Since my teenage years I knew I had incredible physical prowess and athletic abilities. I competed in Judo and Tae Kwon Do at the Provincial level, and in my mid-20s I trained in Mixed Martial Arts at the professional level and competed in any national and international tournaments I could possibly enter. While serving in the military I underwent tough physical training, ranging from marching in -40′ temperature for 20 km in Ontario to passing the fitness selection for a spec-op unit that specialized in field intelligence gathering and undercover work behind enemy lines. I recovered from every injury with ease ranging from dislocating my shoulder to having a broken ear drum. I felt that I was Apollo himself: Strong, Athletic, Powerful and Indestructible.
Slowly, I realize how fragile our life and body can be. In the world of Krav Maga, we learn to deal with the deadliest attacks from knife to firearms; any wrong move and we then go to see our creators instead of our loved ones. (or go directly to your next life depending on your belief.)
We train hard in Krav Maga but we do not want you to push to the limit that your body breaks, because your mind can always go further than your body. A human’s mind is limitless yet the human body is very honest about its limitation. There are moments in life when we have to fight though the obstacles despite our pain and injuries, but everyone will be broken if we go to the extreme in every training session. You push it overboard too many times, and it will break. When you spar and do your conditioning, it is ok to stop and not participate for the right reason. Pain is good injury is bad, some pain are signals to prevent you from injuries some pain are just signal weakness leaving the body. Listen to your instructors. We can tell when you are pushing yourself too hard when you are not. We do not become Krav Maga instructor by just reading books, taking classes and write fancy articles. My Krav Maga mentor Avi Moyal once said Krav Maga is ” Experience + Science. ” What you are learning in the class of Urban Tactics Krav Maga is based upon knowledge, experience and medical bill. You are only human and don’t make the mistake I made.
Written by: Borhan J