MacDonald Academy of Martial Arts
Kenpo Karate, Krav Maga, and Fitness for the Boston / Watertown area
1:00 rest between rounds.
There’s a very important but sometimes neglected concept in learning self-defense. Really, it applies to developing any new skill, be it Krav Maga, playing piano, or knitting. It’s practice, or as we like to refer to it to make it sound more intense: training.
Krav Maga as a system is designed to quickly build proficiency in students and provide them with tools that remain effective under stress and/or from a position of disadvantage that will neutralize a threat and keep them safe.
Over the weekend Danelle and I attended a strength and conditioning seminar by Kevin Kearns, S&C coach to many big-time MMA fighters. While he didn’t delve as deeply as we would have liked into programming and “bigger picture” stuff, we did come away with a lot of new and neat ideas to incorporate into Krav classes.
Now, do you need the conditioning of an MMA fighter to be proficient in Krav Maga, or self-defense in general? Following the One Rule of Krav Maga (Don’t Get Hurt / Go Home Safe), we want to end an altercation as quickly as possible, not outlast our opponent in a three-round sport fight. So technically, no, we don’t need to train like those super athletes. But why take the chance? As goes one of my favorite of many quotes from expert strength coach Mark Rippetoe, “Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general”. I’m working on an in-depth post about metabolic conditioning as it relates to Krav training, so much more on this later…
We instructors have a pretty good idea of what’s needed to effectively train for self-defense, but let’s hear from you. A big reason for creating the new blog-based site was to get students more involved, so give us some feedback in the comments below. Here are some questions to get you started:
A few Saturday mornings ago, we did this conditioning circuit. Although people were huffing and puffing at the end, they said they really enjoyed it. It can easily be done at home.
Spend 45 seconds on each exercise with 15 second between exercises:
Jump Rope
Russian Twist (with ~25lb weight)
Push-ups
Squat with alternating kicks
V-ups, or any other core exercise
Lunges
Punch burst—as fast as you can with good form, not necessarily as hard as you can
Repeat as many times as you like, resting between rounds.
Enjoy!
A good drill is not only a realistic simulation but a way to train a broad base of skills. Last night we did a warm-up that was to simulate sport-style training in Krav Maga with timed rounds and similar work capacity demands. Today we did a drill that was to simulate a self-defense scenario.
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…”do some push-ups!”
Bas Rutten, a good friend of Krav Maga, has teamed with Cartoon Network for the channel’s new health and wellness PSA campaign called Get Animated. In it, Bas encourages children—as only he can—to get off the couch and blast out some push-ups.
(This really makes me want to do Bas’ All-Around Workout right now…!)
Here’s the Cartoon Network page: Get Animated
Bodyweight calisthenics are an integral part of Krav Maga training. This post is a tutorial for doing the most fundamental exercises effectively and safely, as well as how to scale them to your ability level. Of course there are many other calisthenics that may appear in class from time to time, but master these basics to build a strong foundation to more advanced training.
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