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I wear a polo shirt with the Krav embroidered on the front … those that know what it means have only showed intrest and respect. I am proud to be a student of Krav and want to share it with anyone and everyone. If they would get in some other colors than black and white I’d buy those 😉
I only wish I could buy Krav T-shirts without getting reamed at 10% sales tax 🙁
Jay
I agree with CLFMak. I like to wear km shirts outside because I enjoy the conversations it starts. I have never feared or believed that because I am wearing a logo someone would want to start a fight with me. I truly enjoy talking about martial arts and what other people think about it
I don’t wear the gear to a bad area of town and I don’t wear it to a bar. I will wear someof the stuff when I’m at the store, my son’s and daughter’s ball games, and at the gym. Not only does it initiate conversation but it is a way to give back to my school and the organization by increasing the awareness of KM. I would hope that over time I will help bring in some new students so that the doors remain open and I continue to have a place to train.
I used to get into some fights when I was in my 20’s and never had on any clothes with martial arts symbols. I think the attitude you have has more to do with why a person fights than what they wear.
This subject reminds me of that guy I used to see in the elevator in my apartment building. I sometimes look at people in the street or in other common areas, imagining what I would do if that guy suddenly attacked me, how hard I think it would be to fight him. Of course, I would never provoke anyone to a fight, I’m just trying to imagine myself as a victim.
Anyway, there was that guy I saw once in a while, around 150 pounds, athletic, but not too muscular. He didn’t look as though it would be to hard to take him on if I had to. But one day that same guy was wearing a Hunter/UFC fightgear shirt and I noticed how that made me a bit more hesitant when thinking about fighting him. If he wore such a shirt, he was probably a MMA fan and as such he probably had at least some fighting experience. So, if I had been a potential attacker, seeing that shirt might have changed my mind about attacking him.
So, I guess it could go either way. Some people might see a fighting shirt and get scared off by it, others might want to challenge the guy wearing it. Most people though, probably don’t do either of those things and really aren’t paying too much attention to someone else’s shirt.
I don’t usually wear my Krav gear outside of class, but I do have a Krav jacket that I used to wear a lot and never had problems with. My mother also wears Krav Maga gear at her gym and so far no one has challenged her. 😉
I’m glad no one has called your moms out to thrash her for wearing her gear 😛
I am not afraid to wear KM shirts out to bars I go to in fact have been in some dives lately that most here would consider the bad kind with a shirt on just a week ago and people for the most part don’t go around reading shirts and starting stuff. I have some Israeli hooded ones that are in Hebrew and no one knows what it means but the fighting guys on it are kind of self explanitory. Never a prob. Live your life the way you want to, don’t let fear dictate for you.
I also wear them to work, the gym, to the store, I like wearing them and reason I do alot is because they are the shirts that fit me the best of all that I have so I’m inclined to wear them more. As Ron Burgundy would say they show off my guns. 8)
REQUEST – Add a Black Krav Maga hoodie to the pro-shop. One with a pocket on the front to keep your hands warm!
I’d buy that! 😀 😛 🙂
I find wearing my KM gear just makes for good conversations. Wear I train, what it is etc. If someone asks and looks aggressive, then I would tell them it was a Jewish Men’s club. Problem solved……
JC
This is kind of a humorous conversation from my vantage point, because I just started working at a Krav facility, and the general manager has made the uniform a very distinct, very noticeable Krav shirt the uniform. I could just imagine the conversation…
\”Well, Bryan, I want to talk to you about our uniform.\”
\”Yeah, Jeff, what’s up?\”
\”Well, I’m kind of worried about the uniform being a threat to my safety. I mean, it might give away my training to a potential attacker, thus giving them an advantage. You don’t want to put me in danger, do you?\”
\”Jeff, shut up. And go wash the mats.\”
Seriously, one of the things that has drawn me to Krav is that, in its simplicity, a lot of the distinct, unique telltale stuff that other styles have isn’t there.
In other words, I’m a Krav student with a strong Thai boxing background. I would tend to kick and knee and elbow more than straight punch. A Krav student with a grappling background would tend to use that more…a Krav student with a boxing background would gravitate towards cross and hook punches.
I think wearing Krav gear, even to someone who knows something about various martial arts, only denotes that you’ve trained…not specifics enough about the training to give someone an advantage. If anything, I think it’s a deterrant.
I wear Krav clothing everywhere…and where I work in New York it’s difficult to know when you are in a \”bad part of town\” or not–there’s no consistent definition for that here. My experience is similar to most of the posters in this string, the only one’s who have ever approached me because of the shirts or jackets are people who have heard of Krav and want to know about the school, and the vast majority of them are involved in some form of martial arts already and we have interesting converstations (it’s always nice to meet a kindred spirit). There are also a lot of people I deal with who see the shirts and really have no idea what Krav Maga is–and that does seem to be the rule (at least in my part of the world).
Actually, the only problem I ever had was with a 65ish year old gentleman who I would see during our morning stand up briefings at work–everytime I wore my red/maroon tee shirt with the bright white Krav logo the old gent would literally sneer at me from across the room, and never would engage me in conversation. One of my co-workers finally clued me in–apparently the guy can’t tell the Krav symbol from the old USSR hammer and sickle…I guess the red/maroon shirt doesn’t help that much…
Earlier this summer ,I wore my Krav shirt to a street fest in a different state.I got to meet some nice people that take Krav who never would have known to approach me if I hadn’t had the shirt on.
FFDO is right, I got a grey hoodie on eBay from an IDF guy that goes back to Israel every year and gets some to sell- I think he’s in Canada. I’ll check my records and get his ebay name if you’re interested- just let me know and I’ll post it.
Re: Advertising that you practice Krav with Krav clothes
quote \”LeMarteau\:This web site sells Krav hats, which advertise to everyone you meet that you practice Krav.Is that a good idea to be telling potential adversaries that you are trained and therefore they either avoid you because of it, or therefore become more stealthy and leathal when they DO attack you? Or is it better that they not know, and if they attack you, be surprised and caught off-guard.
I would say 99% of your drunken bar fight/stranger grabbing you folks do not know what krav maga is, most will think its some sort of new age thing.
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