@simhamukha
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Markx3 was kidding around. The Captain was just being his fine self.
But you are right, I should lighten up a little. It is silly to take offense at something so trivial, and obviously said in pretty innocent earnestness. I apologize for being so sarcastic.
Still, I would really appreciate it if you would please remember that there are people who participate in this forum who have not been in the 21-25 demographic for quite some time, who deal with attitude in class and from peers because they think we just should not be participating in KM classes and learning to defend ourselves because of our age. I deal with it regularly, and it sucks.
In addition, many of the woman who participate in the forum and KM do not look as great as the women on the top page look. It is upsetting to find a thread talking about the \”hot shit\” appearing there. It is one more thing for women who are trying to learn elbow throws and who are definitely not \”hot shit\” to deal with.
When I saw it, I wondered for a moment how some of the woman in my school would be received in LA. I thought about the woman of various sizes, ages and races who just participated in the intro classes last weekend, and wondered if they would have shown up if their point of reference was the new KM home page. Of course, I did not wonder for a moment why there weren’t one or two honored female teachers in Darren Levine’s age group appearing there.
One mental image I had that really was funny was the idea of guys showing up at KM schools thinking that these are the women they are going to get to spar with.
The heart of KM is its inclusiveness. Some of us have less and less of a sense of humor about issues that exclude or stereotype others as we are more and more negatively affected by the prevailing attitudes about who has value in our society and who does not.
Thanks!
Yes, that is Darren Levine on the right. I believe the man on the left is someone who was featured prominently on the KM tapes/DVD set, named Michael? Not sure.
If you are very fortunate then it is only a matter of time, Captain Obvious, before you too are dealing with the the reckless disregard for the value of your fellow human being that is ageism.
I can only hope that you live so long. I really, really want you to fully experience what it is like to be on the receiving end of an attitude like yours, especially since it seems unlikely that you will ever have to cope with the equally careless sexism you demonstrate. 😕
Many fights end up on the ground whether the defender likes it or not, so KM teaches you how to deal with that. But the objective is not to demonstrate your superior skill by getting the other guy to cry uncle. It is to do serious, serious damage as viciously, yet efficiently and effectively as you can in as brief a time frame as possible so that you can quickly and safely retreat.
KM is for real life – it is not a sport, and it is not goal oriented towards anything but getting home safely. As I am sure you know, \”tapping out\” in grappling signals the end of a round, a way for the opponent to say \”okay, you got me\” before any harm is done. That is not what happens in real life, so it is not a focus KM maintains. Grappling has rules. KM does not.
With that said, yes, they teach both chokes and grappling, both as defenses and counterattacks, standing and on the ground, with submission as the pseudo – objective for a few of the ground defenses, and all with an eye on whether or not the moves being taught are the best way to get the job done.
I was looking for something aerobic to do, but with a point. I hated the idea of kicking into empty air or doing a lot of tae-bo type stuff that leads you nowhere. I get bored easily, too (I am not proud of that…) A lot of doing the same thing makes me unhappy.
So I entered \”women\” \”self-defense\” and my area into a search engine and started to wade through all of the rape-prevention classes that popped up. I have nothing against these classes at all, it is just that they are oriented to a specific goal, and are conducted over a short interval. I was looking for something that would be ongoing, and more generalizable.
I came across the national KM site, and it rang a bell. I remembered hearing something about it a while back, and read more about the history of KM on the site. I have been very interested in the Holocaust since I read \”The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich\” back in high school, and read a lot more about Nazi Germany, including about the underground resistance movement. I was fascinated and deeply moved by Imi Lichtenfeld’s story, and his determination to not just fight but also to teach others to fight, especially those who were so vulnerable.
So I checked for KM in my area, and found Carol Middleton’s school in DC. I don’t know much about martial arts, but I knew enough to be impressed by her years of experience in teaching and amazing level of expertise in martial arts. It was like having the opportunity to attend a World Politics 101 class being taught by Henry Kissinger. I thought I would have to be an idiot to not at least try the intro classes.
For reasons I do not understand I found that I was as excited about the intro classes as a kid is about Christmas. I was literally counting the days. When I went to the class and saw how hard a woman could hit and kick with this method, I almost started to spin around I was so excited! Plus, it was so incredibly affordable…
That’s why I started. But I stayed because the teachers at KMDC make it so accessible. I took some masters-level education courses and know a little bit about how people learn. KMDC instructors are always well-prepared, they never make anything seem too hard, like you can’t learn it. Their patience seems endless. They are always willing to break things down into smaller and smaller components until you get it. They must go over this stuff a million times but they never seem bored with the material – in fact, they always seem jazzed about it. They relay the information verbally, visually, and will even manipulate your body until you experience the right position for yourself and know what you are aiming for.
I guess most importantly, they treat everyone exactly the same. They must have favorites but you would never know it. Women are treated the same as men, young people the same as those who are older, the physically talented are treated the same as the not-so-physically talented…Everyone gets the same level of treatment, everyone is treated respectfully. Yet simultaneously, personal achievement is always acknowledged, and instruction is individualized in each class.
The end result is that you come out of each class feeling as though you have gotten a little better and a little more confident, not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally.
I only had time to look at the beginnings of a few of them so no vote. But I am amazed at the time spent posturing before any hitting actually starts. It seems it would have been easy for any of the participants to say okay, whatever, and walk away. I have a new level of interest in verbal de-escalation strategies.
