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

The Reality of Fighting

It's a horrible and dirty thing that is over quickly and if you are lucky you come out the other side in one piece. You might not remember that much of it but eventually you can piece it all together. You might not hurt that much at the time but afterwards you may feel like you have been run over. You might feel awful for the damage you have done to another human being or you may stress and worry over reprisals. In short, its not worth getting involved and if you can avoid it then do so. If you are still out picking fights in your twenties then you need to have a serious look at yourself.

This festive period has again shown how our training this year needs to mirror that of reality. Look at when you are out and where violence occurs - when groups of males are together and there is alcohol and drugs. The main thing is look at how much space is available. Normally you are so confined most of the techniques and tactics we train you in could not realistically be employed as you would be smashing into people, getting them involved, knocking into females as well. So we are really going to concentrate on true close quarter combatives in the first quarter of the year's training. If you can't do it in a phone box then update your training.

Marcus

KRAV MAGA ON TUESDAY

Tuesday was full of hidden gems. We looked at some striking into various takedowns and then some failure drills into alternative takedowns. We studied default defensive positions, taking chest to back, positional control into a further takedown. Some of the takedowns could be soft in application or enhanced to be more effective depending of course on the level of the threat. There are people from the military, police and civilians all training together and they all have a different agenda so I try as much as possible to tailor it to their individual needs. Marcus

TONIGHT AT KRAV MAGA EDINBURGH

Tonight we started with some fun drills getting the guys used to some contact. From there we went straight into knife defence. Rather than adopt the standard KM approach of a strong blocking action we looked at how we could use all the principle blocks, link them together to disperse the energy. Its in a lot of other arts and we found it in KM. You cannot always just put up a barrier. For starters someone is always bigger and more powerful. You might be fatigued, injured, bleeding and you cannot simply match strength. Its these ideas and working through them which will enhance your skills. More body movement, take flank. I will try and do a instructional clip this week about it. Marcus

DEFAULT DEFENSIVE POSITION

I think it is vital in any fighting system to have a default defensive position you can use when coming under a surprise attack. By a surprise attack I mean one where you have suffered a contact or multiple contacts and you have completely been caught unawares. The attack has happened quickly and unexpectedly and you will not have the luxury of being able to block and counter or to exit. We need this position to protect ourselves and to enable us to get a breathe back, take in and assimilate the information we are being bombarded with before we make a decision to either attack or flee. When we think about a surprise attack we often think that this would spell an immediate knock out. However, even when the attacker has the luxury of the defender standing there half asleep with a relaxed open jaw, it doesn’t always result in unconsciousness. Either the attacker cannot punch for buttons, they miss the jaw or they may be kicking or grabbing. In the majority of assaults alcohol will be a factor therefore, an attacker’s skills may be limited. We are envisaging a situation where we have remained conscious after the initial blow or blows have been struck. We have not had the opportunity to adopt any realistic defensive stance prior to the contact as the barrage has begun and you have been caught unawares. The position we adopt under these circumstances should be one that allows us to specifically cover the head and face while at the same time allowing us some degree of vision. Remember, that we are not looking to be in this position for any length of time. It is to simply allow us maximum protection whilst we regain our composure and look to attack or exit. I should point out that in training and adopting a default position, we are in no way overlooking prevention or awareness. These are the core concepts of any good system and one that I look to train regularly. I am simply pointing out that unless you live your life in a state of preparedness and looking for potential trouble every second of the day then there will be times when your guard is down. We as human beings couldn’t possibly live our whole lives in a high state of readiness as we would burn out. So we need to isolate this concept and accept that we as human beings will make mistakes and the result is that we need a default position. In order to train this effectively, you need to experiment with various positions and find out what works for you as an individual. I certainly find some more user friendly and a lot more comfortable than others. It all comes down to your own particular preference and body type. Once we have established the position you want to adopt you need to look at being able to get into it as fast as possible. You could have your training partner give a verbal command and then you assume the position. After you have developed this verbal stimulus have your training partner put gloves on and attack you lightly firstly from the default position so you can get used to the feeling of contact and you can also identify any areas of weakness in your position. Then we need to look at having our hands buy our sides and have a few shots thrown and then responding by getting into the position. Please bear in mind safety in training and don’t be looking to knock out your training partner in the early stages. After you have successfully managed to take a couple of shots and react accordingly we need to take the next step. You can stand with your eyes closed and have your partner attack you with head and body shots from a variety of angles, and you have to react by opening your eyes and taking your default position. Once you have mastered this you need to look at how you can realistically counter attack from that position. You should focus on building up your attacking tools from that position. You need to experiment with close and medium range tools. Ensure that you are using the correct tool against the attacker in the appropriate range. You could also have the attacker then try and take you to the ground to ensure completeness in your training. For example you should experiment with defending and then imagine the threat is neutralised by a third party. You could defend and then exit, or defend and fight back. Then defend and fight back against multiple opponents. You are only limited by your own imagination. If you are in the police or security services then after an initial counter attack you should look too deploying your weapon quickly or look to control and restrain. Marcus

