Online I follow many different Krav Maga Organizations. Often you can see people have left one organization for another. In my opinion, the two real reasons people leave is accessibility or issues with the instructor and they find someone they jive with better. However, people don’t always see it this way. Often they claim that they left because their organization was withholding information, which dont gets me wrong may be the case. The thing is “withholding” information might not always be what you think.
First, let me discuss the bad kind of withholding information. The bad type of withholding information or let’s also insert rank here is to do with money. If the reason you dont want to teach specific techniques or approaches to people is simply that you want them to have to pay or “earn” there way up then this is not great. While paying for testing or other things is not inherently bad it is if you only want to teach people things whom you’ve collected X amount of money from.
So let’s call this a paywall method of withholding information. Sometimes it is intentional which is, of course, immoral and in most cases just wrong. Whereas you only teach things after they have shown loyalty and regular payments over X amount of time then they have “earned” the right to learn it.
Another paywall that is not malicious or intentionally is the logistical paywall. Whereas, certain training especially the higher level stuff is only offered in Israel or specific countries. This requires individuals to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to access this training. In some cases, if a head instructor of an organization or their top instructors never leave Israel to teach and train people in a meaningful way then this will inherently limit the access of students to that particular organization. To me especially if an organization is considered a global leader then this is just laziness on the part of the instructors and organizations.
In other cases, it is regarding legalities or logistics. For example, many, many organizations hold their higher level of firearms-related courses in Poland or other eastern European countries. In this case, it is usually to do with legal considerations. The countries where these are hosted have relaxed laws allowing individuals from any country (usually) to come and train properly. Israel, for example, isn’t a fan of people from every country coming and learning advanced firearms tactics (Feel free to correct this if it is wrong, but this is my understanding.) Here in Canada, most ranges are not willing to allow people to do the kind of live fire drills required to achieve proper training. It is usually to do with Lawyers, Insurance companies and well because they dont trust you. In this kind of payroll scenarios, it is more of a necessity than anything and the more governments globally restrict such training the harder it will be to do properly.
The 2nd kind of withholding knowledge is the proper reason to withhold training from someone. Just because someone wants to learn something, or feels they are ready to doesnt mean they are. ENTER THE EGO!!. Of course, this too can be abused but a good martial arts instructor withholds training, or ranks because the student for whatever reason may just not be ready even they think they are.
Sometimes, not being ready isn’t just about physical abilities but also mental or it could be an attitude thing. A good example of this is Jon “Bones” Jones, the UFC lightweight king. While he is an amazing fighter his personal life is a mess. The story goes that he despite having good skill his BJJ instructor withheld a rank from him because of his overall attitude and life decisions.
Remember, sometimes training martial arts and yes EVEN Krav Maga isn’t just about the physical it’s about becoming a better person.
An example is a common complaint I have heard and have experienced is when either very athletic persons or very big aggressive persons do well in sparring but are held back or chastised because they didn’t control themselves. The response often is that I am bigger so I can’t control my speed. Or its because I’m better than those guys and you dont want to admit it. This is of course bullshit.
The person was held back or chastised because they failed to listen to instructions, failed to consider the safety of their training partners. And failed to understand that if they truly were as skilled as they thought then they would understand you can go fast without having power and you should be able to control the fight easily. Yes, it is Krav Maga and aggression matters but no one wants to train with an uncontrolled asshole. If thats what someone wants then there are tones of meathead gyms out there who dont care about brain trauma or helping you be a better person.
This is why a well-structured ranking system can help determine if people are ready for different things. For example, at UTKM it is broken down as such.
White Belt – Beginner. Moving, Kicking, Punching, Sparring and thinking for Krav Maga
Yellow & Orange Belt – Novice. Refining and advancing striking, grappling offense and defense, Basic weapons
Green Belt to Black Belt – Advanced – Job specific training such as police and military, advanced weapons, arrests, and control, firearms training
The way I look at it if you can barely punch or kick I am not really comfortable teaching you firearms stuff. Other times individuals come in with backgrounds but they are not familiar with our curriculum and thats the only reason they get held back. Other times i get individuals who are physically gifted but have been told to work on other areas and until then they will be held back.
A good curriculum and structure will “withhold” knowledge because the goal is to develop each individual appropriate to their own pace. Some people will move through fast others slow. If you think its not fair thats because it’s not. I wish I had been born a natural athlete but I was not. It just the way it is. To each his own.
