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

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

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

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

LEARN YOUR LINES

In Krav Maga we take a simplistic view of angles of attack.  Krav Maga is a system not an art so practitioners don't need to spend a lot of time on what some people call fluff.  KM has begged, borrowed and stole from the arts to make it what it is and has obviously its own ideas depending on where and who you train with.  However, in some instances its worth stepping outside of KM as they might have taken too simplistic an approach with certain points.

Check out the picture below and train those angles of attack with a common object and your striking tools.  I guarantee you that your interpretation of attacks will get better and you'll be able to intercept and have access to more striking lines.

A lot of guys training at the gym are cross training in JKD, NSI, Filipino arts and all of Scott's wrestling.  If your only training in KM spend a little time working on this and you'll reap the rewards in class.

Marcus

BRICKS AND MORTAR

I was recently on a CrossFit level 2 course.  One of the main themes of the course was the programming of movements to increase levels of fitness.  Combat Ready Gym offers classes in CrossFit and Krav Maga as do many of the larger warehouse gyms in US. In fact it was a Krav Maga coach that created the CrossFit kids course initially.  The point I am trying to make is people often train in one class and look for differences in the others.  

The more I teach, the more I understand the commonalities.  In CrossFit and Krav Maga it's often a rush of the practitioners to go for the funky moves and miss out the basics.  When people watch the CrossFit Games they see the top percent of athletes doing movements and look to emulate them.  They forgot about the basics that will last them a life time.  Thats the same as the Krav Maga mob.  They look to over complicate and learn the most complicated of movements without a solid understanding of the initial movements. Overlook the basics and you can't build a solid structure on top of it and eventually it will collapse. 

I like to teach a lot of basics (fundamentals) and we can use the more exotic stuff to keep interest high and challenge us.  However, you always must keep in mind that to be successful you need a solid concrete base.  

So with that in mind in CrossFit get back to the foundational movements and in Krav Maga get the boxing and low line kicking sharp. 

Train and stay safe. 

Marcus

Self Defence 101

Most of us have eyes or at least one. We all know how much it hurts if we poke ourself in the eye by mistake or you've seen someone wrestle with a contact lens and how its stop them dead in their tracks. I always think our creator made us in a way that no matter how big we get or how much muscle (body armour) we have we still have an array of vulnerable areas to attack. The eyes are sensitive however at the same time they are very resilient. So you can attack them and get a good response with minimal lasting damage.

You don't need to strike them hard with the finger tips to get a good response. If you strike the eyes most will back off and their hands will raise up to cover the eyes and this will give you access to striking low lines suck as the knees or groin. You can also be more sophisticated and fein a strike to the eyes to draw that response because you purposely want to strike the low line. This is the Attack By Draw principle from Bruce Lees Jeet Kune Do. If you are in clinch or grappling position you can more often than not access the vision area. Even if you were grabbed by someone and it was pitch black and you can't see anything as long as you are attached you should be able to work out where that persons eyes are.

If we attack the eyes in a self defence situation the attacker has to literally stop what they are doing to protect their eyes. It's how the body works. It understands that the vision is under attack and must look to protect this immediately. So this buys us time to counter to overwhelm and escape.

To train is simple, we can strike focus pads but look to strike the top of the pad so you fingers slide over it keeping them safe and also developing accuracy. You can use the BOB dummy in the gym as it has facial features and doesn't mind being hit. You can also go old school and have a partner hold a piece of transparency paper out in front of their face which will get you being able to focus a targeted strike.

If someone has an aversion to striking eyes then drop it down a notch to the throat. Just be aware that you need to drop the power down and rely on speed here. Although every situation is different so you need to judge the level of force that is required. And yes, this will still work even if they wear glasses as they still have a flinch response. Keep in mind the eye strike generally is a fast light touch. A gouge is something else. Best thing to do is get training, work out what works for you.   Share the knowledge the with your partner and give everyone the basic skills to stay safe.

TONIGHT AT KRAV MAGA EDINBURGH

Started the class with some conditioning then looked at the fighting system and how to gain an attachment and then into various takedowns. We looked at thrid party defence and some locks. We also looked at using the concrete as a common object against a bigger opponent. So we looked at how we could take them down maximising the impact. Its rarely a good idea to go to the ground in a concrete world however sometimes we can use this to our advantage. Great effort from everyone there! Marcus

TONIGHT AT KRAV MAGA EDINBURGH

Well it was Lee's last session for a long while as he heads down to London to work. I was late with the rain as because we are not used to it in Scotland all the roads have to almost shut. I missed the warm up but was in time for the pad work. We worked some back and forth on the pads and then looked at some pre-emptive striking drills both empty hand and with an impact weapon. It was mainly to teach people about action versus reaction and to stress the point that 70% of communication is non-verbal. We finished the night off with some boxing 1 on 1 and then 2 on 1. Great class and a big thank you to Lee for all his help over the past 6 years. 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

LAST NIGHT AT KRAV MAGA EDINBURGH

We worked three combative sets on the pads with the aim to get into a dominant clinch position as fast as possible. From there we looked at defending knife threats. A portion of the class was dedicated to using the padded walls so we could use the environment to our advantage. Great effort from the guys.