TONIGHT AT KME

Tonight it was a super fast warm up and then straight into looking into controlling our environment, baiting a hook, tactile sensitivity, breaking the plane, positional control and generally working on accelerating our close quarter combatives. We did this off a number of situationals. I stressed the importance of being able to rock n roll. Never mind learning to be victim, defending all these attacks. Don't let them happen - awareness, pre-emption, interception. Look at a boxer and take their tactics and adopt them to your environment. With this approach pretty soon you are teaching yourself. Marcus

WHY DO YOU TRAIN FOR A MONTH?

The one thing I tell my students the most is that you only get out what you put in. This is true for everything, but especially martial arts. It takes dedication to master an art, and the number one thing you have to dedicate is your time. Yes, it will be hard, and yes, you will find some nights more difficult than others, but if you want to get good, you have to realise that it takes time and effort. Without time spent training, you will never progress. There are too many so called 'martial artists' who drift from style to style, from gym to gym, putting in a month here a month there. These fair weather trainers will never get the results that they are looking for. Don't be one of them. We all have time constraints, and commitments to make, but if you come along whenever you can you'll be making more progress than the next person, who trains only when they can be bothered. There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing an unfit and out of shape student dedicate themselves to improving, who show up for every class and who push themselves as hard as they can. Honestly, these are the people that I want to train. Whatever your fitness, and however much free time you have, if you give it your all, and train hard, you'll get the results. So next time you feel like slacking off or something is challenging, don't just give in percevere. If you never give in then you can never fail. Marcus

KRAV MAGA ON MONDAY

Last night we had a quick partner warm up. From there it was onto the pads to work various combinations. We looked at some of our boxing offence and defence. We then looked at a release from a choke, a two handed grab defence and also defending a straight line attack. From there we put it all together and worked a multiple opponent drill. Marcus

SUNDAY FUN

Sunday is typically one of those days where people think they should do nothing, just relax and lounge about. For others it's a day where they can focus on things they haven't managed to complete during the week or a day when they can choose to train. At the end of the day it is simply a day and you can do whatever you want to. Why not make this the start of the week for you instead of the end. Have a mental shift and get on with some tasks you have been procarstinating over or get some training in. Why not get the trainers on and run for a 1000 metre get back in the house and rattle out 15 burpees, 20 push ups, 15 squats and 20 alternate squat thrusts. Quick little workout, the kids and wife will hardly notice you are gone. If you are house bound then why not concentrate on 6 2 minute rounds of shadow boxing. Perhaps every second round do shadow fighting so you are incorporating all your tools. Remember defence and offence as well as using your environment and multiple opponents. Failing that grab the kids or the dog and have some good old fashioned rough and tumble. Whatever you choose to do enjoy it and have fun. Marcus

LAST NIGTH AT KRAV MAGA

Last night we did a warm up using the kettlebells and then we focussed on our low line regular front kick. I handed out some coaching tips for the pad holders. Then we primarily focussed on our boxing skills. I wanted the guys to isolate each of the strikes and then we built them up into combinations. From there we did some sparring but played in that close range. The idea was to get hit, to dish it out a little but at 65%. You need to disengage the ego, relax, let go and have fun. During the class I expressed that people need to listen more to the instructions as we are building on everything. Strong foundations make for long lasting skills. Do you think Tyson just started working combos if Cus told him work the jab. Also, the pad holder is the coach, they give the feedback to the striker on everything. They have a huge responsibility so don't take it lightly! See you next class. Marcus

