Krav Maga Midlands Pre Grading Workshop

Krav Maga Midlands Pre Grading Workshop 

28th September 2014 Stratford upon Avon Leisure Centre

 In March I took my Practitioner 4 grading in London Copperbox Arena, watched over by none other than Zeev Cohen, deputy director of KMG Global. I gained what is known as a "technical pass", meaning I had achieved the grade of P4 by getting 73% (minimum pass is 70%), had the stamp in my passport BUT had to retake stick defences back in my own club at Krav Maga Midlands before I could get my certificate.

I didn't feel too bad as it wasn't just me. ALL the other P4 guys from my club who graded in London or Bristol had to retake one or two things before the treasured four bar patch was handed over.

KMM Chief Instructor Bartosz held the in house resits in May, but I was double booked attending Nick Maison's Air Safety seminar in Bournemouth that day.

The next available slot was the pre grading workshop in September so I waited patiently until I could finally gain my fourth.

After 6 months I knew my knowledge of what I'd learned would be shaky and I was nervous about having forgotten too much.

 

Not long before the national gradings, KMM hold workshops at Stratford upon Avon Leisure Centre. The last two have been run by instructors Al Natrins(G1) and Russell Brotherston (G4) and they treat each workshop with the same intensity as an actual grading. The idea is that you work through what you will be tested on, on the grading day but with constant feedback and a debrief at the end.

There was about 15 of us this time and most were going for P1 or P2. A few new faces were on the mats as we lined up, and it was good to see them and know they were going to take the plunge and actually go for it.

After a quick warm up we split off into our relevant grades with the P1s and 2s at one end me and two others on the other side. I was with Toli, a former Russian Olympic wrestler and a Polish guy named Tomasz. Both are huge, hulking blokes and very powerful. Toli was prepping for P4 in October while Tomasz was gearing up for his Graduate 1 examination (he was the first P5 student in KMM and was regarded with a sense of awe for about 6 months until other guys made the same grade).

Al and Russell got us to drill specific techniques and we got stuck in. For me this was realistically a P4 test all over again and I was conscious of having to nail techniques correctly. We concentrated on upper cuts, hooks and hammer blows and then moved on to kicks. Tomasz gave constant advice to me and Toli, which was unexpected but turned out to be useful as he knew his stuff. I dropped my hands a few times during the kicks so Tom handed me a focus mitt and got me to hold it between my hands, meaning I couldn't drop them every time I kicked. 

We moved on to the more complicated moves, including Scissor Kick which I had forgotten over the preceding 6 months and had only managed to get down properly the Thursday before. Thankfully this was something I did well and it was reassuring to hear Tomasz grunt "Good, close" as he held the strike shield.

Doing this for four hours is grueling, however ultimately necessary as it is as close to the real thing as you will get. The last grading in March was the hardest I've ever done and it was good to see that KMM weren't pulling any punches (or kicks) in making sure we were fit for the job.

After getting through stick defences we switched to ground work. Working with guys who are nearly twice my size turned out to be a blessing, as it meant I had to do the techniques correctly or there was absolutely no way I was going to get them off me.

Me and Toli were well and truly knackered by this point (Toli had the foresight to bring 3 t-shirts and had already changed once, I'd only brought 2 so my training shirt was by now impersonating a wet dish cloth) BUT we had one more treat in store. While the P1s and 2s did ground wrestling and a zombie drill...we had to go full on at a strike pad held by one of the other guys, while the 3rd man kept trying to attack us with a knife or stick (and in Tomasz's case a pistol). This was draining and when we finally finished we were well and truly exhausted.

As we packed up the stuff I was trying to remain aloof about asking whether I'd passed or not, but failed that charade miserably. Al said that as far as he was concerned I'd done OK but needed to convene with Russell (who was outside to drop the training gear into his car). I spent an anxious 15 minutes waiting and Al broke it to me like this:

"Well unfortunately.................we don't think you're ready for P5 but you've got P4".

