Krav Maga!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well....... I DID IT! I took my first Krav Maga class and signed up for a 6 month membership!

Krav Maga is the official self defense system of the Israeli Defense Forces, and has been taught to hundreds of law enforcement agencies and thousands of civilians in the United States. Krav Maga is a simple, effective self defense system that emphasizes instinctive movements, practical techniques, and realistic training scenarios. (quoted from their site!)

Well let me just say if I wanted something to shake things up...this is certainly it! I will do my best to  describe what happens in Krav Maga but I'll just post a video so you can see for yourself! lol

Well I got my friend Dawn to jump into the madness with me and so we met up for class and worked as a team! We took the Level 1 class. In order to take Level 2 or 3 you have to test into those classes (more on that later). The upside is they have a variety of workout options and we plan to try as many as we can!


Ok so here's the details!


We started class with a bow which is the only formal thing they say they do you bow in and out. We began running in a circle to warm up. We then did 10 push ups, sit ups, and then squats. After that we had to take the heavy bags for a walk. Yeah.... Not sure if you get my drift but basically the heavy boxing bags that hang from the ceiling? Yeah Dawn & I had to put it on our shoulders and walk outside like it was a log. WOW! That was some bull! lol I have a picture with Mike in front of the bags they were almost 1.5 times my height and I gotta ask today how heavy it is! That was a chore!


We then learned the proper way to throw a punch and a palm strike. Serious stuff! The instructor Mike was asking why one would punch in a certain way or use a palm strike instead of a punch and some of the answers were "Say you broke your thumb or hand and you still needed to defend yourself" *blank stare*


 I guess I had a real "What chu talking about Willis?" look on my face! I even said out loud "I mean is that the answer? Because I don't plan to get anything broken" lol Look I am a girl...unapologetically allllll girl too!

So he goes "Ok say you just got your nails done and you don't want to mess them up!" *insert light bulb moment! "Or you go to a wedding and some girl is talking to your man and you want to take her out..." I said oh I get it now and we both said "See we are here" and did the eye to finger motion back and forth to one another! lol Too funny! I like him he is funny and you can tell he's been in a fight or two! Plus he's a red head gotta love red heads (Ok so he's bald but his beard is red!)


Anywayyyy back on topic!!! We also did sparing with smaller hand held punching bags (is the best way I can describe them). So we switched back and forth doing punches and palm strikes on that. Let me just say it takes a lot of energy to punch properly. I now understand why its an insult to say someone punches like a  girl! When you throw a real punch the purpose is to throw your whole body behind it! As Mike said if you are going to punch someone you need to commit to doing damage. Just saying....


By the way they do play music. Mostly head banging heavy metal which I do't listen to but under the circumstances it actually fuels that inner rage necessary to punch someone out so it works! Ok so to mix it up we put the hand held punching bags on the floor and did a flurry of palm strikes as if we were straddled on top of someone and striking them in the face and then when our partner called out "GO!" we had to get up and run at top speed as Mike put it "No gingerly jogging" across the room and start punching the hand held bag they had. Non stop! WHEWWWW! Again palm strikes, running, punches, repeat = a lot of sweat! We also learned how to get out of a choke hold successfully for us not so much for the person doing the choking *evil laughter*  I posted a video below that shows some of the drills we did! Check it out!


Ok so I have a way of judging how good a workout is and its gross; its based on nose sweat. Its just like what it sounds like sweating from your nose! For me, that's a good workout... sweat from inside my nose = a for real, for real workout! My forearms sweat like crazy too under the right workout conditions. Typically spinning classes will do the trick and sometimes my personal trainer's Chizel it class will push me that hard. Well Krav Maga had me nose sweating during the warm up! Score!


Anywayyyy at that point in the workout my mind got slow lol seriously I was fatigued more so mentally than physically. Like my reactions were slow we learned how to shuffle on the balls of our feet and strike (punch). Then we teamed up and one person (A) lead the shuffling while the other (B) followed their random movements. I seriously couldn't keep up my mind was gone! I kept apologizing to Dawn but she said she understood. Like I saw her shuffle right and I would pause then go right... she went left... I went back... she went left... I went right! Madness! LOL Mike explained that the training is done in order to push you to fatigued and still be able to respond especially in a stressful situation like being attacked. Krav Maga is NOT kickboxing. A word to the wise is sufficient. It is a training modality for self defense. The class was pretty mixed in terms of age, race, & sex. There were only 4 other girls but that made the class of about 10-12 about even. Krav Maga is actually one of the things recommended for women to learn self defense. The employee explained a lot of times women come after they've been attacked so while our goals may be mostly fitness we should keep the self defense aspect in our minds as well.  In fact they are sponsoring a 'Women's Only Rape Prevention Event in Columbia' on April 30th, 2011! I am sorry I have a sorority event or I'd go! If you are in the area check it out its interactive and you get to beat people up! 

