I partnered up with another guy tonight. He didn’t have much of a choice. I nod over to him “You got a partner.” “No.” Wanna partner up?” For a split second, he had a look of “ugh… a girl.” And I’ll have to admit, I don’t blame him. I’m sure I don’t look like I’d do a whole lot…

About halfway through class, he says to me “How long have you been coming to Krav?” “Since July,” I tell him. “I can tell you aren’t new, because of your open hand strikes.”

I’ll have to admit, I beamed a little with pride.

We practiced front chokes with a pluck/openhand strike combination again. As we were practicing the front choke defenses, my partner would throw knees to my face by pulling my neck down, gaining absolute control. I was instantly interested in what we were doing differently. When he would follow up a defense with an attack, he’d wrap his hand around my neck after he got me doubled over, simultaneously driving his knee up and pushing his hand (and my neck) down. As soon as I tried it, I could feel the difference. It was glorious.

After class, Chris and I were standing around talking about what we’d just learned when we noticed the instructors teaching another student how to get out of a head lock. We wandered over and watched as Mt got out of a headlock from M, a guy who’s taller, bigger, and stronger than pretty much anyone I know.

From my understanding, when someone comes in to choke you, you drop your chin into their side (biting if necessary) and simultaneously step around in front of them creating a solid, wide base. This also keeps your attacker from beating the crap out of your face. Their weak knuckles against your hard head equals a headache for you and broken fingers for them. As you step, you simultaneously slap their groin with your front hand, bringing your back hand up to grab their face. Snap your elbow into their spine and drop your elbow down to your waist. There’s nothing they can do, except go straight down.

Again, I can’t stress how important it is to have really great teachers. Mt and M are awesome for staying those extra few minutes to show us these techniques.