Traveling Krav Student – A Perspective in Constant Shift.
I have the pleasure of a job that travels up to 75% of my time and all of the fun, adventure, and pain that can go with it. Traveling alone provides both a sense of freedom and a near constant potential for events to go either positively or negatively in the extreme. A necessity for preparedness for that “worst possible case” has turned my focus to Krav as a highly practical mind and skill set for my life. Through training, I’ve begun shifting how I move through, react to, and think about my surrounding. Adopting an awareness as well as constantly planning for immediate, violent, and the very real possibility for danger would have driven me to paranoia and edginess in the past, but physically preparing for these events in combination with the mental shift has had the opposite effect; I am alert and aware, but confident, calm, and relaxed in my daily environments. As a bonus, maintaining that alert state has taken my head out of my phone and into the fascinating and beautiful world we inhabit. As I travel, I see more, learn more, and interact with incredible people more than I ever have before. I am dedicated to continuing this forward progress through Krav; both the physical and mental art.
I find Krav establishments wherever I travel, and participate in their classes to learn all I can, from everyone I can. I place value in learning from a variety of people and perspectives to broaden my own thinking of techniques, situations, and ideas. At Urban Tactics I found instructors and students who embody all that Krav is, and they graced me with a welcoming and interesting experience. They didn’t hold anything back, and I am happy to say that I was exhausted by the end of each lesson. Borhan and Jon are great instructors bringing a variety of new techniques and new critiques to my repertoire that I will continue to develop and incorporate into my practice. Skills and drills can prepare a person, but the sparring was certainly a humbling experience. It was headgear and mouth guards, gloves and very little held back. Call me strange, but I was glad to learn some lessons at the far reaches of an opponent’s gloves. I have a healthy respect for how much I have yet to learn. Yet, I was able to bring new ideas back to my hometown gym and spread some of the lessons among others. I greatly appreciate the conversations I had with those at Urban Tactics that broadened our scope. Krav is all about using whatever works, after all, and I certainly learned many variations and adjustments that may be handy in rough situations.
Best of all, it was fun. Smiles were seen all around through and despite the heavy breathing of all the students. The culture is one of dedication, respect, and shared goals. I feel lucky to have been a part of it. One last lesson to share: it’s humbling, entertaining, and encouraging to hear laughter through a mouth guard.
Written by: Abby Evers
Delta Krav Maga: http://deltakravmaga.com/