If you feel your instructor is withholding knowledge unfairly you have two options
Sometimes it may absolutely be appropriate to teach advanced knowledge early. It is always a city by city thing or person to person thing but it shouldn’t be open to just everyone. Here are just of few of my thoughts as to when it is appropriate to teach advanced knowledge early in Krav Maga because after all it is about giving people the skills to properly defend themselves and really there is no one size fits all.
So before you decide to leave a school or organization because they are “withholding” information. Really think about the reasons for this. If it’s simply a matter of logistics then it might not be the instructor or schools fault. If it’s just a matter of you not getting along with the instructor then nothing wrong with changing schools. I myself have done this because I just didn’t vibe. If this is the case, dont make a big deal about it especially if they are legitimate it’s just a people thing. If you feel through the school just wants your money think about it if it is actually true or not. People sometimes make this accusation here in Vancouver, but they are considering that it is an expensive city for everyone, this includes commercial rent. Lastly, really consider is it perhaps that you just aren’t ready. I understand people hate to accept their skills or limits but sometimes we need to, and only then can we really progress.
No matter the case I hope you can learn to walk in peace and have a great day.
The guys at UF PRO have some great videos. Previous I looked at their gun disarm video and gun vs knife videos. A student sent me this and asked me to break it down.
Many of the techniques or concepts in this video are similar or close to what I teach regularly albeit with some differences.
One of the most important things they are doing in this video which I and many others 100% agree on is that once a bladed weapon is drawn if you cannot run (the best option) you must first get control of the weapon arm and then go after the person as a combative. Without control of the army and quick or rapid movement can be catastrophic to your self or others. Other than this I will break down my thoughts on each sequence.
0:22 – Upward stab (prison shank style)
There style with the grabs is the only thing I am not a fan of. Yes, it’s a natural reaction but if you have already identified enough any grabbing as an initial movement can be very risky especially under duress. We generally prefer gross motor movent over fine motor movement, especially for an initial movement. Inevitably as we are designed to grab you might have to but only in secondary or tertiary movements. Other than that the strategy of getting the knife arm and controlling it is great. What you do after that really depends on your style I suppose. In this sequence all attempts were succesful. Keep in mind he knew the knife was there and what attack was coming which could change the outcome if you were not expecting it.
1:11 – Slashing (We call “blender mode”)
In the first version, he inevitably takes cuts to the arms on multiple sides. This is to be expected in such a case especially if you stay in slashing range. I also am not a fan of putting palms and the soft tissue of the front of the arm towards the attack. While it is unlikely to be fatal it may limit your ability to deal with the attacker after. I would much rather take slashes to the sides or backs of the arms. In this case, as their strategy is to gram the arm then it does make some sense. Still getting get in the arms no matter where is far better than taking it to the face or neck.
At 1:41 the second version of this attack is launched. When they slow it down you can see why it is so hard to grab as an initial attack. Another reason why grabbing can be problematic. It also looks like he took a slash/stab to near the brachial artery which if severed can be a big problem.
If you take to long your attack can wise up and escalate there attack. If you are going to go in go in aggressively, with your hands up of course protecting your neck and face. Otherwise, you may be relying too much on the attacker making a mistake. Personally, I would much rather be out of range in the first place before I make a move. Yes, I know timing will still be a big factor.
At 2:05 they start the third attempt of this technique. Again you can see trying to grab trap or pass at speed is very difficult. There is a reason we call these attack blender type because if you try to follow the knife it can be very hard and if you look closely if the attacker or defender even tripped or misstepped the defender leaves their body quite open to a stab.
Don’t get me wrong, in the event you need to use this defense and it works with minimum damage then its great. It requires a great bit of skill, confidence and the right level of thinking at the moment to succeed. For beginners who encounter this kind of attack after you have identified it defend appropriately but create space and run. Use weapons of opportunity if you can. If not, attempt to attack disrupt, off balance or cause pain. A tool we use is the low line sidekick to get a pause in the attack so that we can gain control of the weapon arm. Again, waiting for the attacker to mess up may be too late, try to cause your own opening. The kick also requires skill but keeps your vitals well out of the way. I understand this option may not be preferred by many but personally, I wouldn’t stick my hand in a blender. Would you?
2:30 – Slashing & Stabbing (We call the “Decepticon blender mode” or the “Game over man”)
In Israel real knife defense is to shoot them… just saying.