As I remember it, my gratitude was punctuated by one or two swear words.

A really good experience and it further reassures me that both KMM and KMG UK are 100% focused on training and testing their students at a level of high achievement. The workshop was arduous and the following day I had bruises on various bits of my body plus a couple of beauties across my face BUT it means all the students actually know their stuff and can be proud that they are being tested by a meticulously professional organization.

I have P5 at the P Weekend in December.

Best get training again.

Lance Manley 

Night Parks Scenarios Seminar 4

Krav Maga Midlands

NightParks Scenarios Seminar

 

18^th July 2014
Stratford upon Avon

by Lance Manley

 

 

KMM's chief instructor Bartosz  holds an annual seminar teaching students and non Kravvers how to defend themselves and defuse aggression while in public with another person. Having attended last year I was keen to try it again as the techniques are very useful. It's fine to apply the principles of Krav if attacked on your own but it's an entirely different game if you have another body to look after.

Katharine Burdett from the KMMSolihull club had recently left us to move to Essex and is now a member of Jon Bullock's Elite Krav Maga. She came back to attend the seminar and it was great to see her again.

The Royal Shakespeare Company park near the river Avon was again the location and we met up about 6.45pm with Bartosz. Unfortunately a load of children were playing games in the bit we'd used last year and come 7pm showed no lapse in enthusiasm while their parents sat munching on picnics and applauding their energetic offspring.

Problem solved by going into the neighboring area behind an ancient wall, which was better suited to our needs as we were in a much more compact space.

After kida! we split into pairs and Bartosz had us as Protector and VIP. The VIP was not allowed to fight, only to defend him or herself while the Protector's job was to keep other Protectors away who were trying to give his VIP a slap.

This is always harder than it appears, particularly if you get flanked by another pair while your bodyguard is busy dishing out some justice to a villain and gets distracted. After a few goes at that we then moved to how to get your VIP behind you if you wish to intervene in confrontation. Some of this was fairly straightforward, such as stepping in and using your forearm to push them behind you. Another method is, if holding hands (so less of VIP protection and more like “a baddy interrupted a soppy walk with your beloved”). In this case you need to twist the person's hand slightly and then pull them behind you. Very effective if done correctly because in real life people react differently and it's not uncommon to see someone trying to get involved even if it will not prove useful to the situation.

We then split into groups of 3 and had the same scenarios but with someone to actually protect. I was with fellowKMM member Simon Green who'd brought his wife Charlotte along. She was initially very hesitant of using force and when going for the groin kick would always shy away from making contact. Again, while practicing these techniques, it became clear that you have to keep part of your focus on your VIP. It's very easy to get carried away in the heat of the moment and turn all your attention on to the aggressor.

Bartosz then showed us a wonderful technique involving a gun threat. If you are behind the gunman and they can't see you, then one effective way to deal with the threat (they are pointing the gun at your VIP) is to crouch down and pull their legs away, meaning that they come down on their face. As we were taught to break fall it was fairly OK but still nerve wracking as you suddenly lurch into the grass at high speed, stopping the impact with your forearms or palms. To finish off, you then kneel on the attacker's neck while securing the pistol (who in real life would probably be spitting out teeth and wailing for mercy).

While having done quite a lot of pistol disarms in training, another interesting aspect of having someone else to protect is that if a bad guy is pointing a gun at you while your VIP is stood next to you, then you MUST consider where they are before attempting to take the weapon. Reason being that if you pull the weapon away and the barrel passes across the VIP, they would probably get shot.

Bartosz then got Protectors to carry a gun and a knife and work on attacking other pairs. He invited the VIPs to be “troublesome” such as freaking out, walking off or generally making their guardian's  job more difficult, which could happen in a real life situation. I kept bellowing “PETER, HELP ME, NASTY PEOPLE AFTER ME!!” and pretending to cry while Katharine Burdett was going hell for leather, swearing and shouting at everyone that came to close to her.

