Krav related exercises?

[splatcat]

Re: Krav related exercises?

quote KevinMack:

Try to utilize your time by making your exercises KM specific. At the end of most of my classes I always show my students something they can do at home in order to practice what I just taught. It may not be the whole technique but rather the specific body mechanic that makes it work. You can mix those in with body weight/mobility exercises to make it a good workout as well.

That’s a great idea – I’m a bit jealous of your students now… ;):

quote KevinMack:

I think I might shoot a short “solo drills for Krav Maga” video.

Would LOVE to see that. thumbsup

[cjs-dad]

Re: Krav related exercises?

quote SplatCat:

That’s a great idea – I’m a bit jealous of your students now… ;):

Would LOVE to see that. thumbsup

ditto~

[stuebes]

Re: Krav related exercises?

I don’t know what you are doing in the regular gym but maybe some intense interval training might help you. Like Crossfit or some circuit training. I Crossfit a couple of times a week and it works for me.

[kevinmack]

Re: Krav related exercises?

Dont get too excited. Its nothing fancy. Remember that I am approaching the subject as an instructor and long time practitioner. So what I think is important for a student to work on might not match up to what they think they should work on. People always ask what they can do at home and say “should I get a heavy bag or BOB dummy?” or “are there ways to toughen my shins or knuckles”? But when I see students that need help it is never that they dont punch hard enough or that they have weak shins. Most of the time it is footwork,telegraphic movements,hip movement,etc,etc. These are not exciting and fun things to work on. So some of my “homework assignments” can be boring and you might not even sweat.FYI mirror work is your best friend. But I believe that there are some fundamental movements in KM that you will see throughout the system and they should be worked on everyday. When people ask me the question “when did it really click for you and make sense?”. I say it is when I nailed down these fundamental movements.
My approach to working out and conditioning is different as well.Even though I lift weights my real interest is in bodyweight exercises and movement modalities like yoga,pilates and the Feldenkreis Method. As well as natural movement systems such as Movnat,Frank Forenchs work,Gynastica Natural,Parkour,etc,etc. So sometimes I mix in techniques from these modalities into our warm ups and drills or even turn some Krav Maga movements into exercises inspired by these modalities. I still like weights but I am not in to the whole crossfit thing and even though I am a certified kettlebell instructor I dont really focus on them.In my opinion proper movement,alignment,flexibility and balance are way more important to not only KM training but to life in general.
When I teach a class I approach it as if I am writing a song or movie…There is always a connecting theme or body movement that you will see from the beginning to the end.

A little historical tidbit…most people dont know that my instructor filmed and sold two Krav Maga instructional videos back in the 1980s and he advertised these videos in an infomercial shown on Philadelphia area television. One was a self defense tape showing some basic yellow belt and orange belt techniques….chokes,bearhugs,etc. The other one was a workout tape which was basically the warm up he led us through in every class. He recently told me that the warm up we use is the same one that was taught to him,Darren and Rick in 1981 by Imi and the one that was used by all KM instructors at the time.Nothing groundbreaking. Just a basic aerobic warm up. The video itself is also kind of outdated. But I always forget that this was the first time Krav Maga ever appeared on film and the first KM instructional ever and yet hardly any one has ever seen them.

So…long story short..I will short a few short vids….some might be exercise like and some may just be a few stripped down body movements that I think people should always work on.I am in the process of developing more in the realm of solo drills so keep on the lookout in the next few months.
(please forgive my typos and formatting. I am typing on an ipad with one hand while holding a sleeping baby. Like every night these days)

[kmman]

Re: Krav related exercises?

Kevin, very informative. Thank you.

What is the philosophy behind training while exhausted ie testing? Do you feel one negative is sloppiness?

How “tired” do you want your students after warmup in a normal class? Test?

[pinkgloves]

Re: Krav related exercises?

quote KevinMack:

A little historical tidbit…most people dont know that my instructor filmed and sold two Krav Maga instructional videos back in the 1980s

Are these still available for purchase?

[unstpabl1]

Re: Krav related exercises?

training while exhausted has nothing to do with ability to perform a perfect movement…its about mental toughness or better yet toughness training….its about pushing thru your fear and weaknesses….see toghness is a learned trait..some will argue thats its all mental or emotional but as sports head doc James Loehr says thats part of it but in the end its physical. i take that to mean the physical is the starting point of the Toughness training paradigm.