Let’s just say this is a worst case scenario, they start slashing rapidly realize they haven’t killed you yet and rapidly change to the stabbing. This would be like if your blender unsatisfied you did not stick your hand in it, gave up its ruse changed into its true form a mother f**king Decepticon and started shooting lasers at you.
In the first attack series when the switch happens there is a slowdown or hesitation, which allows the defender to get the arm. This would be the best case scenario but is not always what will happen. This might have been a subconscious reaction or an on purpose to let them get control. Who knows. Also, the position of the knife right at the groin, once he does get control, makes me nervous. Some of my more vicious students would most likely remind you as they stab you while laughing hysterically in the groin multiple times…
3:08 round two. This time he gets stabbed which as I mentioned above is likely if they dont slow down. YAY DECEPTICON BLENDERS!
3:34 Round three. hmm, notice a pattern. This is the most likely scenario with this attack pattern if you are unsuccessful in getting the weapon arm immediately. Another reason why it is preferable to create a lot of space because your margin for error is slim to none otherwise. Also why we prefer that low line kick. A smart and aggressive attacker will vary their attacks to counter your defenses, your decision-making time to act is a very, very small window.
4:05 – Attacking from a drawn knife
My first comment is, always assume they have a weapon. If they are fidgeting or moving near their belt line this is a good indicator. If this is accompanied by aggressive behavior it’s better to act before they can draw a weapon. Don’t wait. Strike first and justify after. In these videos, you can clearly see a knife in which case if you are a civilian you should have run already and if you are LE or military if you did not already verbalize to get down on the ground then you may be engaging first. Of course, if they aren’t trying to stab you yet lethal force is not recommended. As soon as they go for that knife then it would be.
The first attack is easily defended, although thats because he knew the knife was coming at some point. Again outside of the demo, I would have engaged in takedown and control options prior to them being able to draw. The hesitation after the draw made the defense easier. In this case, the kind of hesitation is certainly a possibility.
Rounds 2-4 are all the same. Each scenario the aggression escalates but there is a relatively clear draw. Allowing the defender to get the weapon arm.
6:05 round five. The attacker is charging ineffectively off balancing and overwhelming the defender, who then misreads the situations and goes for the wrong arm allowing the attacker to succeed. This is a likely scenario with an aggressive attacker. It can be hard to get the weapon hand especially if you were not expecting a knife at all. You can deal with the opponent on the nonweapon hand but requires getting behind them which is very hard against aggressive attackers.
This is why the advice will always control them before they can draw. Attackers will usually but not always indicate via body language that they have a weapon if the situation starts from a static scenario. If it is not static is can be very difficult so you must be sharp with your movements and your decision making.
Bottom line is regardless of what scenario its really best not to go empty hand against enough.
I hope you enjoyed this breakdown.
PS. If you are local I will be doing a seminar on April 20th in Surrey where I will be looking at a few of these scenarios as well as some basic gun disarms.
If you are just reading this as a stand-alone, please make sure to go and read “The “Hell” That Was the Dreaded Green Belt Test” by our Student Karis who recently completed the test. This was her account of the test and this post is coming from an instructor perspective and response to her post.
Before I break down Karis’s assement I should Note that at UTKM the green belt test is the hardest tests with regards to basic hand to hand combat. It covers the white belt-Orange Belt curriculum which focuses on unarmed combat and control. It does cover sticks and other weapons of opportunity as well as basic knife defenses. The main goal of the test is to push you physically and mentally and still see if you are able to defend your self when tired and under duress.
For some, this is a nightmare and others just another day, either way, we scale the tests to push each individual according to their limits. What I want to try to do is get you do quit, even though I dont want you to quit. Because of this, it is a hard 3-3.5 hour test that only has a few minutes here and there for rest. Because of this, short of being completely oblivious to the techniques one of the only real ways to fail is to quit. So far out of all 5 people who have done the green belt test, though we broke their spirit they all ended up finishing the test. Karis just happens to be the first woman to do it and she sets the pace for every other female who follows as looking at our student base there will most certainly be more in the coming years.
The other thing is if after reading Karis post you can’t see the angst all over the writing then I will tell you, Karis is still young at 18 so for her, someone who grew up in soft Canada, and still has yet to experience much, this test was particularly difficult. But I am very proud that she didn’t quit and completed the test.
In response to her comment “but the test was very painful and I never want to do anything like that again.” She will, of course, do many many more things like this perhaps even harder. Eventually, the higher belt tests will come and oh you know that thing called life which she has barely started…
And yes, our classes really are fun, even though we are pushing you all hard. Especially in the Warrior classes.
