I almost didn’t go to Krav tonight. I had a rough day at work and wanted to veg in front of the TV. Instead, I pulled my butt up off the couch and went anyway. And I am so glad I did.

We started off with the shoulder tap game, switching partners a few times.

The shoulder tap game is where you try to lightly, but firmly hit your partner’s shoulder, while blocking or dodging their attacks on you.

I almost always try to pair up with guys that are bigger and stronger than me for this exercise, because
a) I want to be challenged,
b) I want to know where I stand on technique and speed, and
c) I want the boys to know that just because they’re up against a girl, it doesn’t mean they can go easy. Tonight was a prime example why I choose to do this.

I paired up with a guy I haven’t seen before. He was pretty buff and more than a little cocky. We started circling each other. He would tap me, but instead of falling back into an active fighting stance, he would continue to tap my shoulder, like a little kid trying to get my attention. He kept smirking like he was so much better than me and it was infuriating.

My aggression and speed instantly increased, but I still maintained the best fighting stance I could.

When Sir Smirks-alot would tap my shoulder with his multiple little taps, he’d drop his protecting hand, exposing most of his side. So I’d block his obnoxious tapping and throw a fast, firm slap to his shoulder. Rinse and repeat.

As far as I can tell, the major reason to do the shoulder tap game is to work on perfecting your fighting stance and movement (and get more cardio in). On more than one occasion the instructors have stopped class and had everyone freeze in their current position, so they could point out our poor fighting stances. Guess my irritating partner didn’t realize what an ass he was making of himself.

We also worked on front chokes with a push. They’re pretty different from stationary chokes, but they are a ton of fun to practice. As your assailant lunges at you, you lift your right arm up over your head, rotate your body to the left, and bring your right arm down to meet your left arm, temporarily pinning their arms. Of course, this is when you start delivering blows until they’re down and you can safely get away.

As Chris and I were practicing, W came over and made some minor tweaks to my technique. It felt good to have him only talk about small, optional corrections. I definitely feel myself improving and now that I’ve stopped putting so much pressure on myself, I feel more successful in my skill.

When we got home I also noticed a complete transformation in my mood. I’m happier, have more energy, and feel better prepared to tackle these work issues… Man, I love Krav.

I’m finally getting to know the other diehard, crazy Krav Maga fans in class. When I asked V, a girl I’ve seen a few times, if she wanted to team up she said “Sure, but I don’t know how good of a partner I’m gonna be… this will be my third class in a row tonight…” Now that’s intense. I’ve taken two classes in a row before and I was out for two solid days!

Tonight, we worked on front chokes where you defend by plucking with one hand and striking simultaneously with an upward, palm heel strike. At first, I found it hard to break away from the usual double pluck defense, using both hands to pluck the assailant’s hands away while instantaneously delivering a groin kick. If you can just defend with a double handed pluck/groin kick combination, why strike with your upper body? Especially as a woman with a weaker upper body, in comparison to my thighs and legs!

Then I realized this defense is used when you can’t utilize your legs, like when you’re behind a bar, in a car, or when you’re standing on an icy sidewalk and don’t want to compromise your balance. Once I recognized the application, I felt myself finally “get it.”

Understanding situations where I’d use a particular defense is undeniably helpful. I have a pretty active imagination, so when I’m learning a new defense, I try to place myself in a scene where I’d need it.

Sometimes, when I’m at a stoplight or walking down the street, I’ll imagine what I’d do if I was attacked. What if that guy attacked me? Or that guy? It starts to put my training into perspective.

In class, the effect is that my strikes become stronger, my defenses become more intense, and I tire less easily (believe it or not). I also think the defense is more readily filed away under “muscle memory,” instead of short or long term memory!

This is the first Krav Maga class I’ve been late to. I’m usually a few minutes early, but traffic was atrocious. When Chris and I walked in, we found our class doing side crunches. You lay on your side and lock your legs in your partner’s legs while crunching upwards. At the height of your crunch, you throw a right, left punch combination into your partner’s open palm. I found them relatively easy. I’ve noticed my ab/core strength is getting strong these days. Don’t even think about asking me to do squats though. Ew!

Since Chris and I arrived late, we partnered up again. We practiced defending straight punches to the solar plexus and then counter-attacking with our own defenses. This, I have to admit, was extremely painful. In order to defend a straight punch, you keep your arm in an ‘L’ shape and sort of rotate your arm forward and around, so most of your opponent’s strike ends up pushed to the side by the meatier, back portion of your arm. We have a plethora of bruises and sore spots because of this little trick.

The really hard part is determining with which arm your opponent is going to use to strike. I noticed if I tried to over-think it, I’d get hit in the gut.

Luckily, I just read Fight Mash’s post on how to read your opponent. I noticed if I watched Chris’s movements (particularly his shoulders), I could determine which arm he would use to throw the punch. Now I just need to keep my own thoughts and attacks imperceptible.

**UPDATE: I just found out Level 1 tests will be moved back to December. Not sure why. All I know is that extra month is greatly appreciated.

I was perusing the martial arts blog scene, when I came across this gem of a post at Think Combat about which martial art is best for a woman looking to learn self-defense.

It was such a refreshing change from all the blogs and comments out there that are all “karate is better than muay thai” or “boxing is better than jujitsu…”

He clearly lays out a system for determining which martial arts (or non-traditional martial arts) would be best in the general scenarios he provides. Some important women-specific factors he considers (paraphrased):

1. As a woman, you should not go head-to-head against a man who’s bigger, stronger, and tougher than you are, because you will more than likely lose.

If you don’t know already, I’m all about girl power and equality (and all that jazz), but I fully believe he’s right. Chris and I have done some light sparring and although I might be faster and lighter on my feet than him, he would only have to hit me a few times and I’d be out. The name of the self-defense game is to defend against an attack and quickly deliver your own blows so you can safely get away. Not to dilly-dally in a fist fight. Defend! Attack! Get out!

2. The martial art you choose should be realistic and relatively easy and fast to learn.

Taking the time to learn some martial art forms could leave you unprepared if you were attacked in, oh say, the next three months (some forms take years to learn well enough to use in a street fight).

So it all came down to three martial arts that would be effective for a woman learning self-defense. You guessed it! One of them was Krav Maga. Head on over to his post to check out the other two systems.

Learning other methods in tandem will probably make you stronger and more prepared for an attack, but finding the best system for your current needs is imperative.