One of the biggest challenges that we face in Krav Maga is shrinking the system. The challenge is multi faceted and it is often bogged down by our inclination as human beings to accept what is given to us or go the opposite way and take too many liberties and get further and further away from the truth. So how do we balance these issues?
How do we improve the system? How do we create? Is it wrong to look at the system and conclude that we have discovered that there are some holes in the system? Is it wrong to remove things from the system that have little value? Is such a process disrespectful to Imi? Do the changes have to come from Israel? Is there such an entity as "the source" of Krav Maga? Food for thought.....
More to come...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Back to the Blog!
I apologize for the lack of activity....
I have been a bit busy and it is mostly related to Krav Maga! Sometimes being outspoken can be a detriment. Then again it can also be a positive. There are times when I say what I feel needs to be said. There are times when I just keep my mouth shut and watch. The funny thing is that both tactics have served me well. If I have offended people with my opinions and discussions I don't aplogize. I say good. "I am a truth teller" -Mark Jackson.
There are many great things happening in Krav Maga. The system is really heading toward its next stage of maturity. By that I mean that there are a great many instructors and students who are pushing the limits of their training and therefore discovering the limitations and opportunities of our system. Limitations? Yes there are limitations in our training. We should never grow stagnate in our training. We must constantly check ourselves by first checking our egos. We must challenge our training methods and therefore our techniques in order to insure that we are progessing toward trimming the fat from our system.
I had a great conversation with my friend Nir Maman. Nir told me that he thinks that most of the organizations are making a mistake by continuing to add things to their respective books. The books themselves are too large. They contain too many techniques and too much "martial arts" to be effective.
"Martial Arts"? I agree. Krav Maga is not a martial art. It should not be treated as such. I know. I know. Martial artists everywhere are pissed off and claiming to be disrespected because they can't fathom the notion that much of their training in forms, katas, fancy kicks, manuevers which require years and years of practice and demonstrations that are nothing more than organized dance actually have no place in real world combat.
The truth is that training methods must mimic reality if you are training for reality that is.... Let me give you a visual. Imagine an NFL team practicing all week long, but instead of actually wearing pads and tackling each other, they actually use flags and play flag football instead. Then on game day they put on pads and line up against another team that has actually been wearing pads and knocking each other around all week. How effective do you think the team that "prepared" via flag football would do against the team that prepares the right way?
This is the problem I have with "martial arts" and some Krav Maga circles I might add. There is far too much emphasis being placed on techniques that require fine motor skills or in my opinion far too much coordination to use effectively. In Krav Maga we should spend much more time on the basics. We should be stripping the system down to its bare essentials. The thing that makes Krav Maga so effective is that in its simplicity its true beauty is revealed. Does one really need to know how to do a jumping spinning back kick in order to become proficient? No.
I have seen the curriculum for many of the major organizations requirements for beginners to black belt and as the belts ascend, the more I see "martial arts" creeping into Krav Maga. This is especially evident in the development of Krav Maga's "ground work". There was a point in Krav Maga's history that the going to the ground was considered an absolute no-no. Then came BJJ/MMA and all of the sudden the ground was a factor. I suppose this is a good thing because it shows the systems ability to adapt to new situation. So in Krav Maga schools everywhere I started to see a shift. People were bringing in BJJ instructors and MMA coaches to break down the "ground game". Arm bars are being taught. Kimoras, Anaconda chokes, Uma Plata and other techniques are being taught as well. This is not a slight against MMA or BJJ by the way. I love both sports. So please don't misunderstand me.
While I understand the need to evaluate the system's ability to cope with being on the ground I have a fundemental problem with the way many organizations and therefore their instructors are approaching the ground. If you look at most of the Krav Maga books you will see a pattern. Many of the techniques that are being spoken of and shown are actually being taught to the defender as if they are dealing with someone who "knows what they are doing" on the ground. Well this is a false sense of reality in my opinion. I have had my share of fights and I am proud to say that I have witnessed more than I have actually been involved with. I am talking about street fights not mutually agreed upon sport fighting. I have never seen two trained individuals fight each other in the street. Perhaps one of the combatants was trained but very rarely do you see a fight where both combatants are trained in combat systems. So where did this mindset come from?
Simple answer? "My kung fu, can beat your Kung Fu". When we train we are constantly looking for a way to validate our own training. There is no better validation to some than imagining and training for a fight with another stylist. I would submit that if we fight with a person who spends as much time doing BJJ as we do training Krav Maga and we don't use our Krav Maga tactics against that individual, we are in big trouble. In other words you are not going to out BJJ a real BJJ practitioner using BJJ. So why are Krav Maga schools teaching BJJ? The most obvious answer here is money. There is a market for BJJ so why not fulfill the need. The problem is when the BJJ training does not get "Kraved up".
I was at a Krav Maga instructor certification once. We were specifically working an escape from the guillotine choke from the ground. My training partner was very adept at this particular choke. Even though I have 65lbs on him he was quite strong and very skilled. So we were told to allow the attacker to put the choke on and then perform "the defense" . As my partner locked in the choke I attempted to do "the defense", of course he knew the defense and that made using it tougher.