Her first hardship with this test was the fact she was supposed to do it in December. She had been diligently preparing training 4-5 days a week including running. She was ready both physically and mentally. Then a few days leading up to it she tripped and sprained her ankle. I recall she was more upset because ” I don’t get hurt.”, some of us found this amusing. I think most of the older people said, “You do now, welcome to aging.” or something along those lines.
Injury can wreak havoc on the psyche, especially if you are used to training all the time. Aside from the fact we had reduced class offerings due to our Richmond location shutting down, it is clear that the injury affected Karis in a way she might not have expected. She lost some motivation and energy. This is normal. Anyone who has ever been injured knows this feeling. But those of us who bounce back fast know you can’t let it get you down and you just have to get back into things as fast as comfortably possible. This was her first mistake. Using the lack of classes available as a reason to let her cardio, and other physical attributes suffer.
When you are less physically ready for a test it means that the inevitable will happen. The mental will be all the harder and for Karis it certainly was.
“In a real war, if I quit, people die.”
This Physical Vs. Mental strength phenomenon is something I learned about in the army. Those who were physically gifted rarely really pushed themselves, thus they knew not what it means to feel the pain that someone who is not physically gifted felt. For someone like my self who is not an athlete, I was constantly fighting a mental battle and fighting through everything just trying to keep up. Those who were physically gifted the odd time they were actually pushed to their limits acted like petulant little children and could barely handle it. For me and others like me, this struggle was real. I remember being told once they looked up to me because they saw how hard it was for me and were surprised I never quite. Which I usually responded, “In a real war, if I quit, people die.”
This attitude in many ways is what Krav Maga is really about.
Bar-Or: This is a standard IDF test, at least when I was there. You are required to do push-ups, sit-ups and then a 2km run. The 2km distance can be tough because you can’t sprint it but it’s not exactly long distance. Thus if you push yourself it usually quite difficult. For Karis, this was probably the hardest part. She started out great but then nerves, her mind and lack of running prep got in the way. I would say though it was mostly nerves and her mind as I had not run in…I dont know..ow my knees and it wasn’t too bad at all. Thus the mind becomes the killer of dreams sometimes. I had to give her a pep talk, something I am not great at in order to get her not to quit right there.
Written Exam: Compared to everything she has written for the instructor course this was easy but due to her nerves it was harder than she would have imagined. Hmmm, I wonder what kind of sadist makes someone write a test right after they just jacked up someone’s heart rate. WHO DOES THAT!? Well, me of course.
Simple, in the military, police or in life you may encounter a stressor, your heart rate goes up but you still need to function. You still need to write that report, coordinates or work after a fight with your significant other. So really, I guess this part is a test of life and adversity. YAY!
Also in response too “I AM SO SORRY INSTRUCTORS WHO HAD TO TRY TO READ AND GRADE MY TEST, I THOUGHT JON WOULD BE GRADING IT.” Why do you think I made them mark it? I is so SMRT. But no seriously, I need to make sure the other instructors are capable of marking and running these tests as eventually everyone will need to be able to run them without me..so sad :(, I mean GREAT!
Review: Now that her heart rate is down again, time to jack it up. AGAIN! Of course, she doesn’t remember doing the white or yellow belt techniques. Thats because she has done them so many times they are like second nature. Funny how training works like that. Ideally, you get to the point where you no longer think, you just do.
The Orange belt curriculum focuses more on takedowns and controlling the other opponent. So if you dont MAKE THEM COMPLY WITH PAIN COMPLIANCE!!!!! Then this part will be hard. Yes, they are wearing cups, so if they dont react, HIT THEM HARDER because they clearly didn’t learn their lesson the first time! A lesson to everyone who helps out on a test. I dont want you to make it easy but if you aren’t responding at all even after they hit you hard then clearly you have nothing there worth hitting. Just saying… And to anyone testing in the future, there is a reason they are wearing cups. HIT HARDER!
When it came to the Judo she did just fine, of course, it helps Petra does Judo which makes it so much easier. There is nothing harder than doing Judo with new people who are bigger than you. It is oh so much more painful than it needs to be. Lucky Karis!
Body shot only sparring: This is basically a 5-minute Karate style Kumite to soften you up for the rest of the test. Yes, it will hurt, it’s fairly hard hitting with no shots to the face. I don’t know what the complaints are for, its not like I made her do a 100 man Kumite! The more aggressive you are back the more difficult it is for your opponents to be aggressive on you. If you just take it, you will have bruises. Lots of them!!
