6 months of Krav Maga: report!

[WingChun Lawyer]

Mean it may be, but I´ll tell you - it is sad when you see AN ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED MUAY THAI AND KYOKUSHIN FIGHTER riding the KM nuts. I saw that at the gym, our team´s best fighter was saying how cool KM was and how it was really impssible to spar while doing KM, because that would result in ripped off eyeballs and crushed nutsacks.

That sort of thing depresses me.

[SRK85]

Krav Maga can be pretty retarded and its marketed too much. My school does Krav and I never bought into it. The self defense techniques are horrible. My school usually emphizes groin kicks. But my instructor tells me that sometimes kicking the groin doesnt work. The whole system is a total sham. People can become instructors just by attending a semniar. The whole idea I think is stupid. Some instructors may be good but most of the system is used so people can gain money by becoming an instructor. I think its pretty much bullshido.

[Judah Maccabee]

The Krav curriculum can be modified at the discretion of the instructors. My school incorporates greater amounts of groundwork (BJJ) into its curriculm and offers kickboxing and boxing irrespective of the Krav class. It's at the student's volition at my school if a student wants to branch out beyond the bare minimum necessary to advance a rank (when you get more advanced, you're required to start taking BJJ classes; I think advancing from Blue has a minimum of 20-40 hours).

I've studied in two Krav centers and with a guy who runs the other major center in Illinois. It TOTALLY depends on the mindset and quality of your instructor. Both the instructors in Illinois have black belts in other arts and incorporate what they feel is more pertinent or effective.

As for sparring Krav: There is a great amount of emphasis on "high-percentage" techniques such as hard strikes to eyes, knees, and such. One way to get out of a front bearhug if your arms are free is to jam your thumbs into their eyes and keep pressing till they let go.

At my particular school, they offer kickboxing and boxing sparring.

[Red Elvis]

It's at the student's volition at my school if a student wants to branch out beyond the bare minimum necessary to advance a rank (when you get more advanced, you're required to start taking BJJ classes; I think advancing from Blue has a minimum of 20-40 hours).
.

Advancing from blue in what? Please explain how advancement works... i.e. how does one show rank, what are the different ranks, time in grade typically for each rank, how does one progress to the next rank etc. etc. Also, who teaches the BJJ and how does that correlate with rank? Thanks :-)

[Judah Maccabee]

Unfortunately, given that I switched from the northern location to the downtown one (they operate on different promotion systems), I don't have a full understanding of the rank systems. I go to train and exercise, not to hold a belt.

Our school uses sashes to demonstrate rank, but has a uniform policy of "krav t-shirt and workout pants". Ranks are the standard white to black with colors in between (yellow, green, blue, purple, brown/red (?) black) with stripes to indicate completion in a specific area. Advancement is attained by testing following completion of a minimum amount of coursework in the self-defense/sparring, cardio, bjj, and kung-fu forms classes. This means that once a student gets above white belt, they are required to take conditioning AND fighting classes in order to advance.

At the higher ranks, you need to complete much longer and deeper forays into BJJ, forms, and self-defense (which is covered by the Krav curriculum). You learn chinese weapon techniques with broadsword and staff. There is also a once-weekly Kali class which plays no role in advancing in rank.

The teacher of the BJJ is a Rickson Gracie purple belt named Dino Costeas.

There are students in the class who have low ranks, but extremely high proficiencies in fighting. Some people are there to learn how to fight, and my instructors are currently running free (for students) boxing classes 5 days a week to condition people for a boxing tournament in Chicago during the spring.

[WingChun Lawyer]

Advancement is attained by testing following completion of a minimum amount of coursework in the self-defense/sparring, cardio, bjj, and kung-fu forms classes.

...

At the higher ranks, you need to complete much longer and deeper forays into BJJ, forms, and self-defense (which is covered by the Krav curriculum). You learn chinese weapon techniques with broadsword and staff.

Wait a minute here...you need to learn kung fu forms and traditional chinese weapon techniques in order to advance in rank in KRAV MAGAH!?

Am I the only one who thinks this is weird? I mean, KM is supposed to be no-nonsense, hardcore, MODERN streetfighting for survival in our modern steel jungle huge negroes want to impregnate our white girls with their fertile seeds etc.

Where does kung fu forms and traditional chinese weapons fit into this? This doesn´t make any sense.

[Judah Maccabee]

The male main instructor (there are two main instructors - Man and a woman) has a 5th degree sash in Shaolin Kung-Fu.

The school is NOT an explicit style school. They offer high-quality instruction in a variety of arts and allow students to decide which curriculums they desire to specialize in. However, they have a core curriculum which involves multiple areas of different arts.

The more advanced students in the Krav classes receive more advanced instruction.

It's sort of like a martial arts college: You can "major" in areas that you want to, but you still have to take classes in certain subjects in order to "graduate."

[WingChun Lawyer]

Ah, I see. So it is not pure Krav Magah.

I don´t see that as a bad thing.

[Judah Maccabee]

There are two main Krav Centers in Chicago:

http://www.kravmaga.com/illinois.asp

Buffalo Grove
Z's Martial Arts - Buffalo Grove
601 West Deerfield Parkway, IL 60089
Tel: 847-668-5449
Web: www.kravmagaofbuffalogrove.com

and

Chicago
POW! Mixed Martial Arts and Fitness Facility (where I study)
950 West Washington
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Tel: 312-829-7699
Fax: 312-829-7695
www.powkickboxing.com/

The guy at Z's teaches ONLY the pure Krav curriculum and does not modify it at all, so he makes the legitimate claim as being the only center in Illinois that teaches pure Krav Maga.

I don't see it as a bad thing either. :)

[WingChun Lawyer]

Maybe pure KM is not a bad thing over there, but I know KM people start LIGHT CONTACT SPARRING after two whole years here in Brazil. Hard contact presumably takes longer, I suppose, if it ever happens.