NEW MONTH NEW YOU

So February is now upon us. We can truly put our Xmas and NY shenanigans behind us.  We have all probably made some changes to our lifestyles with a sober January or a following a new training or weight loss plan. I always find January to be such a lack lustre month.  So now that Feb is here its time to get started for real.  For many of us it might be getting started back to classes or increasing the number of sessions we train.  Maybe you diversify and try out a new class.  If you are interested in starting your journey in Martial Arts or Fitness then get in touch.  If you already train at the gym and you want to find out what other classes are on offer then please just ask. See you at training.

Marcus and the Team

FIRST POST OF THE NEW YEAR

This is the first post of the new year for me.  I'm going to make more of an effort to post more on here as I have really neglected it over the past few years.  Well training in the gym is off to a great start.  We have lots of new blood coming in and starting their journey.  A lot of the regulars are starting to trickle back in and as usual my die hards have never stopped training.  It's a great atmosphere and if you want to get get started then simply take that first step and get in touch.  

Its shaping to be a good year. The gym is hosting a weightlifting seminar in a few weeks time with a fantastic S&C coach.  Scott is currently in Iceland spreading the Scottish Backhand Wrestling word judging competition and training.  We have the Scottish cricket team coming in to train as well as some higher PE classes from private school.  This week we also got asked to another private school to provide some self defence training for the pupils. So all in all its going to be a busy time for us.  

I'm glad that so many of you are committed and training hard and its you guys that keep the gym alive and buzzing.  Keep going at it and if you fall off the wagon a little in January remember its not the end of the world. Its why pencils have rubbers! 

Marcus

A SIMPLE TEST

Do you think you could spit on a person to create an opening, a diversion to enable you to exit a situation as they flinch?  Could you spit in their face and then strike them?  If you find this vulgar, which you should a little really, then how do you think you would be able to hit someone pre-emptively?  You need to think about situations and scenarios such as these.  In class as you practice preemptive strikes you need to actually think to yourself if you could deliver the goods in real time.  If not then your tactics are going to need to be revised.  Perhaps you use the push they deliver to you to fire you up and you launch from there.  If that is the case then you need to train like this.  Your training has to fit you and your morals and your current skill set.  Don't be afraid to ask your coach to change things up a little to fit you as an individual.

Marcus

DONT NEGLECT THE BASICS

Its very once you train for any length of time to no longer appreciate the fundamentals of your art.  I always like to think that a lot of the more advanced ideas and principles are there to keep us interested, to force us to think and explore for ourselves. Hopefully, if a situation does arise, then the tools you use to extricate yourself from there will be basic in nature.  For example, if you end up in a tussle never forget the use of ripping and tearing, scraping and gouging to either have the person disengage or flee or to create an opening for your escape or more counter strikes if necessary.  The picture below is probably around ten years old now. Took it back when I started teaching full time.  It was to capture a moment in a fight and let you know the brutality in nature that could be present.

So when training basics  / fundamentals work hard as you may have to rely on them heavily one day.

Marcus

TRAIN HARD - FIGHT EASY

SCOTT'S SUNDAY WORKSHOP

LAST NIGHTS SESSION

We started off looking at some common defences against straight and circular attacks. We looked at pre-emptive strikes and vulnerable points around the body.  We paid particular attention to the throat and the pros and cons and striking tools and outcomes.  I will try and do a video on this subject at some point in the future.  From there we looked at solidifying our 360 defence against empty hand and edged weapon finishing off with a pressure drill where we used repetition to help aid muscle memory.  

Marcus

WORKSHOP THIS SUNDAY

HANDS HIGH

During training its very often tempting to drop your hands after you have finished a combative set.  In Krav Maga it's essential to keep your hands protecting the jaw line as you have to factor in multiple opponents and being hit from the side by one of them. Even when you are clearly dealing with one attacker only in the class imagine there are more enemies and keep the hands up and scan the area for exits, more bad guys and anything you could fall over.

Even during sparring sessions when you tie your opponent up in the clinch position for example as you reign down with knee strikes perhaps you should already be looking for an exit or planning your next manoeuvre.

Sometimes as a coach its helpful to walk the room with a padded stick and simply hit anyone who isn't looking or who is dropping their hands.  This will encourage good tactics and also add a small element of stress which is essential in some areas of Krav Maga training.