Loehr defined Toughness as haviing 4 catogories: STREGTH, FLEXIBILITY< RESILIENCy and RESPONSIVENESS

Looking at extra training seessions your focus should be on these 4…..in most cases most understand or will gravitate to strength or RESPONSIVENESS(Cardio) but tend to neglect to varying degrees the other 2

You can look at your own weakness and FOCUS supplimental training to that one area, find a program that works on the 4 or just do what feels good to you and really not make much progress because if it feels good you ain’t pushing youself hard enough

Crossfit is a great program because it works the 4 catagories and forces you thru the training to face your EMOTIONAL weakness….alas you become TOUGHER. Crossfit is simplly a map…pick and choose using the princples and FOCUS on developing YOUR weaknesses not strengths and thats the hard part because it means that if you look bad doing it or it feels difficult and embarassing and people tease you because of it and its the last thing you wanna do…thats what you should be doing

People like to show off their strengths. Winneres work on their weaknesses

Lastily RECOVERY is undervalued and overlooked by the average but never by the pro

[don]

Re: Krav related exercises?

quote KMMAN:

What is the philosophy behind training while exhausted ie testing?

IMO, Fatigue is a realistic condition or outcome of physical activity, whether it’s combat or recreational sports. You can’t just call “time out” and/or the game just doesn’t stop if/when you get tired – and certainly not during combat or a serious altercation. Like Mike said in his post, training while being tired or exhausted tests and develops mindset, conditioning, and skill/technique under those conditions.

Do you feel one negative is sloppiness?

I wouldn’t necessarily call “sloppiness” a “negative”. Sloppiness is expected and normal – resulting from a host of physiological changes or responses a person will go through or exhibit when stressed and/or fatigued. That being said, I prefer to limit repetitions of sloppy technique because I don’t want my students/partners to develop “bad” muscle memory. The degree of sloppiness or the onset of the sloppiness under stress or fatigue tells me how much more a student, including myself, needs to train/practice.

How “tired” do you want your students after warmup in a normal class? Test?

IMO, a good WARM UP is simpy that – a warm up. It should get the blood pumping and the lungs working but not to fatigue and it should get the students ready for whatever they will be doing later at a higher intensity. Warm ups are often tailored to the level/abilities of your students.

For me, I want my students to be mentally alert/clear enough to pay attention, focus, and learn. If they are really stressed/fatigued, it’s much harder for them to learn something, especially something new. I also want them physically able to properly execute the techniques shown. If they are really stressed/fatigued, they will likely lose strength and coordination/motor skills and they may be over compensating or short stroking or otherwise building “bad” muscle memory.

I prefer to save conditioning drills/activities for the end or near the end of class.

For testing – I want to minimize serious injuries and have the students be in good enough condition to drive themselves home – cause I’m not gonna… :D:

[kevinmack]

Re: Krav related exercises?

Here is my opinion and remember it is just that…MY opinion.
Testing:
It is up to an instructor or organization to test as they see fit. It doesnt really matter how they do it. A good teacher should know the level of a student before the test. The test should be a goal and milestone for the student. Of course I only have 80 students and teach 8 group classes a week. This might not be possible in a school with 1000s of students like the NTC. The KMW method of testing such as the 2hr clinic followed by a test,fatiguing the student before they start and the pressure testing of dealing with attacks one right after the other is mainly a KMW thing. I dont think it is a good thing and i dont think it is a bad thing.I dont think it is a good way to judge the technique of a student as they always look really sloppy to me but they do serve as a right of passage for the student which can be a good thing.
However a teacher or organization decides to test their students tends to be a reflection of the culture of the school. My instructor focused on technique and skill and only fatigued us near the end. That was his style.
Once again..I dont feel one way is wrong or right. Any way your school does it is fine. The only problem I would have is if a student failed due to being too tired or poor conditioning.Having good cardio and conditioning is important but it should not be a deciding factor in KM testing.
I do things differently but that is my choice. I try to maintain a certain culture at my school. First…students are told when they are going to test.You can not ask to test.I do not charge for belt tests. My instructor never charged me for a belt test so I feel it would be wrong to charge a student.I feel the student earns the belt through hard work,blood and sweat.I am also very influenced by BJJ culture as well and this shows in the way I do things.I do charge a small $20 fee to cover the cost of the belt and certificate.I used to not but now that I have 30 students testing at a time it became too costly to eat the cost. Because I do not use belt testing as an income generator I only test twice a year..spring/fall…and we make it a huge event with friends and family coming to watch and we have food and drinks as well.It is mandatory attendance for all students. Those who are not testing come to hold,pads,help out and support those who are testing. I test and award ranks at the same event. I pre test students on the combatives in the weeks leading up to the event so on that night they just go through the self defense techniques.I do not fatigue them beforehand but they only get one break. It is intense but not sloppy.We then award the belts and any other awards at the end in the traditional KM way.Like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O4tuL81Dd0

As I said this is just my choice.The way i do things is influenced by guys like Rickson Gracie and traditional BJJ in generals. As well as the way my instructor did things.Is this the best way to do testing? I dont know but it works for us. Will I be able to do this as we grow? Maybe not but I will try to maintain the ethos and spirit of it all.We are a family and community forst and foremost. We have two locations and students from both locations test together and everyone works together,helping and supporting their fellow students.
As Alan feldman always says ” a good instructor knows the level of their student and could take the test for them”. I hold the tests for them as a goal and for a way to prove to themselves that they have grown.By not charging for testing and using it as a way to generate income for the school It allows our testing to be more….um….honest.If I give you a belt you can bet you earned it and are at that level or beyond.I have nothing to gain from giving a rank to someone who is not at that level. It can only hurt my reputation and the reputation of the organization.