Notice how being aggressive stops your opponents faster….Just saying. Of course, we are not looking for head kicks or strikes in our Kumite but you know. AGGRESSION!
Circle of Power: This is a fairly standard Krav test. Stand in the middle as people take turns attacking with various attacks. Unlike the Orange Belt one, this one involves taking downs. Get stuck on the ground and you might be there for a while. This is where mental fortitude matters especially if you have no BJJ or grappling background. Say…I remember it says somewhere that you need a BJJ blue belt or equivalent to get a UTKM Black Belt. This may take most people a while, but if you start it early BEFORE your green belt then it’s much easier. Of course, Karis did BJJ but has not continued since we shut down the Richmond school so I guess she is rusty…
Yes, some people are bigger than you but that doesn’t matter. I regularly roll with guys who have 20-30-40-50 lbs on me and I still give them a challenge because I am not going to let them just sit on me for an entire round because who the hell wants that. AGGRESSION! Even if you are exhausted by this point in the test. Additionally, I STRONGLY encourage ALL women students to take of BJJ early in their self-defense training. Combine it with your Krav and you will be unstoppable.
Sparring with Takedowns: “My test evaluation grading book thing says I got one, but I got two. That’s all I have to say. “I dunno I saw one…maybe 2 but you know I have old eyes… This part of the test is Hard. Because not only are you tired, you need to attempt to use all the techniques you have to control opponents in rapid succession. The record for this section is 3 out of 5. OH, and you need to control them on the ground for 3-5 seconds before you get to rest. Take the entire round and you get no rest.
There was most certainly blood sweat and tears. I will deviate from her post and give my own conclusion and advice. Karis is one of the most dedicated and hard-working students, if not the most dedicated and hard working students we have ever had. She more than anyone deserved this belt as for her the entire journey was a struggle. YES WARREN (Warren Chow is a contributor and UTKM Green Belt student), this includes you. Unlike Warren, Karis did not have a lifetime of experience and martial arts to draw from when the test became difficult mentally.
Karis is an inspiration to any of the other students because she is always there and always training. Like me, I would not say she is physically gifted or naturally athletic but she puts in the work and thus she gets the results. To any students who think they cant do they test then you dont know its simply a matter of showing up and training. Eventually, you too will get there.
If you had asked me when Karis first showed up if she would have been our first female Green Belt I wouldn’t have believed it. Karis came to us when she was 15 and despite living so far from the school (often bussing 2-3 hours to train) she still kept coming. She was a scrawny teen with bad posture and yet she has come so far.
She now stands up straight and kicks ass like no other. We did and do have other females who are Orange belts and started well before Karis but they either stopped training, moved away or take far to much time off. This is a classic example of the Tortis and the Hare. Constant, consistent pace will get you there in the long run and that she did.
If you have not also read her other posts she is also working towards being an Assistant instructor at UTKM. A process that is arguably harder than the green belt because IT TAKES SO DAMN LONG! Sucks that I have standards. OH WELL, better instructors for all you students. YAY!
Anyways. Karis did great despite the setbacks at the beginning. She overcame and didn’t Quit and thats what matters. She has a lifetime ahead of her to continue growing and improving and by the time she’s my age, she will probably be kicking my ass.
Let her be an inspiration to you all and I wish that you to may all learn to walk in peace.
Note: IF YOU DONT WANT YOUR NAME SPELT INCORRECTLY ON YOUR CERTIFICATES MAKE SURE ITS SPELT RIGHT IN THE SYSTEM….Just saying.
Editors Note: Karis is the first female and at 18 (The minimum age for a UTKM adult green belt) the youngest person to achieve green belt at UTKM. This is her account of her test. The mind of a teenager is always quite entertaining. Lead instructor Jon will be writing a follow-up post from the instructors perspective next week.
I recently took the UTKM green belt test. I figured since Jon (UTKM Lead Instructor) is always bothering the instructors and me (even though I’m not an instructor yet) to write blog posts, I should probably write something about how terrible it was. Well, I guess it was also rewarding, but the test was very painful and I never want to do anything like that again. Ever. So excited to see what is planned for the blue belt test. But hey, that’s probably at least four more years away. For me at least. I would actually be excited for someone else to get a blue belt. As long as I’m not suffering, it’s fine.