Marcus

TRAINING IS UNCOMFORTABLE

For the majority of us our training is not our job or what defines us in life.  It’s meant to be enjoyable, social and in some cases a way for us to release the pressures of daily life , job, kids, money, family, friends etc.

Whatever you are training for be it CrossFit, Martial Arts, football, rugby or running there is one thing that should feature in your training, and that is pressure in the training environment.  A small bit of pressure does wonders for your confidence so that you can deal with real life events.  You will only grow as a person from your training if you operate at some point dealing with the feeling of being uncomfortable. You’ll recognize this feeling as you might want to stop the workout, give up training or you'll be making all the excuses of the day.  Training doesn’t have to be hell on earth all the time but you should feel the need to have push and fight through some sessions.  When it becomes easy and you don’t feel wary about going to train you want get the best results you are capable of.

Getting through a tough uncomfortable session that you can talk about at a later date with teammates is a great feeling.  If training is occasionally punishing then you can draw on this experience from the training environment when you encounter something stressful in life.

Marcus

MOVING THROUGH RANGES

When you are training you should look to develop your ability to transfer through ranges both forward and in reverse.  So if we start at kicking range look to close the gap to punching range.  Then you could work from grappling range and get back to close and then medium range. This idea would fit right in with the Krav Maga ground fighting principles of getting back to your feet as quickly as possible. 

So on the pads with a partner work out a combination starting with a kick and close to punching range and finally close range which could simply be a clinch with you adding in some knee strikes.  Look to develop as much variety as possible.  

Once you have practised this skill you will find your sparring gets better and your abilities in multiple attacker drills increase.

Generally we should always be moving forwards however, it's not always practical and you need the ability to go backwards and clockwise and counter clockwise in confrontations.  

Get in as much practice as you can when you are working your situational drills.  

Marcus

THE ESCAPE

Its important in training not only to scan the area but actively move towards an exit when you are working through your situationals.  For example, you are training your 360 defence against an outside attack.  Your at medium range and your hands are up in a passive guard trying to de-escalte matters.  You've brought your hands closing together to shut down your centre line forcing an attack on the high line to come around your hands making its slightly slower than a straight attack.  Its not going to be easy to stop but hopefully easier than reacting to a straight jab or a cross.

So you work through your verbal portion and your physical defence.  Counter as appropriate and then make your way to the exit.  If you practice just running a few metres towards an exit after the confrontation it's of real benefit to your training.  Building muscle memory that you want you flee danger if appropriate. Maybe you can't just run because you are with other people or your jacket is in the cloakroom off the club and you really love that jacket!  Come back and get it the next day, do everything you can to get home safely which is the purpose of Krav Maga.

Also, after you stop running, don't just run back.  Take a second, a breath, calm yourself and walk back to begin again fresh. Otherwise you are training to run back to a danger spot which isn't a good thing.

Train smart, train safe and have fun.

Marcus

Be Excellent to Each Other

A few days ago I was running a PT session for a new client, who has a long personal history of being sceptical about gyms, gym people, and even the very notion of exercise full stop. She was struggling with an exercise, and, as I coached her through it, one of the other lifters offered a bit of encouragement and some kind words about struggling through a tough rep. My client successfully ironed out her issue, and we continued with the rest of the session, nothing more said. Last night, however, my client said that she found the encouragement extremely helpful, and was very surprised that someone she barely knew would be so helpful, for no reason and expecting no response. This threw me a little, isn't that what you'd expect from a decent gym? Nope, her prior experiences with commercial gyms had left her thinking that any large gym rat, covered in chalk and sweating out the eyeballs, was only going to be patronising, if they spoke at all. She compared it to going round to a friends for wine and cheese, as opposed to going to a club for a drink; okay, in both contexts you are there for the same reason, but, depending on which you go for, you are going to have a completely different experience. 

'Be encouraging. Be welcoming. Don't be a dick.' I'd write it above the door of the gym, like a kind of reverse Dante's Inferno, it weren't for the fact that we have a lot of kid's classes at the gym and it might be frowned upon to have profanity scrawled across the fornication. But the point stands, if you are going to come to CRG Crossfit, or Krav Maga Edinburgh classes, then no matter how you are outside these walls, you better not be a dick inside them. None of us are perfect, and yeah, sometimes its good to get into your own zone, train hard and get out, but, have a thought for the other people in this shared space, and remember that a few encouraging words here and there can go a long way to changing a person's entire gym experience. 