The problem gang in this area (Northern Virginia) is Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, from El Salvador. Central American countries recently adopted some draconian regulations against belonging to a gang, and officials in this area believe this has forced many gang members up north. Most of the Hispanics in Northern Virginia are from Central America, so there are usually family ties here. It is not a new problem. The police here have been dealing with it for years. But this past year there were some particularly heinous crimes, like the machete-thing, that got a lot of press. Also, MS-13 has expanded into rural areas, like the Shenandoah Valley, and this is so unusual that it has also gotten some press. The symbol is the tatoo MS-13.
I know the area you are talking about. It is true that gangs are emerging as a problem. But I want to mention that the machete attack was dramatized in the papers – the kids hands were not actually severed. He had some serious cuts on his arms from defending himself. Not a big difference in the end, but not quite as chilling as the idea of a gang cornering him and deliberately chopping off each hand as some kind of retributive act.
You say you can’t leave, so you know what that means in the KM philosophy. The only thing left to do is to kick some butt and get yourself safe.
In this case, that means get involved in the community efforts to nip this activity in the bud. You live in a wealthy community (even if you are not!), and it also draws a LOT of shoppers and tourists. The county officials and local police know the emergence of gangs are the kiss of death to the local economy. They are being quite responsive, but they also need organized community support and participation by average citizens.
Your call to 911 was a good start. You may want to make a few more phone calls to City Hall and go to a few meetings. Find out what you can do to support the troops. I would bet there are at least a few committees and task forces that have formed that could use a hand.
I forgot to add that when I was in a similar situation, same city in 1993, I joined the community watch program. I also carried one of those BIG flashlights that have, like, six D sized batteries in the barrel. Besides that no criminal wants a bright spotlight on their activities, it makes a really good club.
Anyone looking you over to see if you are a good target will note the potential weapon and pass you over for something easier. You can’t walk around with a gun or knife strapped to your waist, and they are not a deterrent if no one can see you have them. Plus there are all kinds of legal problems that you can get into (do an Internet search on Bernard Goetz, New York City, subway shooting).
You can carry the flashlight out in the open and no one will freak and yell \”look out, she’s got a HUGE flashlight!\” But it will make a predator think twice!
That is fascinating. I have never heard of this condition before, and I am wondering how you found a name for it? I was also wondering if you think it makes you better or worse at sparring and other KM activities?
I have heard of people deliberately extinguishing fight or flight reactions by exposing themselves to the feared experience again and again, but your situation sounds really unique.
You would have to get it checked out by a psychiatrist, but just FYI it does not sound like PTSD. You are not truly detached or emotionally estranged from the things you are doing when you experience this state. You are just very calm, even happy. The individuals I’ve known who have had PTSD experience their detachment as a sort of emotional flatness – an utter lack of any kind of a feeling. PTSD is accompanied by other symptoms, too, like intrusive flashbacks to distressing experiences and really horrible nightmares.
There may be some endorphin or enkephalin or a combination of both that get released in excess when you are in a stressful situation. The CNS \”rebounds\” when it has been suppressed, even by endogenous opioids. If you are in a stressful situation but experience an unusual sense of calm, it may be that your CNS makes up for it later by having a reaction. Confusing if there is no apparent reason to be anxious. Could also be some kind of dissociative disorder especially if you have trauma in your background. Kids figure out amazing ways to mentally and emotionally deal with bad situations.
I hope you are able to find out more about it and get some answers. If there are any universities in your area I would look into them – I am sure there must be some neurochemists somewhere who would love to help you figure it out.
That is different from what I understood. I thought he snapped because of the debris being pitched at him and went after one of the fans who was doing that. I would have to agree, since it sounds malicious, that it was a case of assault. I guess if the prosecuting attorney’s office doesn’t bring criminal charges against Artest, the victim has the option of filing a civil lawsuit. I hope he does…
Basketball Brawl
Eh, I’m not so sure. It is bizarre to have something come flying out of a crowd at you in a situation like that. Really triggers a strong fight or flight response (knowledge painfully acquired as a bartender…)
I don’t think it was basketball’s finest moment, either, but basketball is different than it used to be. Someone called it their \”favorite contact sport.\” There is a certain amount of \”in your face\” attitude that you have to bring to the game (and be able to back up!) if you are going to win. It is much more physical now and these guys routinely work in all kinds of strikes and kicks in the course of normal play.
We are not expected to carry physical and mental aggression into our workplaces as these men are, so I am not sure it is a fair comparison. I think, though, that someday soon sports are going to be played in protected environments. I am amazed that all that’s happened so far is a little trash being thrown at players.
Locations map
Nice Web site and discussion board. I especially like the capacity to do quick polls. I am about to get this installed for my association’s Web site, so I appreciate the opportunity to see a real life implementation happen.
I am not sure who to send this to, no Web site manager is identified, so I am hoping it will be appropriately directed. I was checking out the locations map functions and noticed the Northeastern part is not working well.
The map is vectored so the individual states can be activated as links to pages that have KM locations listed. This works fine for large states, but not well for the small ones in the Northeast. The custom is to use the identifying postal codes as links (the ones that are currently hovering forlornly over the Atlantic ocean with nothing to do). But instead the attempt was made to activate these small states as links.
For example, DC isn’t activated as a link. And you can’t click on the postal code to find the school there. Fixing that should be a priority. There are many harried law students and disillusioned people who work for politicians here who desperately need to be able to find the excellent Krav Maga classes held in two locations in the District. 😉
It looks as though Delaware has KM since it is colored blue, but it is not activated as a hyperlink. The link to the Connecticut page gets you to a HTTP 404 page. It is really hard to get Maryland to work. Better to just use the postal codes that are already there as links.
