Krav Maga

Tonight was my first Krav Maga class.  I am exhausted and sore.  But I loved it!

Krav Maga is a self-defense system developed for the IDF (Israeli Defense Force).  The name literally translates out to “contact combat.”  The best I can do description-wise is to tell you that it’s basically down-and-dirty street fighting, where you strike hard and fast to neutralize your opponent.  It’s quite vicious when you watch it, but highly effective.  And if you want a more detailed description, I’m sure by now you know how to use the all-knowing Google 🙂

Beginning something so rigorous and physical made me quite nervous, because I am horribly out of shape and have exercise-induced asthma.  I was certain that I would be pushed to my limit, and possibly further.  And I was.

When the class started I was tossed in the deep end with the rest of the students, and then forced to sink-or-swim.  This training center doesn’t go easy on newbies, which is both a curse and a blessing.  The skill of the others pushed me to work past what I thought I could do.  My performance and technique were by no means flawless, but I didn’t die, so I consider that a win!

I’m not the type of person to get into physical altercations.  I prefer to fight verbally – a skill which does me no good in krav maga.  With that being said, punching and kicking my sparring partner (and her doing the same to me) was quite a rush!  Thankfully none of our blows actually made contact, but it was still a weird experience.  The girls I sparred with all had more experience that myself, but they were very patient with me, and for that I am eternally grateful.

The perfectionist in me doesn’t like to be bad at anything.  I like to get things right the first time around, but as we all know, that rarely happens.  With krav maga I am learning to accept my “newness” and simply shrug/laugh it off when I make mistakes.  Goodness knows I will have enough practice!

Did I almost get kicked in the A-frame multiple times?  Yes.  Were there punches that almost made contact?  Yup.  Should I have taken my inhaler before the class began?  Oh yeah.

But I am so going back!