David Luna is an instructor you guys have never met but he has played a very crucial part to Urban Tactics Krav Maga’s training method. Personally, I believe our training is one of the most interesting and diverse Krav Maga training in Canada. This is due to the contributions of one of our instructors, David Luna.
After leaving the Marine Corps, David was going though Yeshiva (Jewish Religious school) in Jerusalem to become a Rabbi. Feeling lack of exercise in Yeshiva, David decided to acquire his second Krav Maga instructor qualification with IKMF. David and I became course-mates at our Krav Maga instructor course in Netanya Israel with the International Krav Maga Federation. For almost half a month we would undergo intense and brutal Krav Maga training everyday and drag our tired and bruised bodies back to our apartment, pass out, and then do it all over again the next day. We fought each other and at the same time helped each other ( usually David helped me instead of the other way around ). It is a bonding only people who have trained together will understand. I am pretty sure you guys have shared the same bonding with some of the guys in Urban Tactics now. After my stay in Israel, we kept in touch through phone and email. Later, we co-write an article on MCMAP and the article was published in Taiwan.
David held multiple Instructor qualifications and black belt ranges from Kali, Boxing, Jet Kwon Do, Krav Maga ( IKMF, KMWW ) to the Marine’s own hand-to-hand combat system MCMAP ( Marine Corp Martial Art Program ) I often picked David’ s brain on training and student development. Normal civilian Krav Maga training is interesting and has a lot of value but David was able to add his experience from MCMAP and his military service to enhance the Krav Maga training method. One thing we do in Urban Tactics Krav Maga is called “ The Last Mohican “, named after the movie. During this course, students have to run though the jungle and face different enemies in a row. They also have to do a grueling fitness challenge and obstacle course before fighting their enemies. We took this drill straight out of the US Marine MCMAP training method. Students can see how “ The Last Mohican “ was conducted on the TV Show “ Human Weapons “. David would write detail in an email explaining how to conduct the Last Mohican. We would also discuss the usage of different techniques from different disciplines and compare their effectiveness. David was developed in Iraq and saw action first-hand during the Battle of Fallujah, which was definitely one of the toughest and bloodiest battle the Americans ever witnessed in the early stage of the 2nd Iraq war. Here is a man who actually used hand-to-hand skills in combat. David never boasted about what he did but merely shared with me some of his most intimate and tragic moments during his service with me. He would share his story with such sorrow that sometimes I could not bear to hear it. I quickly realized that it is very easy to kill, but to live with the fact that you have killed for the rest of your life is another story.
Sadly, the best among us is always the first to leave. David passed away in a vehicle accident after a domestic dispute several years ago. Due to the circumstance of David’s tragic accident some would even said David was a casualty of PTSD. Although David is no longer with us, his memory lives on among each one of us in Urban Tactics. We are the legacy of many people; from Imi ( founding father ) to David Luna. How we can honor those before us is to practice Krav Maga according to the belief of the originators. As to David, maybe you guys will meet him one day, after all, the Gates of Heaven are guarded by US Marines. ( Canadian Army covers the post every third shift )
Semper fi
Borhan