I get asked loads of weird and wonderful questions from people looking to start Krav Maga but by far the cleanest and most common is “Do I need to be fit to start”?
This is a loaded question, on the one hand of course the fitter you are the better chance you have of defending yourself (you can run away faster!) but on the other is it a pre-requisite to training? My answer is always the same, no!
Something I get asked on a regular basis from people, students, and other instructors is how do I get rid of this?? (Grabs belly and gives it a shake). It’s normally just before a grading or a training camp or a holiday. The problem with that is the time frame. Weight loss, fat loss, building muscle! It all takes time and there is no quick fix to solve it. People looking for a quick fix in my opinion are not ready for a lifestyle change; they lack the commitment and the drive to adopt a healthier lifestyle and will ultimately fall off the wagon time and time again. This is the reason you rarely see people on weight watchers, Herbalife and those crap juice diets actually transforming their bodies. The idea of replacing meals with Juice or shakes is ridiculous and in my opinion promotes issues with eating real food which can have dire consequences. How often do you hear people saying oh i need to get back to weight watchers I’m at minus 600 Points, I’m definitely going on the cabbage diet….Face Palm.
On Sunday I held my first ever Strong First Kettlebell workshop roughly 6 months after completing my instructor’s course. Better late than never I suppose. It was aimed at beginners and covered the hard style swing and the Turkish Get up (TGU). I had been meaning to put something on for a while but life and work got in the way, but anyway I am really glad I did and will be doing a lot more!
I get a lot of emails, posts, private messages on Facebook and also text messages from people asking about the Krav Maga classes we teach at Shield. The majority of those people say that they are going to come and give it a try. I’ve even had close friends tell me how they need to come and give it a go because it sounds awesome… (It is by the way)!
I started training Karate when I was 5 years old, my dad was an instructor and I would train 2-3 times a week. I would go up a hall doing punches or kicks or blocks, turn and then go back down a hall again. I would do this all whilst learning to count to ten in Japanese. I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy it very much at that age and was often made to go. As my dad was the instructor I stuck at it and progressed up the belts quite quickly and was eligible to go for my black belt at the age of 9. I enjoyed sparring but that was about it, Oh and I could count to 20 in Japanese….very important when you are a 9 year old living in Morayshire. Due to my dad taking another job and most of my family living there we moved down to East Kilbride, just outside Glasgow. I joined several clubs but never really stuck at it after the move. I started doing freestyle karate at the age of about 16 which incorporated a more kick boxing style. Again I progressed quite quickly at that and often helped to teach the kids classes however it was still the same old martial arts format of up and down the hall over and over again.
Krav What???
Krav Manga? …. Krav Mcgraw?…. ‘Kravmaggaaaa? I have heard just about every variation of the system I teach. It is actually called Krav Maga which simply means Contact Combat. There is a link at the end of this blog which will give you more information on the system.
Hi guys and welcome to the first post from Shield Krav Maga, we want to take this opportunity to introduce our new brand and to give you an insight into where we are and where we want to be. During our time as krav maga Lanarkshire we have opened and established clubs in East Kilbride and Bellshill which we intend to grow and improve upon. We have also qualified as the only two KMG kid’s instructors in Scotland to which we have developed a specific programme that is being successfully integrated into the schools in Lanarkshire and also through council diversionary programmes which are proving really popular with over 20 kids a class. For this to happen we had to develop a specific child friendly brand that would not only appeal to children but their parents too. This brand is Kid Shield.
