Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense is a system that was designed specifically to teach people to fight in a short period of time. Our roots go back to the creator of Krav Maga itself, Imi Lichtenfeld. Imi grew up as a competitive boxer and grappler in Brataslavia. During WWII Imi fought with Nazi resistance forces.
At the end of WWII, the newly formed Israeli government asked Imi to train people to become soldiers in the newly formed Israeli military, the Israel Defense Forces. Unfortunately for Imi, many of the people immigrating to Israel had no experience with fighting or hand-to-hand combat.
Imi developed Krav Maga as a system because of Israel’s urgent need to build its defense forces. He relied on his experience and realized that the IDF’s hand-to-hand combat training had no need for ceremonial or traditional elements. There was also no place in the system for anything to strike or technique be considered a “foul” or “illegal” as it would in ceremonial or traditional martial arts that adhere to competitive rules.
Teach people what’s effective. Make it easy to learn. Make it easy to remember. That’s what Imi did when he created Krav Maga.
This focus on effectiveness and efficiency is why training at Krav Maga Worldwide certified training centers gives people an opportunity to develop self-defense skills quickly. It’s exactly what our system was created for.
Motivation vs. stress.
That being said, many people have a deep rooted sense of wanting to learn faster or, more accurately, master skills faster. It’s the same with learning any new skill. There are very few people who are learning something new, and want to improve slower rather than faster.
Overall that is a good thing. It’s indicative of motivation and determination. It can turn into something negative, though. Especially when the motivation or determination to improve becomes stress and self-doubt. Most people relate this to their personal belt level or ranking in the Krav Maga belt system.
Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense, like almost all martial arts, has a Krav Maga belt system with various Krav Maga belt ranks. The progression of the Krav Maga bet system goes; white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black. A yellow belt is the first belt that students are able to earn through testing. That is to say, once you start Krav Maga self-defense classes you are a “white belt”. When you take and pass your Level 1 Krav Maga belt test, you become a “yellow belt”.
All of our students have a clear understanding of where they are in the Krav Maga belt system and what the next level will be. For some students the ultimate goal is to become a black belt. For others the ultimate goal is just getting to the next belt level or to one of the advanced belt levels. Whatever the goal that is being focused on, there is an underlying association with rapid improvement being the most positive reinforcement.
Everyone has a pace.
The truth is that we want all of our students to get stronger and be safer so they may walk in peace. Some students are going to learn and master certain skills faster than others, and that’s ok. That’s part of the reason we have prerequisites for taking a Krav Maga belt test at every Krav Maga level. It’s important to develop skills quickly, but you can’t develop skills instantly.
Without a doubt there are some very simple things you can do to ensure that you are giving yourself the best chance to learn and master Krav Maga self-defense skills as quickly as possible.
Be on time.
Show up to class on time. Author Erick Jerome Dickey is credited with the quote “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!”
Timeliness matters. It matters in the world. It matters to your instructors and training partners in the training centers.
Everyone is busy and has things to do. Everyone has things that they must do. Outside of that, yes, traffic creates problems for people, emergencies come up, sometimes schedules get out of whack. All of that is true and not only accepted but expected in day-to-day life. However everyone also has the ability to plan ahead and mitigate obstacles in their day-to-day life. Think ahead.
As mentioned before, Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense is a system that is designed to teach people what is effective, as efficiently as possible. Each Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense class is designed to to that as well. The system works because of the way it’s implemented and the way that classes are run. The system builds self-defense skills through the progression of classes.
Timeless = maximum benefit from class.
Every Krav Maga Worldwide self-defense class starts with a warm-up that prepares a student’s body for training. In most every case the warm-up will, in some way, be related to the striking techniques and self-defense techniques that are going to be taught in that class. If you miss the warm-up, you are missing what is actually a vital part of that day’s lesson.
Organizing the class is also an important element of training. Determining how training is going to take place, which students should be partnered together, where certain groups should be training, etc. are also important elements. In this case it’s really about the safety of all of the students. Arriving on time gives the instructor an opportunity to plan these things, which has an effect on class and on training.
It doesn’t take forethought to plan for being on time. You know what obstacles you are up against in your commute to the training center. If getting the most effective training matters to you, it’s a good idea to figure out how to be on time. Every time.
Be consistent.
American Entrepreneur Jim Rohn coined the phrase “If you really want to do something you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”
There is no substitute for consistency in training. It’s the real key behind developing self-defense skills. Consistent practice, repetition, reinforcement, and refinement is where the magic happens in all manner of skill building.
Finding consistency.
Consistent training is going to mean something different for everyone. It’s just a fact of life that we all of different schedules and responsibilities. A person working in a different career field than you might have more opportunity to train, they might have less.
The key is to find a schedule that works for you and to stick to it. If you are able to train 5 times a week, awesome. If it’s only 2 times a week, that’s great, too. What consistency really boils down to is commitment. Committing to making the effort to train a certain number of times every week, or every month.
There’s no doubt that perspectives on what is worth committing to are going to differ. Self-defense training is probably one of the most important things you can commit to and be consistent at, though. It’s about your health, your safety, and the health and safety of the people closest to you. The Krav Maga Worldwide belt-system is there to guide students and to give structure to training. Holding a belt isn’t really the point. It’s the work that it takes to get to that belt level that matters.
If classes are going on, and you’re not there, your not going be improving your self-defense skills. There’s no pressure to train any given amount of times per week. However the more you dedicate yourself to being consistent in your training, the faster you will improve.
Research and study.
There’s no substitute for physical training. There is however a great deal of benefit that also comes from mental training. Dedicate some time to researching the area you live in, and/or anyplace you might be traveling to. You should also spend some time studying Krav Maga.
Research your environment.
It’s a really good idea to take a look at apps like Next Door or Citizen to get an idea of what type of criminal activity is going on around you and your family. Simply doing this will make you more aware of the threat levels involved in the places you live and the places you go. This is really situational awareness. In this day and age, thanks to apps like these, it’s easier than ever to be aware.
In terms of studying Krav Maga itself, the easiest and most personally relevant thing you can do is to take some notes in class. You might not want to stop what you are doing during class, we get it, but use the notes app or something similar on your phone to jot down key points after class. When key points and class elements are fresh in your mind, writing them down will help you remember. This will also give you a chance to review what you learned before your next class or before your next test.
Take a look at the curriculum for the class you will be attending that day. Krav Maga Worldwide HQ training centers in Los Angeles post the daily curriculum online and on a mobile app each day. Many, if not all, of our certified training centers do the same in some form. Just ask.
Knowing what you will be training on that day will give you some mental focus and help you prepare for class. Familiarizing yourself with the curriculum will also help you remember the names of techniques so that prior to testing you already know the names of all the techniques in your Krav Maga belt level.
Make it your own.
There’s no amount of advice we can give that will replace your personal investment in developing your self-defense skills. Krav Maga Worldwide certified training centers provide the best system in the world for learning self-defense. If you find a way to make training a part of your life that works for you and has value in relation to your ultimate goal, you will be successful.
Being on time, being consistent, being a student on and off the mats are all things that will help you develop your self-defense skills faster. However it’s your personal energy and investment that matters most. If training is a part of your life that you are dedicated to, these things will be easy to integrate and you’ll get results.