The description of the defense is as follows: The minute you feel the attacker wrap his arm around your neck, tuck your chin. With your left hand, pluck at his hands to relieve some pressure. At the same time, wrap your right arm around his neck. This makes it difficult for him to stretch you out with his legs. STEP 2. Lift your hips up and spread your feet wide to "stack up",create a "tripod" with your two feet, using your right arm and shoulder as the third foot of the tripod. Step 3: Using your body weight,drive your shoulder into the attacker's neck and throat. It will be very difficult for him to maintain the guillotine....
The technique is actually very sound. It works. In fact I had no problem with the technique until Step 3. The stacking part was easy and in fact I accomplished that with ease. The part about driving my shoulder into the attackers throat is what bothers me. Again it isn't that the technique itself does not work. I just think that the average person would have trouble in the actual application of the "tripod" portion.
So when I performed the defense I modified my approach. I did everything up to the point of wrapping my right hand around the neck of the attacker. This seemed to me to be a bit useless at the time. I simply took my right thumb and pressed into my partner's left eyeball socket. He has trained with me before and he knows that I have a thing about jamming my thumb into peoples eyes. So as soon as I did that guess what happened? He let go. The trainer who was conducting the certification told me that "is not the defense I want to see". In my mind I was thinking "Ok,I understand that, but you do understand that is what my instincts were telling me to do"? Why bypass such an effective target just so I can "perform' a technique when I would not use that technique anyways?
Why would we not spend time discussing the value of gouging the eyeball out of the attackers head? Why would we not discuss driving knees down into his groin while we are stacking? Why not talk about tearing his ear off of his head? To me these are much easier to teach and learn. Do BJJ practioners have super powers? Are they immune to our thumbs raking their eyes our? Again I think this comes from a need to show the world that we too can use Jiu Jitsu. Foolish. Why train like a Jiu Jitsu practioner? Why not just keep it Krav Maga. Yes teach tucking the chin and plucking the hand. Yes teach the stacking concept. But never, ever teach a student to bypass such an awesome target like the eyeball!
Amir Perets once told me that one of the biggest problems in training is that the instructors have forgotten an important detail. "I want to tell you something Donavin" Amir said. "Too many instructors are trying to teach the student what they "know" instead of teaching them what works".
This is one of the most important lessons that Amir ever shared with me. It is our job to give the student what works. If the student wishes to expand his/her knowledge of our system or that of another then we can teach them all of the rest of the finer points of the curriculum. But at its base we should be giving students the simplest answers to these problems that we can find. I would argue that nothing is simpler than driving your thumb into his throat or eyes.
More to come on our "Ground Work".
I have been a bit busy and it is mostly related to Krav Maga! Sometimes being outspoken can be a detriment. Then again it can also be a positive. There are times when I say what I feel needs to be said. There are times when I just keep my mouth shut and watch. The funny thing is that both tactics have served me well. If I have offended people with my opinions and discussions I don't aplogize. I say good. "I am a truth teller" -Mark Jackson.
There are many great things happening in Krav Maga. The system is really heading toward its next stage of maturity. By that I mean that there are a great many instructors and students who are pushing the limits of their training and therefore discovering the limitations and opportunities of our system. Limitations? Yes there are limitations in our training. We should never grow stagnate in our training. We must constantly check ourselves by first checking our egos. We must challenge our training methods and therefore our techniques in order to insure that we are progessing toward trimming the fat from our system.
I had a great conversation with my friend Nir Maman. Nir told me that he thinks that most of the organizations are making a mistake by continuing to add things to their respective books. The books themselves are too large. They contain too many techniques and too much "martial arts" to be effective.
"Martial Arts"? I agree. Krav Maga is not a martial art. It should not be treated as such. I know. I know. Martial artists everywhere are pissed off and claiming to be disrespected because they can't fathom the notion that much of their training in forms, katas, fancy kicks, manuevers which require years and years of practice and demonstrations that are nothing more than organized dance actually have no place in real world combat.
The truth is that training methods must mimic reality if you are training for reality that is.... Let me give you a visual. Imagine an NFL team practicing all week long, but instead of actually wearing pads and tackling each other, they actually use flags and play flag football instead. Then on game day they put on pads and line up against another team that has actually been wearing pads and knocking each other around all week. How effective do you think the team that "prepared" via flag football would do against the team that prepares the right way?
This is the problem I have with "martial arts" and some Krav Maga circles I might add. There is far too much emphasis being placed on techniques that require fine motor skills or in my opinion far too much coordination to use effectively. In Krav Maga we should spend much more time on the basics. We should be stripping the system down to its bare essentials. The thing that makes Krav Maga so effective is that in its simplicity its true beauty is revealed. Does one really need to know how to do a jumping spinning back kick in order to become proficient? No.