But back to the class it was was very empowering. I left feeling like I learned something valuable and I feel excited about where I will be physically  and mentally in 6 months. The one thing I did notice was the guys did not baby us! The heavy boxing bags were hard to lift and put back and they did theirs and kept it moving. I had to say "Well now I see why men are so important!" *humph* chivalry dead in Krav Maga  ladies :-) Another thing the girls in the class were tiny little itty bitty things! My friend commented that one probably had 0 body fat and I said this (Krav Maga) is why! I swear skinny people don't tell their secrets! You'd see these chicks in the club sipping water and dancing and think ugghhh how does she stay so small meanwhile back and the Krav Maga ranch she is flipping 200 pound men onto the ground! Well I am telling everyone! Don't look at skinny people and be fooled! They have to work at it too!


It was certainly a GREAT workout and I think the energy in the place was good too. Maybe it was all the testosterone! Most of my gyms are mostly women but there's something about a man's gym! This one in particular all the tattoos and what not! Its a different environment BUT very welcoming and friendly! There was this guy in class and he said "Well only 30 minutes to go!" with a smirk! I responded very seriously "You talk too much! I was perfectly happy thinking there was only about 5 minutes left" Everyone laughed :-) lol 

Ok so we did a Level 1 class and the employee who signed us up is a woman, Dawn asked her what level she was and she said she was a Level 2 so we "Oohh and Ahh'ed" and she pointed out a very cute guy kinda looked like Aston Kutcher at the counter and said "Oh please Will's a Level 3!" And he proceeds to roll up his sleeve and make bicep muscle as he nonchalantly types on the computer and said "Oh did someone call me?!" We fell out!  Jokes for days! Its a very cool place and they are serious about fitness good combo for me!

So here's the deal you can only take Level 1 classes and the Fitness classes until you TEST into Level 2 or 3 classes. You know I like a challenge! So thats my end goal. So get this the test 5 hours long!

:-O

Yes 5 freaking hours! Of course my first question was do I get a certificate and yes you do! Score! So they said it typically takes about 6 months at Level 1 to be ready to test so that's my goal to test out of Level 1 so I can either advance to level 2 and/or have eternal bragging rights! So I'll keep you posted!


Ohhhh we met another instructor with a blond mohawk with brown roots!! Yes! He just looked cool! Maybe its because I am so conservative I always like seeing people that don't conform! But he gave us high 5s and said he's looking forward to us taking his class! I bet lol  He teaches the Krav Fit class which is a combination of Krav Maga and Cross Fit ! (The enemy of my fave Gym Jones but it'll do for now!) We'll check that out soon I have to take a Intro class and its the same day as another event I have in DC I may try to sneak in without the intro that they only do once a month. I dunno though I might not mind waiting until June lol a/w I'll report back! Lastly, if you are thinking about it you may be asking yourself what do you need?


If you may want to try it out here are a few things you will need: light weight (clean-ie not worn outside) shoes, hand wraps, gloves, and a strong mind!  


I wrote most of this last night but didn't post because I wanted to see how I felt today to give a full report! LOL Well I feel really good! I am not that sore and that may be because I did that boxing class on Monday and I was still sore from that yesterday. My mind does feel more alert and clear. I woke up at 4am and felt great I stayed in bed until 5am anyway since I had to reason to get to work at 6am (lol) But overall so far, so good! I will say last night I was starving! I been on a fast and well I broke free on some Chezz it and chips :-/ but I am back on track today. I still plan to buy a juicer and try some of my personal trainer's drinks but my friend made a good point you can buy freshly juiced drinks at Trader Joes & Whole foods I may start there!


Well we are going tonight and I told Dawn about my 30 pounds by June 30th challenge and she wants in! Sweet! Her goal is 30 pounds too but she is giving herself until November! So its on! Oh and as a quick update I am down 5 pounds! So I am 22 pounds away from my 30 by the 30th goal! I may be able to overshoot that goal at this rate! Dawn thanked me for asking her to come because she has been toying with the idea of doing Krav Maga ever since she couldn't take her kickboxing class a while back. Shoot I am glad I have a partner in crime with this because she was already asking what are our regular days! Great for accountability! Some of you may recall Krav maga was on my second "Best Life Ever Vision Board" so yesterday was a cool moment to actually get it off my To Do list!


Well here are a few photos & below a promo video to give you an idea bout what we did in class last night! Enjoy!





He jumped in lol Great instructor and I am still kinda smiling after his class...kinda. I am standing in front of the heavy bags Dawn & I had to carry!



Check-em out! If you dare!

 


Level 2...One day!!! No street shoes!



Welcome! Ha!

 

Oh...ok will do!