences. Now keep in mind that the heads of organisations need to retain instructors and students and they have methods. One of these are changes to the syllabus, tweaks in techniques and some of these are really superfluous to actual self protection.

Self defence doesn't really take years to learn, however, often people map out that it does due to the number of techniques you have to learn and all the variables.  If you ever look at anyone who is really good, they rely on a very small skill set. Stuff that actually works the rest of the material is there to enhance your journey and to keep you training and enjoying the stuff. I like to teach the basics, the fundamentals, the elements if you like. I want to make people good quickly and not feel I have to shower them with hundreds of techniques to keep them there. If they like the gym then I hope they keep training. In the end I want everyone to better themselves and often this transcends merely the self defence side. So if you hear someone saying that's not really Krav Maga it looks more like boxing, or it looks like Kali ask them what real Krav Maga is. 

You should be able to make it fit you and your skill set not the other way around. If you have a guy who comes in and has a Karate background then are you going to make him learn from scratch. Of course you wouldn't, you would take the striking he has and add in some different footwork perhaps and some knife defence. All of a sudden you have a guy who can take care of a lot of problems. The best thing to be able to do, which most instructors and heads of organisations despise, is you thinking for yourself. Take a subject, research it and build on it. Be better than them. Why is it only in the martial arts world that people think this shouldn't be the case, however, it is widely accepted in every other profession. Dare to be different, put in the work, challenge and be the best at being yourself.

Marcus

Beware Of False Idols

No one way is best. Nobody has it all, no one has all the answers. You are smart enough to do your own research and work out what is the best course of action for you to achieve your goals. Seek quality advice from sources who will put you before themselves and their wallets. Just because something is worldwide and or originates in a foreign country it doesn't necessarily make it better. Consider fighting styles from a by gone age. We all seek to learn from Japanese Masters or Guros from the Philippines when in fact the UK and Europe has such a rich martial heritage. The Empire conquered so much of the globe so we can presume that we had some ideas on hand to hand combat. Look again at more modern military combatives from WWII. Then tell me again why you are rushing off to learn something from another country.

The world is full of amazing and interesting people with stories to share and things to teach. However, never overlook the local guy or the guy a few towns up from you who I'm sure can teach you so much without the need to travel to the ends of the earth. I have an instructor in the US, have travelled all over Europe to train with people however, the bulk of my training was from a guy up in sleepy little Arbroath. A guy whom if he had been living in the US I am sure would have been a martial arts hall of famer. The same can be said about the fitness world. I've been taught kettle bells in the UK and seen the greats from abroad however, sometimes I have been more impressed with the local guy. So keep this in mind when training or seeking mentors. It might be that the person you need is just around the corner.

TONIGHT'S TRAINING AT COMBAT READY

First up was the women-only kickboxing class. We warmed up with a kettle bell drill and the then split up with some people working on the heavy bags and then some on the thai pads. From there the women worked various combinations on the pads. Krav Maga worked a large group warm up encompassing all manner of bodyweight exercises with penalties added in if anyone let the group down. The idea was to put people just a tiny bit out of their comfort zone. From there the gloves went on and we worked primarily on our boxing skills. Finished off the class with Michael and myself sparring with all the guys. Marcus

EDINBURGH KICKBOXING

The classes this week have been intense and a lot of good energy. We have kept things simple and worked a lot on fitness and covering material that you will need to know and demonstrate in order to grade. The next date for the grading will be announced next week. So if you plan on grading, which you should as it lets you chart your progress, keep your eyes peeled. At a grading you are asked to demonstrate that you have an understanding of the physical techniques and you are able to demonstrate rhythm,timing, control and footwork. You need to be also to show you have an appropriate level of fitness for the grade however, age and injuries are alway taken into account. The material you are tested on is the same material you cover in class however, If I ask to see a various combination with a set rhythm then that Is what I want demonstrated as that is what you are being tested on. The classes are popular and Im glad that recently more of the guys who have been training in Krav Maga have started coming to the kickboxing classes. I've put up some pictures below from one of the classes during the week. Marcus

TONIGHT AT KICKBOXING EDINBURGH

Great night of training in the kickboxing class. We started with a circuit including dumbbells, barbells, kettle bells and resistance bands. From there we worked on various combinations on the thai pads developing various kicks. We also started looking at some of the material required in order to grade in kickboxing. There will be a grading held mid June where we will cover levels 1,2,3 and four. More details will be posted shortly.

KICKBOXING EDINBURGH

Last night we opened the class with a circuit. From there we progressed through various striking drills looking at defending with the legs. Excellent effort from everyone there!

Marcus

WEDNESDAY KICKBOXING

We warmed up with some skipping then we worked 3 minute rounds on the heavy bags. From there we set up a circuit in the weights area and worked our way through that. To finish off we worked on the thai pads with some conditioning drills. Excellent effort from all.

LAST NIGHT AT WOMEN ONLY KICKBOXING

A tough session last night working conditioning and technical drills. The initial warm up focussed heavily on core and abdominal strength. From there we looked at drills working on attacking and defensive motions. Great effort from everyone.

KICKBOXING EDINBURGH

This week has seen the kickboxing classes very busy. Maybe in the run up to Xmas or people just wanting to get some useful self defence material under their belts. Some of the classes have concentrated on conditioning drills and others have looked at technical applications. The more you come the better you get. The classes can be attended by anyone and you can start at any point. No need to book. So if you know someone who you think might be interested in trying it out why not send them along.

Marcus

KICKBOXING EDINBURGH

Last night we concentrated on developing various kicks. We used the kick shields working lead side kick and the focus mitts for turning kicks and hook kicks. We looked at the sport applications of the kicks and also the self defence aspects. We finished off the remainder of the class working hand combinations on the focus mitts.

LAST NIGHT AT KICKBOXING EDINBURGH

Last night after the warm up we concentrated on conditioning on the thai pads for rounds. After that, we moved onto the focus mitts and worked on speed drills. We finished the class with the pad holder calling out the combinations. This week we are going to focus on the fundamentals and get them rocking. I was really impressed with some of the striking last night, it was really crisp with a fantastic rhythm - music to my ears!

Marcus