I have seen the curriculum for many of the major organizations requirements for beginners to black belt and as the belts ascend, the more I see "martial arts" creeping into Krav Maga. This is especially evident in the development of Krav Maga's "ground work". There was a point in Krav Maga's history that the going to the ground was considered an absolute no-no. Then came BJJ/MMA and all of the sudden the ground was a factor. I suppose this is a good thing because it shows the systems ability to adapt to new situation. So in Krav Maga schools everywhere I started to see a shift. People were bringing in BJJ instructors and MMA coaches to break down the "ground game". Arm bars are being taught. Kimoras, Anaconda chokes, Uma Plata and other techniques are being taught as well. This is not a slight against MMA or BJJ by the way. I love both sports. So please don't misunderstand me.
While I understand the need to evaluate the system's ability to cope with being on the ground I have a fundemental problem with the way many organizations and therefore their instructors are approaching the ground. If you look at most of the Krav Maga books you will see a pattern. Many of the techniques that are being spoken of and shown are actually being taught to the defender as if they are dealing with someone who "knows what they are doing" on the ground. Well this is a false sense of reality in my opinion. I have had my share of fights and I am proud to say that I have witnessed more than I have actually been involved with. I am talking about street fights not mutually agreed upon sport fighting. I have never seen two trained individuals fight each other in the street. Perhaps one of the combatants was trained but very rarely do you see a fight where both combatants are trained in combat systems. So where did this mindset come from?
Simple answer? "My kung fu, can beat your Kung Fu". When we train we are constantly looking for a way to validate our own training. There is no better validation to some than imagining and training for a fight with another stylist. I would submit that if we fight with a person who spends as much time doing BJJ as we do training Krav Maga and we don't use our Krav Maga tactics against that individual, we are in big trouble. In other words you are not going to out BJJ a real BJJ practitioner using BJJ. So why are Krav Maga schools teaching BJJ? The most obvious answer here is money. There is a market for BJJ so why not fulfill the need. The problem is when the BJJ training does not get "Kraved up".
I was at a Krav Maga instructor certification once. We were specifically working an escape from the guillotine choke from the ground. My training partner was very adept at this particular choke. Even though I have 65lbs on him he was quite strong and very skilled. So we were told to allow the attacker to put the choke on and then perform "the defense" . As my partner locked in the choke I attempted to do "the defense", of course he knew the defense and that made using it tougher.
The description of the defense is as follows: The minute you feel the attacker wrap his arm around your neck, tuck your chin. With your left hand, pluck at his hands to relieve some pressure. At the same time, wrap your right arm around his neck. This makes it difficult for him to stretch you out with his legs. STEP 2. Lift your hips up and spread your feet wide to "stack up",create a "tripod" with your two feet, using your right arm and shoulder as the third foot of the tripod. Step 3: Using your body weight,drive your shoulder into the attacker's neck and throat. It will be very difficult for him to maintain the guillotine....
The technique is actually very sound. It works. In fact I had no problem with the technique until Step 3. The stacking part was easy and in fact I accomplished that with ease. The part about driving my shoulder into the attackers throat is what bothers me. Again it isn't that the technique itself does not work. I just think that the average person would have trouble in the actual application of the "tripod" portion.
So when I performed the defense I modified my approach. I did everything up to the point of wrapping my right hand around the neck of the attacker. This seemed to me to be a bit useless at the time. I simply took my right thumb and pressed into my partner's left eyeball socket. He has trained with me before and he knows that I have a thing about jamming my thumb into peoples eyes. So as soon as I did that guess what happened? He let go. The trainer who was conducting the certification told me that "is not the defense I want to see". In my mind I was thinking "Ok,I understand that, but you do understand that is what my instincts were telling me to do"? Why bypass such an effective target just so I can "perform' a technique when I would not use that technique anyways?
Why would we not spend time discussing the value of gouging the eyeball out of the attackers head? Why would we not discuss driving knees down into his groin while we are stacking? Why not talk about tearing his ear off of his head? To me these are much easier to teach and learn. Do BJJ practioners have super powers? Are they immune to our thumbs raking their eyes our? Again I think this comes from a need to show the world that we too can use Jiu Jitsu. Foolish. Why train like a Jiu Jitsu practioner? Why not just keep it Krav Maga. Yes teach tucking the chin and plucking the hand. Yes teach the stacking concept. But never, ever teach a student to bypass such an awesome target like the eyeball!
Amir Perets once told me that one of the biggest problems in training is that the instructors have forgotten an important detail. "I want to tell you something Donavin" Amir said. "Too many instructors are trying to teach the student what they "know" instead of teaching them what works".
This is one of the most important lessons that Amir ever shared with me. It is our job to give the student what works. If the student wishes to expand his/her knowledge of our system or that of another then we can teach them all of the rest of the finer points of the curriculum. But at its base we should be giving students the simplest answers to these problems that we can find. I would argue that nothing is simpler than driving your thumb into his throat or eyes.
More to come on our "Ground Work".
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