TONIGHT AT KRAV MAGA

Tonight was a class packed full of gems and principles if you were still switched on at 7.30pm. We looked at some basic striking and whether to recoil or punch through and drop the hands. From there we looked at returning with an elbow, was it a strike or a defence? Then wrapping the neck in a guillotine fashion as a long knee strike had brought the head forward. The guillotine for us is not a choke or submission but a wrench. From there we looked at an escape from a guillotine and also a standing guillotine from behind or head lock or choke, whatever you want to call it. We worked it as a multiple attacker drill as well. I told the guys to concentrate on good striking and all these techniques are unnecessary and simply things to keep us fresh and interested in training. Take some of the motions from the escapes and see where you can use them. The thumb to the throat for example in the guillotine can generally be used in one form or another in the clinch and grabbing situations. Its the ability of you as a student to realise these and find them out and make yourself a complete practitioner or a hard target. Marcus

TONIGHTS TRAINING

Kettlebells was a fast paced high intensity mix of bodyweight and kb drills. We had drills linking three exercises together and worked through various timed drills or sets. Great level of effort from everyone there. Kickboxing looked at the basics working our jab and defence against low kicks and also some pad work which keeps us moving and is more for speed and reflex than combative application. Krav Maga looked at in fighting and defending with common objects. How we can use the common objects to defend attacks and then mirror the same movements with our empty hands.

DEVELOP THAT RIGHT CROSS

Work on the focus mitts or heavy bag. Choose your tool, closed fist or palm heel strike. Get in a guard/fight position. Relax, then try and hit the pad as fast and as hard as you can concentrating on accuracy, breathe control, hip motion and recoil. Now set yourself up again, take 10 seconds, focus and do it again. Not everything needs to be rushed. We are trying to work on a higher skill plane here.

USE OF THE NON DOMINANT HAND

If we are not training with sticks like the Filipino arts then it will generally take longer to get our left and right hand working in the same way. One will always be super supreme over the other. A simple test try throwing a ball with each hand and check out the difference, in speed, power and accuracy. Today try and do as much as you can with your non dominant hand. Open doors, type, use the mouse, drink cups of coffee from. If you have to write things then this could be interesting. The point is try and use it more. In training imagine your dominant hand cannot be used, its in a cast, you've punched someone in the head and it can't be used, it's been hacked off! Just use the other hand and see how you get on. It makes for a fun training session. Do the class you are training in minus one hand, make sure you get the instructor's permission or just tell him you busted your hand and you can only work with one!

LETS GET BETTER THIS WEEK

Take one aspect of your training. It might be technical or it might physical. Take a push up for example. Do as many as you can in one minute. Next day try and beat it and keep doing it until the end of the week. Or see how many push ups you can do with good form. Next day add one on and after seven days you should be doing seven more. Or take your shadow boxing or shadow fighting and work on it. Why not think about multiple attackers so you are imagining more than one attacker. They might be attacking you at once or one after the other. Play with the rhythms and timings of attacks. Just some tips to keep you from getting stale. Marcus

THE EYE SPEAR

What a wonderful invention the old finger jab is. In KM they normally target towards the eyes or the throat. Remember its like a jab in that its merely a set up to get your bigger shot in there. Everyone will react even those with glasses as its all part of your flinch response. A finger in the eye by mistake causes most professional bouts to stop for a while so think what kind of gap that can give us in reality combined with constant forward pressure. The reality is it can be taught to anyone and it doesn't rely on muscle mass to be effective. You can practice in front of the mirror or with focus mitts. With the mitts aim to have your fingers rest on top of the pad so you develop accuracy and also keep your fingers in one piece. There are lots of different opinions on the exact positioning of the fingers with striking so not to damage your hand, find what works for you. You could also have your training partner wear protective glasses and use that or get them to hold up an transparency if you still get that so you can see their face through it and build accuracy. It's a great tool and one that is easy to land or gets you the desired reaction so you can use your other tools. Train it lots and you will soon find the need for less and less techniques. Marcus

MARKING THE TARGET

Have someone stand in front of your for five minutes todays. First have them stand with feet shoulder width apart and hands at their sides. You can run through all your strikes working out what strike is best and to which target. Try and get a rhythm going and put them into 3 or 4 strike combinations. Also, just work single direct attacks.