If you are new to the school or Krav Maga, don’t freak out and worry that classes are really hard and all the tests are super challenging. The tests ARE hard, but they start out easier and get harder as you move up the ranks. The instructors also make sure you are prepared and know the techniques before allowing to test. More on that later. Also, did I mention classes are actually really fun?
Now, I was originally planned to take my test sometime in December. That time, I was actually preparing. I was going to ALLLLL the classes, doing push-ups at home, and I actually ran a few times. But with less than a week to go I sprained my ankle and the test had to be pushed back. The second time around and I was an idiot who barely prepared. The Richmond gym had closed so I was attending fewer classes. I was busy with school and work, transiting everywhere and getting home late and exhausted. If you are a student at a university, do not sign up for any classes before ten am. They are hell, and you will hate yourself. I also really hate running. I could have made time to prepare, but I didn’t and of course, I wound up regretting it.
BAR OR: So you start off with push ups, sit ups, and then you get to run for two kms. How exciting. I honestly thought I would fail the push-ups, but I got to 40 which was further then I had dared hope for. The situps were more tiring then I expect, but come on, anyone can do sit-ups, so that part went fine. The fun part came when I stood up and my arms and legs were tired, and I had to run. I’ve mentioned my hatred of running. Well, it went terribly. I may have puked (I did). I felt really dizzy at one point near the end. I was walking for at least the last fourth of the test. To me, that was proof that I wasn’t actually ready and I shouldn’t be doing the test. If I couldn’t even do the “easy” part, how was I going to survive everything else? Throughout the entire test, that was when I was mentally at my lowest point. I wanted to quit, and I told Jon I shouldn’t be doing this. His response was to yell (Editors note: it was more aggressive motivation) at me, which did work, so thanks. I think what he said was something like it’s all in my head, don’t overthink it, and probably something about my confidence. I don’t know. It was a long test.
WRITTEN EXAM: So after that mess was the written test. The questions themselves were easy, but I took too long on the multiple choice/true or false questioning and barely finished on time. I should have been faster, but I was rereading some of them and not as focused as I could have been. So for the written questions, I was rushing to complete all of them and definitely lost points that I could have had if I had more time. My writing was also a mess, literally. I AM SO SORRY INSTRUCTORS WHO HAD TO TRY TO READ AND GRADE MY TEST, I THOUGHT JON WOULD BE GRADING IT. The written test was probably the easiest part. If you’ve been to a ton of classes and heard Jon’s lectures, you’ll know the stuff. Just make sure you move quickly. Twenty minutes sounds longer then it is.
REVIEW: So off to review everything I’ve learned. I’m pretty sure the white belt stuff was fine. As a colour belt, it would probably be a problem if I didn’t know any of those techniques. I don’t remember how the yellow belt techniques went, but I definitely remember the orange. Who can forget being squished multiple times (cough cough QUINN). We avoid the ground for a reason. I would get my arms stuck under someone, and then try to free them so I could actually do something. Unfortunately, to others it would appear like I’m not doing anything and I’d get yelled at to keep fighting. IT’S HARD TO FIGHT WHEN YOU CAN’T MOVE. Also aggression. One of my biggest problems. I just don’t like hurting people. I actually had to repeat a lot of the techniques because I wasn’t being aggressive enough. I also had to stop and think about what to do with certain attacks. We practice the yellow belt stuff more than the orange, and I was unsure on some of it.
The judo throws had worried me, but I did manage to do them correctly (at least by Krav standards). I’m sure practitioners of Judo would be able to spot errors in my form. It also really helps that I got to throw Petra, who knows how to be thrown and how to break fall. Speaking of, Petra I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to throw you so hard. I don’t care if we aren’t supposed to say sorry in Krav, I can and will apologize for things. Fight me (please don’t, I have too many bruises). One thing I knew I wasn’t going to succeed at doing was using oblique kicks to block kicks. I don’t like doing this. I find it awkward and difficult to time correctly. It’s not something I would ever attempt in a real fight. I was okay with failing to properly demonstrate it as I knew I could do most of the other stuff.