'Be encouraging. Be welcoming. Don't be a dick.'

Lawrie Clapton

Pictured here is Big Lee Faetz who  was instrumental in building the club up.  Here is smashing a couple of guys up from the early days when we trained in the Judo Club. I think one of the guys was called Stephen Black, he was a Hearts fan so now doubt was getting it tight here!

Me and Lee early on in training went to a Battlecamp in Norway for a week training with Rune Lind and Major Ole Boe. Both these guys were very highly rated and we had a fantastic trip.  If you ever get a chance follow Rune Lind and get to one of his camps.  He runs them every August and has done for years.  The best value for money training you can get for sure.

This was one of my early promo pics with my son thinking its great to gouge my eyes out.  He's a keen boxer nowadays but when we scrap he always reverts back to this sort of stuff in times of trouble!

TEN YEARS IN

That’s me been teaching Krav Maga for 10 years now. 

I stared off teaching at satellite venues over the country weekly and doing seminars all over the place trying to make Krav Maga more popular, as back then hardly anyone knew what it was. Then I put an advert in the Edinburgh Evening News offering a free trial class at Edinburgh Judo Club. I had around 18 people show up to that class. Some were friends boosting the numbers and giving me support. Off the back of that class I signed people up and started weekly classes. I then ventured out and did a class in Glasgow as well. Once I built up that core group I made a huge jump and opened Combat Ready Gym. Worst time to be opening business as everything around me was closing down with the recession. I had faith, had worked hard so I never doubted I wouldn’t succeed. 

I just want to thank everyone who has ever come through the door and trained. I learn something from every one of you. And a special thank you to the guys that have stuck with me since the early days and the ones who are now coaching in their respective fields. I Couldn’t do it without you. 

Thanks again

Marcus

Women Only Krav Maga Class

Last night we opened up with a chat concerning controlled aggression, attitude or as Bruce Lee said emotional content.  After that we used some games to get people moving and warm and generally have fun with some cross over to combatives.  We then focussed on building some solid striking from a position where our hands were low and we were not aware of what was going on.  We then changed our attitude and starting position to a guard position and started incorporating elbow and knee strikes.  I was really impressed with how the class worked together and the general aliveness in the training.  We finished off with a defending against and hooking attack and looked at various options from running away to using a take down.  All good solid Krav Maga

KRAV MAGA TRAINING

Last night we started off with some of the boxing curriculum and then moved into looking at defending a headlock.  We looked at points of prevention from projectile range to almost being in the headlock.  Then dealing with the final problem itself.  Scott then gave the guys some options if they were then taken to the ground in the headlock.  Remember drill the releases as much as possible but practice prevention more. You don't want to develop a victim mind set which can be common in Krav Maga training when classes drill defence over offence all the time.

Marcus

EDGED WEAPON ATTACKS

Last night we worked on some fast pre-emptive entries on pads and then on a partner.  Certain positions  contained within these movements would be required later on in our knife defence drills. Movement is universal so you should be aiming to use movements in various situations.  It should just be this is empty hand attack the defence is A, this is an impact weapon attack the defence is B. I will try and do a video clip at some point as I drew out some great examples last night.

We worked knife attacks from the front when there is little distance between you and the attacker and from the side.  Finished off the class with some sparring.  Great effort from everyone in the gym.

Marcus

LAST NIGHT

We worked defences against straight punches relying on using our lead hand to parry rather than rear hand sophistication.  It might not feel natural however, on some occasions this is going to happen naturally. You won't have the opportunity to move your feet into a guard when something kicks off and your lead hand is naturally going to swat away at anything that comes towards your body.  The plan was to make you realise that you can use the lead hand but you expose yourself to their strong rear punch if you are on the inside line.

After this we looked at some edged weapon work which was again to enhance our lines of attack and give us structure.  We then did the empty hand equivalent.  From there it was onto defending knife attacks with an emphasis on trying to control the attacking arm.  More of this on Thursday night.

Marcus