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alright, I just finished talking to a friend who has been in his share of fights (and his ego is that of a quarterback playing high school football…40000% he is the ****)
I had been telling him about how I had been training krav 4 nights a week for the last 4 months, as well as studying the discipline in my spare time (via books / the krav maga videos)
I do have the reputation of being kind of a book-smart, nerdy, pacifistic kid…so that may explain why he thought about this.
I told him the aim of krav maga and about some of the stuff we did, he told me that all of that stuff is “useless” in a real world situation and that he could still probably drop me in about 4 seconds.
Naturally, I wanted to disagree with him…i responded “Well, even if i wanted to…i don’t have the spirit to fight you, you’re one of my best friends” and the subject later changed.
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I have 4 months of krav maga training behind my belt from an IKMF training center, he has a few scrap fights here and there in high school. (Yes, high school…he is now a junior in high school)
This is why i picked krav – because I want to be able to stand up against someone LIKE HIM (mind you, i definitely don’t want to deliver a groin kick or hammer strike to the back of the neck to a kid i’ve known for a long time)
I guess I’m just a little frustrated that people still see me as a whimp…but I know I have come far :).
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
My guess is, someday (after you’ve grown up, are working for a living, taking care of your own family), if you look back on what you posted here, if you look back on your high school experience, on what concerned or bothered you in high school, on some of the people you hung out with, etc – you’ll shake your head and wonder how you were ever that way… :):
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
Don’s got it right. It’s all perspective, and things can change really fast at your age.
“Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation.” – words spoken by someone who’s never really been in a real life situation to know how important training is.
It doesn’t get much more “real life” than what police and military people go through day in and day out, so by his logic I guess they should just quit all that useless training. :rolleyes:
Don’t sweat it. A few years out of high school, you’ll look back at the biggest seniors and you’ll think of them as just kids. The difference will be you have experience and maturity on your side.
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
How effective would only 4 months of training (at 4 days a week in level one and two moves) be against most of these so called “scrappers” that have absolutely no martial arts background?
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
quote jdawgmcb:How effective would only 4 months of training (at 4 days a week in level one and two moves) be against most of these so called “scrappers” that have absolutely no martial arts background?“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” – Sun Tzu
I really think you should sit down in person with your instructor(s) and discuss these concerns you have. At 4 months, you’ve probably seen a good amount of progress. BUT, be careful not to get too big for your britches (be overconfident or overestimate yourself).
It is Absolutely Possible for someone with NO formal training/experience to Clean Your Clock! I have boatloads more training/experience than you and it’s the same for me. I routinely train with people who can eat my lunch and that’s the way I like it.
Why are you wasting your time comparing yourself against people with no training/experience? You probably have some excellent instructors, senior classmates, training partners, etc that you could be striving to emulate or catch up to…
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
Some very helpful guidance in the replies here – including the words of a certain wise old General. Hope the original poster will read and carefully digest it all.
Obviously KM is effective in real life situations – otherwise people whose lives depend on it, as mentioned, wouldn’t be training in this system. Your friend has no clue whatsoever about KM – would you rather listen to his assessment, or from people who have a more informed perspective?
Its unrealistic to think training in KM is going to make you an invincible bad a$$ like Chuck Norris – taking on all comers and annihilating them one after the other as if it were a Hollywood film. If you’re going to square off behind the school gym against the biggest, meanest fighter who outweighs you and out classes you as a fighter for a mano a mano ultimate fighting challenge – the results might be as you’d expect.
At this point with your KM training, if one of these street scrappers randomly came up to you and took a swing, maybe you’d have a good chance to block, counter & flee the scene. Seems like a good outcome to me. Consider how well these scrappers might do in a real life situation involving weapons, chokes or things other than standing there throwing some haymakers & maybe a headlock or amateur grappling move or two..
I’d say – heed the words of the other posters on this one, keep training & perhaps keep what you are doing quiet from the street scappers in your area. Good luck & train hard!
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
Krav is an easy defense system to learn but does
take time to season into it.Your friend might be
able to take you out in 4 sec or maybe he will
be taken out in 2.Keep training and don’t worry
about it.And remember it is also a mental game
also.Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
Sounds like you could use some new friends.
I started martial arts training in high school, and I still had a reputation for being a weakling. I walked away from plenty of fights that I KNEW I would’ve won. I did this because I understood my training was for one purpose: saving my life. It was not for looking tough or being a badass. If somebody had threatenned my life, then it would’ve been all out war. But I wasn’t going to throw down with every moron who flicked my ear or stepped on my foot.
Remember why you’re training and be content with the knowledge that you’re getting better all of the time. And if somebody wants to underestimate you, that only works in your favor if (god forbid) you actually have to fight him.
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
You should really listen to what the other posters have said here. I was in your situation when I was in high school and walked away from plenty of fights. I don’t feel bad about it at all. I’ve read some of your previous posts and know the stressful situation you’re in. But like I’ve said before, you should keep your training to yourself so that a) if you ever need it the attacker won’t expect it and b) prevent people from trying to challenge you. If this guys your friend then invite him to try out a class. Or show him some things you learned. KM is a proven system. But it’s meant to save your life not your pride.
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
quote Don:[B] I routinely train with people who can eat my lunch and that’s the way I like it.Wise, wise words. As Ryan Hoover says, “Growth is in the discomfort.” Keep pushing yourself. Pick yourself off the matts when you get knocked down (because if you do this thing right, you will get knocked down from time to time). Continue training, continue learning and, most importantly, stop with your negative self-talk! Start appreciating how far you’ve come in a short period of time. Strive to get better, every single class!
Good luck to you. You seem like the kind of student that a good instructor would like to have!
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
It just bugs me to **** how everyone immediately thinks they can kick my ass because of how i used to be.
