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Don’t know if anyone else here attended the “winter camp” put on by Colo Krav yeasterday & today, if so, pleas say with your thoughts on it.. (English not first langage, sry)
My take, of alll of wintercamps I’ve attended, This is first one where I left & thinking “I not sure going sign up for the next one”. ALLWAYS enjoyed/respected wintercamps before now! This year, two ‘senarios”, much defense against knifes, but you must talk to leader at end and cut in back with knifes from hidden guys. BS!!!
Allso – timing confused. senarios wait until last day before people got hru, and rushed. Much BJJ, but students tires, many sit outside mat, just watch. Drunk trycycles were fun/funny, but thats all.
Re: Colo. KM Winter Camp
I attended the Winter Camp and must respectfully disagree with your assessment. The knife attack from the back scenario was amazing. It showed me how easily I can be distracted and forget to evaluate my environment. For those who don’t understand the scenario, it went like this: You are sent into a long, pitch black room with a faint glow of a red chem-lite at the far end of it. You are instructed to get to the chem-lite, as that’s where the exit is, and be prepared for anything that may happen along the way. As I was feeling my way along the left wall, heading for the exit, a guy lit up a shock knife. I backed up and prepared for some kind of crazy attack. It never came. I then made my way to the exit and emerged, unscathed.
As I stepped out into the daylight and waited for my eyes to adjust, one of the instructors was standing by with a clipboard. He began to ask me a series of questions about what I’d just been through. My focus was completely on him. Doom on me – an attacker with a shock knife came up and placed the knife on my back, giving me a zap! I turned and then engaged a full-on knife attack (overhead stab) from an instructor in a padded suit. I have NEVER had a more realistic knife-defense experience. Not even close!
As a police officer, if I get too focused on one thing at a scene, I could end up dead. This scenario was so completely Krav Maga from a variety of standpoints. I learned, under EXTREME stress, that my knife defense, all the way to takeaways, was pretty darned good. I watched a variety of other attendees go through the same scenario and saw a variety of responses. Many men, for example, responded to the edged weapon attack with combatives, failing to control the weapon. Most women controlled the weapon well and kicked to great effect.
It is difficult to come up with situations that will put students into realistic situations where they must react and, thus, default to their level of training. The Krav Maga Winter Camp did exactly that. And, btw, if training with someone like John Whitman isn’t enough for you, then you’ve obviously mastered Krav Maga.
I can’t wait for next year!
Re: Colo. KM Winter Camp
Wow I would have loved to attend that! When is the winter camp usually held and is it open to people who do not attend your specific training center?
Re: Colo. KM Winter Camp
It’s put on by James Hiromasa, owner of Colorado Krav Maga. They do it in late February / early March. I’ve attended the past two. It’s been a great experience each time. Beyond the amazing Krav Maga training, it’s a great feeling to be surrounded by like-minded people! Please check out James’ web site and e-mail him about attending in 2014. You won’t regret it!
Re: Colo. KM Winter Camp
Hey Steve,
Glad to hear you had a good time!
Regarding your surprise knife attack scenario, just from what you’re saying, I personally wouldn’t have designed it like that. To me, that’s akin to hitting someone after you’ve both acknowledged a call of “time out”. As you know, it’s Real Easy to set up a student(s) for failure during scenario training. You being stabbed from behind was, IMO, NOT your lack of awareness/ability but due to the inherent design of the scenario.
You could have also had the interviewing instructor suddenly attack you with the pen he/she was writing with or a hidden knife in the clipboard holding hand – same deal. Or you could be suddently attacked during an established break period, or at dinner, or while you’re sleeping, changing, showering, using the head, etc. Testing trained responses under sudden/surprise stress is important but, IMO, a learning point of “you have to be ready for anything at any time” should not be the ONLY learning point.
Btw, was that scenario designed to ready you to defend yourself against creature attack while spelunking (a la The Descent)? Was it based on anything realistic – a situation a student might find him/herself in, a real life incident/event, etc?
Just my 2 pesos regarding that specific thing…
Re: Colo. KM Winter Camp
Hey there, Don – for clarification, it wasn’t a stab from behind. The shock knife was energized to give you an audio clue and then brushed across your back to give you physical stimulus. This would make the subject (me!) jump and turn. That’s when the overhead stab attack came.
I felt it was very well designed. I was pissed at myself because I certainly should have known that a KM drill doesn’t end with a survey…
Re: Colo. KM Winter Camp
I can’t speak to the Colo. Km Camp or even Colo. Km/James H. through any first hand knowledge. What I can say is we have an instructor with roots with Colo. KM and James H. that is first rate. Knows his stuff cold and is a very good KM practitioner, all around martial artists, and has a lot respect for James H. and Colo. KM. Enough for me. whens the camp:)
Re: Colo. KM Winter Camp
quote stevetuna:Hey there, Don – for clarification, it wasn’t a stab from behind. The shock knife was energized to give you an audio clue and then brushed across your back to give you physical stimulus. This would make the subject (me!) jump and turn. That’s when the overhead stab attack came.I felt it was very well designed. I was pissed at myself because I certainly should have known that a KM drill doesn’t end with a survey…
Hey Steve,
IMO, the type of edged weapon attack and whether or not there was an audio clue prior is doesn’t negate the fact that you were led to believe, like probably everyone else, that the scenario was over. It would have been great had you turned around and punched the interviewing instructor in the face after dealing with the knife attack – after all, they were both involved in the coordinated assault.
Had I been there, I probably would have also fallen victim to the disingenuousness of that scenario. As I said before, it’s Easy to set students up for failure – it’s much harder to create and run a GOOD (realistic & practical) drill or scenario.
In the end, what did that scenario teach you? Was there something that you did wrong or less optimally that caused or led to the attack (besides you believing the scenario was over)? Was there something practical or realistic that you learned that you could apply to running through the scenario again and being successful or that you could apply to every day life or work?
I would have probably learned 1. that the instructors are tricky and I shouldn’t trust them, 2. that the next time I’m being interviewed, I should take out the interviewer asap and then turn around to face the inevitable attack from behind.
Why not just attack you while you were checking in at the registration table/area when you first arrived at camp? Or maybe carjack you as you were leaving for the day?
Well, in the end, I wasn’t there and I am just running my mouth. Hearing about that just rubs me the wrong way. I think it would have been kosher had a ground rule been laid down from the very beginning that during this camp, you may be attacked by an instructor at any time with any weapon/tool/or technique. Then allow participants to look out for each other and help defend each other should an attack take place. You’d have a pretty interesting dynamic/atmosphere during the entire camp…
Re: Colo. KM Winter Camp
Performance under pressure = Krav Maga. This wasn’t the same old – same old static drill that becomes as choreographed as a country line dance. All I know is that I walked away KNOWING that I was able to perform way better than I would have thought when surprised by an attack!
And, btw, I did take the shock knife away, stab the attacker in the neck and then did the same to the guy that followed him with a kick shield… Oops!
Re: Colo. KM Winter Camp
Performance under pressure = Krav Maga = Kato vs Clouseau!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2l5Yt6LBfo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw1f94dx4xo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7YwGLrIlns
and many more on youtube “kato clouseau” “cato clouseau”
Bottom line is you had a good time and learned something about your reactions/training (that I would have bet money on prior to 😉 ). I would have ran it different is all.
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