BODY SHOT ONLY SPARRING: What even is pain? THIS. Ohhhh this part was horrible. I was tired, but I had to go five minutes with people hitting me. Sure, technically I could hit back but I was trying to avoid getting hit and just survive it. This hurt. So much. Remember that while I’m tired and can’t hit very hard, everyone else still had lots of energy. This is probably where most of the bruises came from. Karch was definitely the worst one to face. I was terrified of fighting Jon because he’s scary and very good. Also, Quinn because like I’ve mentioned he’s bigger and stronger than me, as well as being good. Hahaha nope. Karch just kept hitting very fast and very hard. He actually demonstrated retzev really well. Having to keep standing and taking hits was exhausting. Oof. I don’t know if I can articulate how painful that was. When it was over I sat down and tears started pouring down my face. I think I cried after the circle of death and takedown sparring too. I’m not sure why, if it was a delayed reaction to the pain or I was feeling overwhelmed. Maybe the test did break me. Petra and Devon, another assistant instructor and fellow student, would come to encourage me whenever I had the chance to rest, which I’m really grateful for.
CIRCLE OF POWER: The circle of power or as we call it the circle of death is named so for a reason. For anyone lucky enough to not know what it is, you stand in the middle of a circle of attackers. They attack you in different ways, you defend, and on the green belt have to take them down. It goes for ten minutes. This at first seemed to go so slowly. I looked at the clock two minutes in and didn’t know if I would be able to finish. I know I was lethally stabbed a few times (Editors note: Not really, they were just flesh wounds).
My takedowns got really bad as I was just grabbing people and trying to spin/slam them down (tip: this doesn’t work very well). And then bear hugs. In case you were wondering, it is terrifying to be suddenly lifted into the air several feet (if not more) of the ground. This is why I tried to avoid any of the bigger guys to not come to my test (They ignored it my request.) If only that worked. Again, the ground sucks. But it’s not as bad when they don’t know what they are doing. The requirement for a blue belt in BJJ or grappling equivalent to obtaining your black belt in (UTKM) Krav is, in my opinion, a valid and important requirement. Also, when I kick you in the groin, please react, or I will keep kicking harder. Learn the first time!
SPARRING WITH TAKEDOWNS: My test evaluation grading book thing says I got one, but I got two. That’s all I have to say. Joking. I did get two, but oh well. This section was like normal sparring, but I had to try and take the person to the ground and hold them there for three seconds in a controlled fashion. Originally my goal was just stay standing, so I think two takedowns was pretty good. I wasn’t going to be able to take down anyone much bigger than me. I didn’t have the energy for the aggression I needed. Also, small teen vs guys bigger and stronger than her. You should know if you’ve been around for a while that physics does matter. Near the end, I was just trying to keep moving and avoid being hit as much as possible.
So some blood, puke, tears, and sweat later, here we are. The test was very challenging and painful, but when is life not? I did get my green belt, thankfully. I now have permission to laugh in the face of any newbie who tries to correct me (mansplaining, google it). By permission I mean that no one has told me that I CAN’T do that. (Editors note: She can’t. She will, of course, be helpful and polite as is seen with her many apologies) It will happen. Honestly, if you aren’t a colour belt I’m probably going to ignore your opinion (Editors note: what she means to say is, listen carefully and try to learn something new from every encounter.) I didn’t attend all those classes and suffer through all the tests to be told I’m doing something wrong. Trust me, if I was doing a technique incorrectly, it would have been caught a few belts ago. Leave me alone. (Editors note: She says this but will gladly kick you in the groin when the time is right)
To anyone who is going to take one of the belt tests, here’s my advice. Firstly, work on your cardio, aka the thing I never do and then always regret not doing. None of the tests are easy. They will challenge you. You will be helping yourself by preparing. Speaking of, make sure you know everything that you are being tested on. Not only do you need to be able to demonstrate the techniques properly, but you also need to be able to answer questions about when you might use them, etc. Lucky you, there are things to help with this now. The student workbooks, and the pre-tests. The workbooks have everything that will be on the test, so make sure you mark off when you learn something. And if you don’t know something or aren’t comfortable with it, you can practice it at the pre-test. The pre-test is just there to show you where you are at and show you what you need to work on.
Shin gi Tai
Those are the physical and technical aspects, but there’s also the mental part (shin gi tai! Hey look I remembered something). The tests probably seem really daunting by now. They should be taken seriously, but remember that you will not be allowed to test unless an instructor thinks you are ready. The pre-tests will really help with this, as they give the instructors a better idea of how ready you are. So if you are taking a test, instructors who have experience with this (way more than you) believe you can pass. Don’t quote me on this, but the main ways you will fail a test are if you quit (or are injured to a point where you can’t continue), or you are fatally stabbed too many times.
Reading this may not convince you, I know hearing similar things didn’t help me, but try to believe it. The instructors want you to do your best on the tests and that may involve being held back for the next one or being pushed out of your comfort zone. It may be unpleasant, but hey, just don’t die. I managed it, so you can.