Thats the short answer 😉

I will wait to answer the question of training students in a state of fatigue in a normal class till later on.

[kevinmack]

Re: Krav related exercises?

I should also mention that some of the ways I run my business are not the best ways to run a business.
I never went to business school and I am a teacher first and businessman second. I am also very idealistic. This is a result of growing up and working in the punk rock/underground music scene where selling out and making tons of money was a sin.I have been trying to find a balance between my punk rock business ethos and maintaining/growing a business. This is all I do and it has to support me and my family.I also love Krav Maga,its history and what it can do for others. Even though we teach and train KM as a modern system dealing with modern threats we also try to keep a martial arts culture at the school. To encourage students to look at KM not only as a fighting and self defense art but also as a method of self improvement. In fact that is our motto “self-defense through self-improvement”. Imi pretty much said this himself when he answered the question what is Krav Maga he said that : Krav Maga was about educating the individual,making them a better person…but…if need be they can use it to defend themselves. Thats a paraphrase..the exact quote can be seen at 0:51 in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB5ftRQ6_UM

This is why we choose to have a uniform for our students…gi pants,belt and tshirt. That is the way KM students dressed up until the mid 90s. We also did this as a “F You” to a well known instructor who would insult my instructor and his students by calling what we do “old krav maga” or old school krav maga”. We also did it to pave our own path and not try to pretend that we were with other organizations. Sometimes I feel this keeps people from coming in…specifically women who tend to not like wearing gi pants when they work out.But I made the decision and I am sticking to it.

[kevinmack]

Re: Krav related exercises?

I dont want them tired at all. I want them warmed up. I do a different warm up than my instructor. He would do a basic aerobic style warm followed by stratching. I dont stretch my students. I also transistion very quickly from exercises to functional warm up drills that we do every class. here is how it goes.
-Bow in
-class runs in a cricle
-shoulder rolls fwd/back left over right
-heels to your butt/running knees/side shuffles back and forth.Jump ups
(students now in self space)
-Jumping jacks
-Shuffling planks
-side pendulums/front pendulums for legs/knee circles/hip mobility
-figure 8s for arms/wrist rolls/elbow rolls
-10 squats
-10 pushups
(functional warm ups)
-Footwork drill (mirroring) staying in the fighting measure
-jab vs jab
-touching shoulders/play fighting.

Those are the basics you will see in every class with a few different things thrown in each day such as balance and mobility drills and dynamic crowd movement.Dpending on what we are working on that day some exercises for either legs are arms will be added.
The whole thing takes about 10mins. Students are sweaty,loose and ready to train but not exhausted in any way unless it is your first time training.

quote KMMAN:

Kevin, very informative. Thank you.

What is the philosophy behind training while exhausted ie testing? Do you feel one negative is sloppiness?

How “tired” do you want your students after warmup in a normal class? Test?

[kmman]

Re: Krav related exercises?

Everyone, thank you for the responses to my question.

Don, very well put. Kevin, thanks for the very detailed reply and I think your philosophy is super. I wouldnt worry about the business aspect as people will see the value in your principles.

Sometimes, as a student, I think instructors tend to condition the class to fill up the hour. More of a lack of content. Im not saying there shouldnt be but theres overkill.

And conditioning to “toughen” you up and Crossfit to toughen you up is laughable to be quite honest.

[unstpabl1]

Re: Krav related exercises?

[quote=KMMAN;57724]
And conditioning to “toughen” you up and Crossfit to toughen you up is laughable to be quite honest.[/quote

Oy Veh:rolleyes:

[kevinmack]

Re: Krav related exercises?

here is one basic set of solo drills in regards to the ground and getting up and moving backwards or forwards. I will have some betters ones this week.
Squats and burpees can also be mixed in to make it a workout.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXKy3jVJpiU

[kevinmack]

Re: Krav related exercises?

Here is a video showing some basic Krav Maga footwork drills. As I said it is nothing spectatcular but it is fundamental. The movements can be mixed in with pushups,burpees,squats,jumping jacks,etc. and it can be a good workout. I might delete the other video…I really didnt feel loike filming that day so i rushed it. As the series progresses some of the things are going to focus on techniques and movements that are unique to Krav Maga.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91K0cIUhoo

[Author]

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