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Hello,
This is my first post on the forum and I have a question for the experienced members.
Is being “game” enough? I have just begun training and I feel like a total spaz out there. Uncoordinated, weak, just generally lame. Nothing seems to be clicking. I don’t think I’m properly executing the techniques. And I haven’t found a way to really work on the stuff on my own to get better. I love the classes but I wonder if I’m embarassing myself out there.
Is it enough to be willing to go to classes and try your best, or are there just some people who never “get it”? And what if your best is crap?
Re: Is being game enough?
My best advice will be short and simple. Give it your all, never give up, and always ask questions of your instructors; they’re there to help.
I’ll leave with a “Galaxy Quest” quote… Never give up, never surrender!
Re: Is being game enough?
VG,
YES!! Being “Game” is a great place to start. Persistence will get you where you need to be! One of the things you learn in KM is YOU NEVER, EVER QUIT!! You can certainly apply that to your emotions and fortitude to conquer/overcome your feelings. I often use martial arts as a lesson for my son…he has a blackbelt in Kenpo/Kyusho-Jitsu. Whether he is learning something new (school, sports, etc.) and expresses frustration, I always remind him the first day he learned kata #1. I ask him, “when you first learned kata #1 could you do it?” The answer is no….Then I ask, “Can you do it now?” He looks and smiles (actually says: “Duh!!”), he gets my point…I hope you do too. Keep at it VG and DON’T EVER QUIT!!!
Re: Is being game enough?
Hey guys, Thanks! Howdy from Milwaukee. I won’t give up. I will put out each and every time. Right now, that’s all I got to give. Hopefully it will come in time.
Re: Is being game enough?
you can definitely practice on your own. practice the stance and movements. hell, i actually walk around my house in the fighting stance to get the movements down pat. it’s just persistence.
kobe didn’t get as good as he did overnight – he’s a gym rat. and it shows on the court.Re: Is being game enough?
There is a whole thread of people discussing how awkward they felt when they first started training. You should read through it if you haven’t already. http://kmforum.kravmaga.com/showthread.php?t=3608
Being game will take you a long way in Krav. The techniques are important, obviously, but the attitude and aggressiveness that you apply the techniques with is just as important. Just keep working the way you are working and the skills will come. Krav was never meant to be pretty; it’s about giving you the tools to keep yourself safe.
Re: Is being game enough?
If you don’t have the Complete Krav Maga (or the new beginner book) you might want to buy it. You’ll see that for each level there really aren’t that many techniques to master. So, you are going to see these defenses over and over again. You will naturally become more comfortable performing them after you see them three or more times in class. Sometimes when we are linking the defense moves with the follow-up combatives I will get “spazzy” because I’m thinking too hard about trying to throw a particular strike. But in a recent class, we were doing a front choke exhaustion drill and my partner got confused and choked me from behind. But, I was amazed that I just went ahead an did an automatic defense against it, turned and delivered some combatives, yet that’s not what we were practicing at all. That’s where the muscle memory kicks in. After you do it in class enough it gets encoded at the subconsious level and then it just flows out of you. It will happen…count on it.
Re: Is being game enough?
Thanks everyone, your responses are much appreciated. I guess I’m just a little impatient. I really love this stuff, I just want to to it as well as I possibly can. Not just my own techniques but also being a good partner and pad holder in class etc.
Fred, thanks for the link. I hadn’t seen that. I guess it’s not at all uncommon to feel ackward or even a little “stupid” at first. Overthinking is probably a problem for alot of people at this point as well. Every class seems to bring a new technique. I can “see” the moves in my minds eye, but it doesn’t always automatically translate to my hands and feet. lol!
MagaMike, I saw that book online and intend to pick it up. Thanks for the recommedation!
Re: Is being game enough?
Well let me tell you…
I was in Level 1 for close to 8 months (kept missing the test). I went 4-5 days a week for that 8 month period of time so I knew the stuff like the back of my hand.
Fast forward…I past my test and took my first Level 2 class on Tues and was “Game”, but awful at the techniques.
My point is that you always have to start somewhere. No matter what level your at you have to start at the bottom and be “awkward” 🙂
Good Luck! Train Hard! Have Fun!
Re: Is being game enough?
i used to be horrible at a particular gun defense, i would give it my all but i could never execute the take-away properly. kept at it and kept asking questions, now my instructor likes to have me demonstrate it to new law enforcement guys. i’ve yet to see anyone who didn’t improve if they continued to try in the 4+ years i’ve been doing km. perseverance pays, stick with it.
Re: Is being game enough?
I’ll join in on the encouragements. Being the worst at KM class just means you have a lot more to gain from the class than others and your money will not go to waste!
Everyone on this forum was a newbie at one point or the other, so everyone can share your pain bud, just stick with it, it won’t get easier, but it will get a lot more fun to practice. I find myself exhausted every class, but the rewards of executing different drills correctly are enormous.
Talk to the instructor about your technique, ask lots of questions, even embarrassing ones. If you have a question, the chances are another person in the group who is more shy has the same question to ask too but too afraid. You are there to learn.
Re: Is being game enough?
Thanks alot guys, you’ve really put my mind at ease. I’m looking foward to the next class. I’ll just keep plugging away. Most of the time I’m working with folks who are also taking level 2 classes so they are much further along than I am. But they have all been nothing but helpful.
I know from other pursuits that you have to crawl before you can walk. So I’ll keep crawling and keep working towards walking, and maybe someday even running. If nothing else at this point I can at least “endeavor to persevere”.
Re: Is being game enough?
that’s another great point u mentioned and that’s training with people who are more advanced than u. i’m on level1 and whenever a level 2 students takes our class i make sure i partner up with them to work the drills. u get that much better working with those better than u. nowhere was that more apparent than at the knife defenses seminar i went to last week and i was working on knife attacks with instructors from my class. that was an awesome experience and in my mind what i learned in that 4 hour seminar was the equivalent of taking 8-10 level 1 classes.
Re: Is being game enough?
quote dckm:that’s another great point u mentioned and that’s training with people who are more advanced than u. i’m on level1 and whenever a level 2 students takes our class i make sure i partner up with them to work the drills. u get that much better working with those better than u.That’s a fact. Last time I partnered up with a guy who is level two and is there all the time. He was real helpful and even gave me extra turns to work on techniques. It was probably my most productive training session to date.
It also spotlighted just how far I need to go and kind of inspired this thread.
Re: Is being game enough?
quote :I was in Level 1 for close to 8 months (kept missing the test). I went 4-5 days a week for that 8 month period of time so I knew the stuff like the back of my hand.I’m really glad, and reassured, to hear that. I started about eight months ago, and I could have taken my Level 1 test two weeks ago. I didn’t because I thought I wasn’t ready, and it was Super Bowl Sunday. Everyone who took it – including a lot of people who started after I did – passed.
Sometimes I do really well in class, and sometimes I’m still awkward (just two days ago the instructor corrected my straight punches). I’m very patient and I’m taking my time. The next Level 1 test is in April, and I will take and pass it then.
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