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hi all, i’m thinking of taking Krav Maga, but i have a few questions…well I’m going to take it anyways, more like timing on the matter…
1. I had knee surgery about 2 months ago…so in another 3 months i’ll be about 90% good to go, right now about 50%…. for Level 1, would I be able to do any training? right now i have limited side to side and (my guesss twisting movements)
2. My GF is the biggest (you know what) i have ever met. She is just to scared of um well anything that isn’t yuppie. I have convienced her to try it for a month, and see how it goes…will it be to rough for her, physically and mentally? (she is a girly girl) should i start her off in a different type of self defense class. What i really want to do is to make her more tougher…but I don’t know if Krav Maga is the best thing for her…My sister has done karate for a few years, and i wasn’t impressed with what she could do to defend her self…
thanks
I’m no Krav Maga expert as I am thinking about beginning a course, but I am an expert on knee surgeries, having had 2 of them myself.
The answer is no way. Even at 90% you’ll be at a disadvantage but at 50%, you run a high risk of damaging any repairs that have been made, so then there goes all that money.
You should never train injured. Also, you should consult with your physical therapist, and if you don’t have one you should! When the doc says its ok for you to begin doing sports or strenuous physical activity, then its ok. And even then, you’ll be rusty so you’ll have take it easy. Just be patient 🙂
injury
I can’t answer your second one, but I’ve been practicing KM for couple years with two bad knees (occasionally with knee braces).
Far as I know, instructor has this blend of injury-free yet very aggressive control over class. This is one magic that impressed me, in which I have never been injured nor inflicted injury to someone in classes.
Notify your instructor and your training partner of that day.
Although not recommended, I believe many people tend to carry their own version of injuries (back, knee joints, ankle etc) yet still go for what they want.I think your Girl will benefit HUGE,
Why start her in something else?
Just keep her in level 1 until she’s got what it takes to move up.
Take it easy on the exercise until the doctor says ok. Particularly if you had ACL surgery since any basic technique requires some body twisting.
Regularly take a good glucosamine/chondroitin supplement and work out with a Theraband in the meantime.
\”will it be to rough for her, physically and mentally? (she is a girly girl) should i start her off in a different type of self defense class. What i really want to do is to make her more tougher…but I don’t know if Krav Maga is the best thing for her…\”
Krav is physically tough for most people, but it will probably be very rough on her mentally if she’s only doing it to please you. Even if you’re supportive, she’ll feel pressure to like it and to do well. KM is great, but I’d let her know that there’s no pressure on her and that she should figure out her own goals for the month – get in better shape, learn to punch, whatever. At the end of the month *she* can decide \”if Krav Maga is the best thing for her…\”
Impact offers a self-defense course available only to women. They have stuff for men too, but it’s mostly popular with women.
no clue on the knee surgery…
Honestly, I think women’s only programs, especially those that are limited to 4 sessions or whatever do very little good. If you do not continually practice the skills, you lose them. Seeing how weak an unprepared you are incomparison to the guys in the class is a vital step toward taking responsibility for defending yourself. In the women’s only classes there are one or two guys to play the attacker, this is a very different dynamic than Krav. When we do redman I know the guy in the suit, I’ve trained with him for months. I trust that he will make it as hard as possible for me and really push me. I could not feel the same about a stranger. The holistic approach of female only programs is good, I think Krav could do more of that, and those programs are better than nothing, but I think Krav is far superior in the long run.
I am a girly girl. I wear heels, and make-up, and spend more money on shoes and purses than I do on Krav, but starting Krav made me realize how much women need this type of on-going instruction. Do you know what the other women are like at the school? If there are other women like her, she will likely take to it easier. If the only other women are very \”macho\” I’m guessing she’ll be put off by that, I know I am. The instructor’s style is also very important, does he insist the women work with guys regularly, does he cut them slack on drills etc.
Encourage your gf to give it a try, hopefully she will see how badly she needs this skill and besides, Krav has been in enough fitness mags and movies to be a little yuppy. 🙂
Impact is a proven self-defense course. Read the success stories on their website for some examples. While I also personally prefer Krav, Impact specifically makes a point of teaching women to feel empowered to defend themselves and it teaches them both verbal and physical skills. Most importantly, doing something to learn self-defense changes one’s mindset. If someone can’t make the time commitment for Krav, or doesn’t feel comfortable with it, there is another option that does a lot of good, mostly between the ears.
And when it comes to the basic skills, I respectfully disagree that you lose them without constant practice. You’d be surprised how much stuff you remember when you feel real fear and the adrenaline is going. We’re not talking about fighting in a ring. Just the very basic stuff, knees, palm strikes, etc. And again the mindset comes into play here. If you get attacked, even if you haven’t been taught exactly how to get out of whatever exact situation you’re in, you have a much better chance of getting out alive if you just fight back however you can.
For some people, being tough and able to defend yourself is totally unrelated to a sense of femininity, but for some people it’s not. It’s a fact that not all people feel comfortable in Krav. For those people, doing Impact is vastly superior to not doing anything.
I agree that IMPACT or a similar program is far better than doing nothing. I did read through some of the literature on the website and it appears to be better than other women’s self defense programs. I was confused by the description of the classes when compared with a couple of the testimonials (one women refered to BAMM, which included weapons and mutiple assailents, but I found no reference to those topics elswhere). If they are teaching such advanced stuff, they are not that different than Krav, simply more female oriented.
Perhaps I’m unique, but if I’m gone from class for a week or more, I forget everything that I haven’t done dozens of times (I’m guessing that’s muscle memory). Yes, I retain palms, elbows, knees etc, but it took at least two months for me to store them in long term memory in such a way they are an automatic response.
From what I’ve seen Krav markets itself to women well. Many of the publicity photos are of strong feminine women, and my class is frequently more women than men. I cannot picture even the most girly of my friends being uncomfortable at Krav, hesitent to hit hard or yell, yes, but I don’t see that as unique to Krav. But perhaps my school has a more relaxed approach than others, I don’t really have a point of comparison.
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