Krav Update
I was back at Krav the other day, having recovered from a lengthy cold, which held me back almost 2 weeks. Once again, I joined the Krav Level 1 + 2 combo class, which seems to lean more to the more advanced moves.
The instructor worked us out relentlessly for the first 25 or 30 minutes, with barely 2 minutes for recovery in between. Typical of the workout scenarios: you get into sit-up position while one person sits on your feet and holds the back of your calves. A second person stands with a pad for you to punch 1,2 into. A third person rears up with another pad, waiting for you to lie back down again. You get the idea: sit-up and launch to stand, left jab, right cross, sit-back down to lie-down position, get whumped hard in the abs, and then launch forward to hit the pads again. Do this for ... I lost track of time, and by the end I was teetering up via clawing at my leg-stabilizer person's back, giving a drunken 1,2 punch, and then gracelessly collapsing and waiting for the WHUMP to land. Yeehaw.
Then the focus shifted to how to escape from positions where you are already on the ground. This was a little too close to wrestling or the kind of MMA jazz I've watched on TV for my taste. I didn't really want to do it, but at least I had a female partner, and so I didn't have to feel too uncomfortable.
We worked through basic flows to the real end-game: you are on the ground, your assailant is literally sitting on your waist, and he/she is choking the life from you. Needless by now to say- this is not the kind of fun I was expecting when I signed on... I like punching. Nevertheless, I gamely practiced bucking and rolling my partner up and forward, while I transitioned onto them, pushing their head back via their chin, punching, elbowing or even hammerfisting their groin, and springing backward and to escape.
Then the instructor decided the two women should work out with men- the reason being that we would be much more likely to be attacked by males. *sigh* I considered resisting, but had to grant that as long as we're practicing self-defense, it might as well be against the heavier opponent. So now I am on the ground, being throttled by a male. Guess how strong the flash of rage was, when my very nice male partner grabbed my throat? I wanted to react without reason- it was totally different than when my female partner did it. This indeed reached into my fear pocket. I had to close my eyes and force calm before I could execute the techniques to free myself, and when I had accomplished the (much more difficult) roll and wanted to escape, he held me from escaping with a lot of power. Fortunately, hammerfists to the groin freed me, and turned a scary situation into a fun one. (at least for me). Suddenly, I had no problem taking my turns on the mat. : )
In Krav, they teach you all the dirty tricks. You do anything you have to to escape, and boy do they emphasize groin kicks and punches. Overall, it is a totally different thing than boxing, which now just seems like play-time. If someone had tried to hurt me before, I would have gone into a boxing stance, and only considered hits to the head or body, since that's what we practiced. If/when I'd been knocked to the ground, I would have had nothing to back me up. Krav is cool, because it gives you an offensive defense from any starting position you're unlucky enough to find yourself in with an assailant. I am loving it.
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In other news- our latest video is posted on the front page of this site: www.greenacrepark.com
