Recently I watched a show on youtube is called “ Warrior Quest “ by a Czech Krav Maga organization. The purpose of the show is to send several people to do their military Krav Maga instructor course. The show begins in Czech then proceeds to Israel. Most part of the show is about a series of harsh physical training to weed out the weak ……all the way down to 10 people. It is interesting to see the selection process but frankly I do not agree with the ideology and methods of the show.
The selection process of the show is harsh and all original candidates from Czech only one student made it to the end. I wonder what’s the purpose of this harsh selection. The majority of selection process is about harsh physical workout instead of Krav Maga training. What benefit do people get out of this process other than some bragging rights, ugly scars and huge medical bills. As a soldier, I have been though similar selection process from boot camp (ran by Airborne), wildness survival course, special force selection to mentally exhausting air force pilot and navigator selection course. I have suffered though similar injuries and physical exhaustion; however, the one difference is that “ I was covered by military. “ If I got injured during the selection process the military is obligated to take care of me both financially and medically that is. More than I can say about these candidates in this show.
Krav Maga students are not soldiers. Some Krav Maga students are soldiers but most Krav Maga schools do not cater toward soldiers. The idea of Krav Maga is about teaching as many people as possible and to develop them with skills necessary for them to survive. One fellow spend several thousand Euro only to be washed out first day during the selection. I find that counter-productive for a person’s progress and personal safety. The institute that does the enrollment should assess the student’s physical abilities and deny enrollment if the guy clearly is not up for the challenge. Several thousand Euro is enough money for the guy to train full time in Israel or in Thailand for several months. I am unsure if the guy got a refund or exchange but the purpose of his trip lasted only one day. One thing I firmly believe is that everyone is at a different level. It is up to the school and the instructors to develop students where they at and then help them achieve their goal, instead of weeding them out like the military.
Our students can be a warrior and fighter but our students are not soldiers. Our school also offers tactical shooting training and frankly, when in hand- to-hand combat our guys are higher level than average soldiers. ( we welcome any soldier to come and test it out ) but again our students are not soldiers. The reason is simple, they are not paid to do it full time 24/7 nor have the obligation to go though ridiculous and hurtful training that might killed the students in the process.
Modern military, like the Canadian Army has very high standard when it comes to training. Even with that in mind, I can count on both my hands and feet the times I would be dead or seriously injured because things could go horribly wrong. No civilian Krav Maga institute can accept the same level of risk in training as a government institute. Nor should the mandate be the same. The military is selecting the right people for the right type of the job but a civilian Krav Maga institute should be about teaching the right courses to the right people. If there are so many people got washed out from this course, then I firmly believe these courses were offered to the wrong group of people. Any Krav Maga institution should be about developing the right people with the right courses.
For those who want to have the military experience, I can only offer one advice, to join the military – reserve and National Guard are options for those who do not want to commit too long in the life of uniform. Training and skill sets are something that you can acquire at different civilian training school but the harsh, inhuman, rude, less fun, boring and ridiculous part of military experience can only be experienced though the real deal – why ? because military owns their people- literately.