Now i weigh 146 lbs, benchin 250+, squatting 350+, DL 350+ ( i know this stuff doesnt matter but i thought i would throw it out there)
Before krav i did train about 2 years of tae-kwon-do as well. (but took off quite a few years in between taking the two classes)
I’m almost out of high school – and i guess im just frustrated that girls ignore me as some sort of loser (havent even kissed a girl since 8th grade and im a senior now), guys think they are better than me and that i can’t defend myself anymore.
I guess it’s normal for this stuff to get to your head, Sun Tzu’s quote really inspired me, however.
Out of curiosity – after 2 straight years of krav maga training (with a trip to Israel to see how they train there…yes im planning that in about 5-6 months) do you think that would give me the confidence i need to oblieterate any life threat.
I have no interest “friend scrapping” with my friends or any other people (as this is relatively common in high school)… i don’t feel comfortable using my defense for headlock takedowns (groin punch and use your hands above their forehead to throw them down), hammers to the neck, kicks to the groin, etc…but if it was a real life situation i feel that my reflexes would take place.
I think im getting addicted to my krav classes…they are soooo much fun and informative 🙂
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
quote jdawgmcb:Out of curiosity – after 2 straight years of krav maga training (with a trip to Israel to see how they train there…yes im planning that in about 5-6 months) do you think that would give me the confidence i need to oblieterate any life threat.I think thatís a question only you can answer, some people are born with it, others never truly get it. For most I think there just comes a day when you just no longer think about it. And that day usually comes and goes without you even noticing.
thumbsupRe: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
What a great discussion…not because your going thru 17 y/o angst….we all went thru it by the way…sucks huh? but because it asks questions about ourselves we ask “Forever”. There eternal…Who am I? what am I capable of? What do I need to do to be more capable/ etc etc. Am I the Ahole everyone tells me I am or is it them? ( In my case its always “them”)rofl2What the heck is wrong with me?
You’ve gotten some great feedback, so if your paying attention you got the answers. Only thing I can add is some observations from the sidelines. Maybe they’ll have some value
4 months of training is not very much, like everything else it depends on the person. Coordination, strength, endurance, ability to commit violence all play apart. I always figure every student has one foot out the door. 4 months is a place where students question the validity of their training. many get that 1st or 2nd belt and never come back….very common to look for excuses not to follow thru….We all frikken contribute to our own self sabotage. By the way, your training is valid and proven.
We have to ask ourselves, perferably on paper, as it clarifies our thoughts, “Why” we’re doing anything. Once we define it, its concrete or real to us. If you come up with an answer like I’m going to be the baddest MoFO in the junglebow1 Well your off track, because thats not doable. Think about MMA. The UFC, every star has gotten his butt kicked or will. Life is even more unpredictable as there are people who don’t share your values about friendship and fair play.
What it sounds like to me is your someone who took a look at his life and didn’t like what he saw…and unlike 95% of the world, decided to do something about it to improve himself…Working out, taking care of himself takes effort and determination. Its not the easy path. Its hard to show up for class and w/o’s regularly. Hell, all that training is great an all, but useless in real life, is a boy’s way of saying he ain’t got the personal fortitude to put in the work to improve himself.
let me ask you something, have you improved physically in the last 4 months, is class easier, punches stronger, How much could you bench on your 1st day? you may not notice it, but your improving everyday. Your friend is deteriorating daily. Because we’re either working to improve or we deteriorate
In the end, no martial art will make us 6’10” and bulletproof, what it does is make you Tougher. I think of it as toughness training and I define that with James Loehr definetion of toughness: flexibility, responsiveness,strength, and resiliency. These qualities are not just physical, there also emotional and mental. Krav training addresses them and improves them all. your buddies comment betrays his weakness in those areas as Mentally tough people understand the value of effort and that life is a do-it-yourself project. Of course the lazy ones are always willing to tell you what you can’t do or whats a waste of time. The thing they aren’t saying is how much they wish they could get themselves to act, but of course, working to improve yourself is great and all, but its useless in a real life situation.:dunno:
It’s not what people think of us that puts us in our place, its what “WE” think of ourselves that defines ourselves. We are self determined, but only to the degree that we think and make our own decisions.
You should be proud of your efforts of self improvements. You may not have impressed your buddy, but you impressed me. And I’m a hell of a lot harder to impress at 50 than I was at 17.
keep training. your in the right system
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
Definitely some great level headed answers guys 🙂
I just want to be a little more respected as the “nice guy who would help you out no matter what”…because that guy was used several times.
Krav Maga has helped me to develop (and continue to develop) into that person… i remember when i didn’t even know how to put wraps on…and i thought i was gonna die after the warmups…now the classes are so fun that i barely even realize that an hour – hour 1/2 has gone by.
Re: "Training is great and all, but useless in a real life situation"
quote jdawgmcb:Before krav i did train about 2 years of tae-kwon-do as well. (but took off quite a few years in between taking the two classes)I’m almost out of high school – and i guess im just frustrated that girls ignore me as some sort of loser (havent even kissed a girl since 8th grade and im a senior now), guys think they are better than me and that i can’t defend myself anymore.
The fun (and I mean that in a good way) tends to begins after high school when ‘real life’ starts up. For some reason, the people who may have been popular and successful on the social front in high school don’t always end up that way on the outside – sometimes the tables turn and the less ‘popular’ ones are the ones who end up having the most interesting lives.
Girls older than high school age also usually look at other criteria in guys than sports prowess or social popularity..
Training in martial arts takes discipline, hard work and focus – there’s a good chance that since you’ve started already as a high-schooler, you’ll carry these elements and work ethic into what you pursue later on in life, work, career, schooling etc.
BTW – one of the best places to meet girls is in college!
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