Miscellany: Krav Maga class journal, months 5 through 8

I was getting really out of shape, so I started taking a local beginner's Krav Maga class last year. This will hopefully be my final regular update, since I am getting ready to take the Level 1 test to get into the intermediate/advanced course.

For this update, I'll just cover the noteworthy class sessions:

Session 43 (Fight Class)

This was my first "fight class."  The first half was a brief warm-up and punching on focus mitts. We then learned a couple of front kick defenses (using your arms to pull a low kick past your side, whilst rotating your forearm to block a high kick) and practiced them against each other. The last half of class was a free sparring session - I get hit a lot.

Session 45

In this one, we learned front, side, and back kicks, and then did a fun drill where you had to hold a "baby" (a tombstone bag) in your arms and kick away multiple attackers. The side kicks reminded me of playing hacky sack:


Session 51

The techniques in this one were all old hat (rear hammerfists, defense for chokes from the side, and delivering knees from the side position). Unfortunately, during the hammerfist portion, I tweaked my neck and shoulder and had to miss a couple classes. This brought to mind the fundamental training principle from Krav Maga's founder, Imi Lichtenfeld: "don't get hurt."

Session 56

This class was marred by yet another injury, this time to a fellow student named Chris. We did round kicks, grounded side kicks, wrist releases, and a side headlock escape and takedown. In a last drill at the very end of the class, Chris dislocated his kneecap and had to be taken to the hospital by an ambulance. It was not pretty, and we all felt bad for him.