Before I begin, I must state that I am by no means pro- or
anti- Israel and am merely reporting on my experience of this combative system.
I am looking at the product rather than the history and process by which this system
came to be.
Well, what can I say other that I was thoroughly impressed
with this course! Not only was it professionally conducted by Sensei Brett
Clarke (Director of Krav Maga South Africa (KMSA), the only institution affiliated
to the Wingate Institute in Israel), but the material was actually very good too!
What impressed me most was its structured approach that covered a wide array of
armed and unarmed threat neutralization.
As for Krav Maga itself, it is ALMOST the
epitome of what my self-defence journey has been leading me to and the philosophy
that I had adapted a long time ago that started me on this path of self-defence
discovery, namely “to devise/develop/discover a self-defence system that will
be relevant and effective for anyone and everyone." Krav Maga meets 2 of the 3 criteria –
relevant and effective. I will discuss its “perceived shortcomings” in the 3rd
category a bit later. However, let me elaborate a bit more on the 1st
2 criteria – relevant and effective. Krav Maga is a self-defence system that
was developed by the Israeli Military in the 1900’s and has become a global
system that anyone can now use as an effective means of protecting themselves. Krav
Maga encourages students to avoid confrontation; however, if it is not possible
or unsafe to do so, it promotes finishing a fight as quickly as possible. Its
focus is on real-world situations and is extremely efficient due to its
aggressive and explosive techniques. With that said, the 3rd
criteria of it being able to be used by “anyone and everyone” may only be one of its few shortcomings.
The techniques require a certain amount of fitness, strength and speed to be
able to be performed effectively. Therefore, this might exclude those who are
physically weaker, sickly or disadvantaged in any other way. However, with that
said, Krav Maga might be the activity for those who wish to both increase their
fitness prowess as well as their self-defence skills – Something that I am a
strong supporter of!
To give a little more insight into the course, I was exposed
to 10 days of being punched, kicked, elbowed, kneed, thrown, grappled, stabbed,
slashed and threatened by gunpoint at! The system covers the full array of threats
that a normal civilian could be subjected to, and how to neutralise those
threats. Again, the emphasis was on an effective
and aggressive response to those threats. Although their techniques may seem haphazard
and messy to a bystander, there is a lot of logic that goes behind each move.
The key is being able to apply that logic to each move when under pressure and
with accuracy, speed and strength. By day 10, my group of fellow instructors
had to undergo such pressure-testing and all I can say was that it was
challenging! Although I have done a few short Krav Maga courses in the past,
never had I been subjected to 10 days of continually high-intensity training such as this course! It
was both exhausting and exhilarating!
Fortunately, my skills in Krav Maga were
relatively easy to acquire due to the many black belts that I had already accomplished
in the past. It was just a matter of tweaking a few skills and a change in mind-set.
However, a bigger revelation was that because I had not practised my arts every
day, those past skill and attributes that collectively make up that skill, had diminish
over time. My body felt the effects of
these diminished skills by day 4 with all the kicks and break-falls that we had
to do over and over again - so much for being a 4th dan In Taekwondo
and a 2nd dan in Hapkido. The way I was kicking, one could have mistaken
me for a pirate with wooden stumps for legs trying to play English premier league
football!
A passing comment made by a
long-time Krav Maga practitioner left me with quite a positive impression of this system. Basically he said was that some techniques had changed since
the time he first started doing Krav Maga. What this indicates to me is that
the system is willing to change and adapt its techniques to be more efficient
and relevant for modern society’s threats – something that some of the traditional
martial arts would frown upon.
On a more personal note - after 10 days of sharing blood, sweat
and injuries with a group of strangers, one cannot but form a bond that can
best be described as a brotherhood with them. There is a certain type of character
that gets attracted to such sadistic activities and it is through this shared
experience that I can honestly say, I know and trust these people more than I
would some blood relatives. A wise man once said, “Blood doesn’t make family –
loyalty does.” Thank you my fellow brothers and sister for sharing this journey
with me.
Krav Maga definitely ranks up there with my list of effective
self-defence systems. Improving on this system would be hard, but not
impossible, as I definitely think there are some areas that I would like to
elaborate on or explore further. My journey in Krav Maga may have just started,
but will by no means be solely defined by it. My self-defence journey continues.
To conclude, what did I learn? Besides the obvious
self-defence skills, I also learned how to be a better teacher. As a teacher, one is always striving to find better
ways in which to impart the skills and knowledge to a student. As a student,
it's all about personal development and being able to accept and apply the
instructions of his/her teacher. It's a constant cycle of duality and is one
that I hope to continue being on for a very long time.
Till next time.
Get EDUCATED. Feel EMPOWERED. Live a FULLY-ENGAGED life.
"Some action pics from one of the days!"
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