New Martial Arts Style

SamC50

Hey Everyone,

Happy New Year! As we all know, the New Year is a time for all to give new things a try. I have a 4th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. About a year ago, I walked away from it. I was an instructor and the hours just weren't doing it for me with my growing family.

Fast forward to today... Tonight, I am going to start Krav Maga class. I was just wondering if anyone has also done Krav and had suggestions on what to expect? I feel with my Tae Kwon Do experience, kicking and punching will all come back to me!

Thanks everyone. Have a great day

JeromeBarry1

Albany. Got it. Note to self: Don't do dumb stuff in Albany.

mom23mangos

I used to take Krav and loved it. While it is a little hard to real world practice some of it (because you don't want to seriously injure your partner), I feel that I am better equipped to handle a tough situation now. I've been thinking about going back. As I'm sure you have a lot of experience with Tae Kwon Do, be prepared for a lot of bruises as they don't really use any protective equipment. So knuckles, knees and forearms will be bruised from punching, kneeing and blocking. And don't forget your cup.

KaraShindle

My husband and I started Krav a year ago. The hours were one our biggest issues. That being said, we loved it. Depending on your trainer, it can be brutal though. With your black belt training, you will probably have an easier time of it then people starting off in your class. They took us through many different forms and techniques. The difference with Krav is it wasn't meant to be pretty, or traditional. It's dirty street fighting. They'd tell us different forms, and then say to the women, "but instead of this, go for the groin."

Biggest thing for men is wear a cup. Seriously, just do it. Bring a crap ton of water. They would run us through a lot of burpees, push ups, and other exercises in between techniques. Never stopped. Stretch really, really well before class. Have fun and good luck!

stanmann571

Krav is a combatives system and not a martial art, thus you're going to be fighting from day 1. So, unless your TKD practice was heavy into full speed/full contact sparring, you may not be as far ahead of the curve as you think.

mom23mangos

Also, you need to be comfortable with extremely close body contact with both sexes. I personally, never had an issue, but I know some people feel uncomfortable. And don't hold back on those smaller than you if partnered. You are doing them a disservice. It needs to be as real world as possible, so hit, choke, attack as hard as you can so they can experience the necessary force needed to defend themselves.

stanmann571

mom23mangos wrote: »

Also, you need to be comfortable with extremely close body contact with both sexes. I personally, never had an issue, but I know some people feel uncomfortable. And don't hold back on those smaller than you if partnered. You are doing them a disservice. It needs to be as real world as possible, so hit, choke, attack as hard as you can so they can experience the necessary force needed to defend themselves.

THIS!!!

Not just smaller, but also "disabled". Make sure that if you're partnered with someone who is smaller or impaired in some other way that you communicate before going full speed, But don't hold back just based on your perception. Go as fast and as hard as your partner needs to get a quality training experience.

The reverse applies as well. If you're smaller or impaired. communicate that clearly to your partner/instructor. so that you don't get legitimately injured, but still get a quality training experience.