To everyone who came out to cheer me on, thank you. I appreciate the time you gave up to be there. All the horrible people who came to beat me up, I have nothing to say to you. Just know that I highly dislike you and will be there at your next test 🙂 Finally, please never say stuff like “I want to fight everyone who thought I should be an instructor on my green belt”. Especially to Jon. He will remember and you will fight them and it will suck. You will be too tired for rage and end up fighting more colour belts then you needed to.
-Karis
Karis after her Green Belt test (See she looks happy and full of energy, I guess the test was not that hard) Left to right: Karch, Jon, Karis, Petra, Dave
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” or perhaps you prefer, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stranger”. These are sayings you should have heard if you grew up in the west, or at least with the later saw Batman the Dark Night. They suggest that if you survived an ordeal real or perceive you will either become a stronger better version of your self or something else, perhaps twisted.
How about this one? “Fortune favors the bold” which suggest only those who risk will succeed. Yet, evolutionary, humans are averse to risk. It is built into us in fact. If you taste something bitter, you might spit it out because our bodies are saying if I dont know what it is, it must be poison. Yet through our minds, we can eventually tell our bodies, no idiot, I love coffee, I am going to drink it no matter if you think it is bitter or not.
If evolution then builds internal pathways to avoid risk, and protect ourselves then how do we evolve and grow?
The answer must be the outliers, those who learn and grow from their mistakes. It did not kill but, that was a bit too risky let’s try it a different way. And so it goes until a new pathway is formed and growth can occur.
These sayings may be cliche to you, old, boring and pointless, yet idioms such as these have been around in most cultures for a long time. Perhaps there is some wisdom in these ancient, or not so ancient re-works of the sayings.
All these self-help gurus, after all, seem to preach similar things, like believe in your self, and just do it, or think positively.
The truth is thought its often much closer to what “doesn’t kill you makes you stranger”, that is to say, you may become a stranger to the self you once were. The hope though is that the stranger of now is a stranger that you like. And that you can look back at your old self and say ” I can’t believe I used to be so shy, so risk-averse, so unadventurous and so unwilling to challenge myself. I can’t imagine how I even lived life at all.”
That’s because you probably were not living, you were just surviving.
Unlike what so many self-help gurus preach the truth is, the path to a better you is stepping way outside of your comfort zones so that you can be the outlier that forges those new paths internally and externally. The fact is that the journey will be fraught with perils, both real and imagined and it is always easy to stop turn back or take the easier route.
For some challenging their comfort zones will be easy, perhaps your genetics allow it, or perhaps challenging your comfort zones is your real nightmare because something happened to you that you dont want to face yet you know that the only way forward is through. Who though, has the strength to fight their demons, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly so that they may find their peace?
The answer is you! if you want. It is yours for the taking.
Sometimes, people seek help to be better versions of themselves, but they dont really change. It’s only those who embrace the discomfort and charge through it that eventually see the clearing on the other side.
As a Krav Maga instructor, I have seen this many times with my students over the years. And even more, I have seen it in myself.
I have seen students be challenged hard, physically and emotionally and disappear on me. I have seen students challenged hard, physically and emotionally and they embrace it and come back for more.
I have challenged my self hard, physically and emotionally and I am still here, Still growing and still working on it because even if I dont like it, I find my self constantly putting myself in situations of discomfort challenging my self more and more.
I am not gifted genetically, and physically endeavors are a struggle for me. I am not gifted with words for I often offend and push away, yet I challenge myself to be an instructor and learn to be better to communicate to help those who want. I am not particularly strong emotionally day to day for I wear my emotions on my sleeves and instead of keeping my mouth shut for the sake of politics or being liked I push the boundaries with people and learn to tweak my self day by day so that perhaps I can get the results I want a little more each time.
But one thing I can say for myself it is that only through challenging my comfort zones today, and now, that I can look back at the stranger I used to be and say I dont know you, but because of you, I got here today.
I only wish that I had known what I had known now, then, so that I could have grown faster but the path to fighting your comfort zone is fraught with perils and for some the journey is quick, and others long and arduous. I can only hope the hard my journey that more I will learn and grow and the better I will be able to help you challenge your comfort zones so that you to may learn to grow and walk in peace.
So move the boundary of your comfort zone forward a little bit every day, so that instead of surviving you can have the space to be free and truly live.