Then put the person in a guard position ( or general outlet stance - who in the world can explain why it is called that in KM?!) and work the same. Start with some low line kicks and then work your way in to medium and finally close range strikes. Keep in mind the need for control, speed and rhythm. This is a great exercise and really speeds you up and allows you to identify striking targets. You can then develop further power and speed and the pads or heavy bags.

Marcus

WILL ONE SIDE LOOK BIGGER!!!

It's amazing how when we train in classes people always assume that if they don't train a kick on one side it will be detrimental. Or in kettlebells if they don't train both sides equally there will be some imbalance. It's normally the people who train once a week or are sporadic at best who worry about this the most.

In the martial arts classes I tend to concentrate on the dominant side at first. Once you have this under your belt then get practising on the other side. In truth the leg which supports you as you kick is probably stronger as it has to support your body. I know I can do a single leg squat easier on my left side than I can my right despite being right side dominant. Again, someone might say, what if your leg gets injured and you haven't practised with your left? Well in short you have hands, elbows, knees and head to use as well. I'm a realist and I want what is best for people in training. Often you have to trust the coach. There is a reason I am doing what I am doing. I am gong to bring you on to the best of your ability so trust me.

In terms of kettle bell training I like people to get the lifts correct on the dominant side first then practice the other side. Some people seem obsessed with doing ten one side then ten the other when they can't even lift it correctly on their dominant side. What really is the point and it's a great way to get injured. In a class when I ask you to do 100 snatches as fast as you can, who cares if you do them all with your right arm, not me! Will you wake up the next morning with huge muscles down one side, will there be an imbalance - I think not. Most of your daily actions are done on your primary side anyway. That is why your non-dominant side is faster and loser in combat as its not bound my the same muscle patterns. Your lead jab is faster with your non-dominant arm.

So the lesson here is to listen in class. If a coach tells you to work a particular side then just do it. Don't deviate, there is a reason you pay for coaching and don't do it yourself. Have faith.

SLOWING IT DOWN AND MAKING IT COUNT

Classes are split into sections for a reason. You have the warm up at the beginning to prepare the body for the training ahead. This will normally work explosive power and have strength components to make the body safe for training. From there we work on the pads to develop speed, power, accuracy, rhythm and timing. Then it's time to look at the theme for the night and whatever defence that may be.

All too often during training we see multiple strikes to the same area. For example, constant striking to the head. This is good as it's often demonstrated with constant forward pressure and it may have the desired result. However, more than likely most of the strikes will be impacting on arms which are acting defensively. This may be where the hammer strikes you are using are there to remove the hands to give you a clearer shot at the target.

What we want to do is look at striking all over the body. So if we attack high and the hands go up we go low where the body is open and vice versa. In the early stages its worth just slowing the movements down and getting a flow going. None of the stop start just a smoothness of action. In that way it can only get faster. It's the same principle used in slow fighting which encourages flow and allows you to develop freely without the fear of injury. Couple this with some rounds of sparring and you get a good balance. Just keep in mind sparring isn't fighting or self defence but serves a good purpose for our training nonetheless.

So the lesson is smooth is fast. Take some time to develop combinations and look for openings rather than being the bull in the china shop which only gets you so far.

Marcus

WHY ATTACHMENT IN KRAV MAGA

In a real fight when you hit someone they react, generally moving the way of the incoming blow. Don't concern yourself with the way boxers and cage fighters move as that is something entirely differently. They are top level athletes paid to take punishment to rarely give ground. We are talking regular guy stuff here. So if your plan is stun and run then happy days. However, you cannot always run away. Consider your environment, injuries, you are with your grandmother for example.

Therefore, you need to bring the altercation to a close as quickly as possible. Verbal de-escalation has failed and the only way out is a physical response. So if we look at it from defending a circular punch then when we block and simultaneously counter we want to gain attachment, grab a limb or clothing so they don't stumble back to kickboxing range. We keep a hold of them and operate at close range until we feel the threat has diminished. So think about your clinch work, just grabbing clothing or in the higher end when defending against a knife attack you make attachment to the arm. In reality you should think about this all the time as really how will you know there is a knife involved unless they are brandishing it out in front of you. If that is the case you should be able to use a common object or your environment to impede them.

So the lesson from today is get a hold and don't let go until you feel the time is right. Always keep in mind that there can be more than one attacker so don't focus too much on the threat in front of you.

Marcus