As it began to get dark we moved to the bit I'd most been looking forward to, the pressure drill. Like last year Bartosz got us to walk down a piece of the river path that had overhanging bushes and trees and try to get out the other side. Twist on last year was that this time we weren't alone but had the VIP with us. I volunteered to go first and me and Peter stood by the equipment while Bartosz briefed the other students on what to do.

He then invited us to “simply walk from one end to the other”. In this type of situation your adrenalin is through the roof and your heart is racing. First guy that came out just asked the time but then pulled a knife. After a quick struggle I moved on, pulling Peter behind me and then met the endearing sight of Goz Gozwellings and Lewis Turpin, pretending to be a drunk couple on the way home. Goz kept saying how much she loved Lewis (while hiccuping) and when she got too far into my personal space I shoved her away which led to Lewis jumping in for “attacking my girlfriend!” I went down but managed to struggle free and pull Peter along with me. Next were two women armed with sticks. This was over relatively quickly but then Charlotte popped up from behind a hedge with a gun and demanded money. I approached her with my hands up and then did the pistol disarm before then meeting all 6 feet and muscles of Mario who wanted a scrap. Finally got out the other end, breathing heavily and we then swapped with Peter as the defender. This time Goz and Lewis pretended to have a domestic row, with Lewis miming punching her while she screamed for help. I whispered to Peter “just leave them to it” and we ignored them and moved on while Goz lamented “they're leaving me to get beaten up!!!” Another twist was that Charlotte this time threatened us with the gun but demanded we do 10 push ups each. Peter ignored her and marched up to snatch the gun and we again came out the other side. After some jiggling around we were given positions in the tunnel and another pair came through. It was interesting watching just how this type of scenario affects people. Goz was furious the whole way through, throwing punches, kicks and groin attacks at anyone who got up close with her while Katharine was very much into voice control, taking guns away and then demanding in a mighty roaring shout that people get on their knees until she was safely past.

The revelation of the evening came when Simon and Charlotte went through. Charlotte had never tried Krav before that night and was, as mentioned, very reluctant to kick to the groin. When she faced off to Mario (who was the biggest guy at the seminar) she went full on, shouting at him and fists flying. He had a full face fighter's mask on and I yelled to Charlotte “IN THE HEAD!”. Next thing she was raining punches into his face and he went down heavily to the ground. She moved on, pulling Simon behind her.

We then regrouped in the main field and I asked Bartosz if it was the correct decision to ignore Goz and Lewis's “fight”. My personal opinion was that Peter's job was to protect me and not intervene in third party incidents, regardless of how callous that may appear. After throwing the question out to the group Bartosz replied that there wasn't one correct answer. It was something you had to decide at the time and was neither right nor wrong to ignore it, you had to judge situations like that on their merits.

We then moved on for a quick pint at the nearest pub where Charlotte expressed a keen interest to join the club full time.

Great to try this again after a year, and it was a reminder of just how easy it is to forget techniques unless you practice them regularly. Even more fun than last year's seminar, mainly as we had the extra responsibility of protecting someone else.

A great time had by all. Looking forward to next year's.

Pump Room Action - Night Parks Training

Krav Maga Midlands
Pump Room Action

Night Parks Training
Tuesday 8^th May 2014

By Lance Manley

Due to a double booking at Krav Maga Midlands’ usual Tuesday training ground in Trinity school, Leamington Spa, Bartosz decided to improvise and take us all out on a little trip to get back to nature.

Royal Leamington Spa has some gorgeous parks and now Spring is finally in the air, the Pump Room gardens next to the town library were utilised for the welcome return of the Night Park Scenarios training that we last attempted in Stratford-upon-Avon in Autumn 2013.

After meeting up near the river bridge we took to the elevated walkway next to York Road at the back of the old library near Station Approach. The whole thing seemed a little surreal with me and the other practitioners warming up while people walking dogs, joggers, and cyclists all made their way past us with confused looks on their faces. Some even took a detour to avoid us.

After some ever-necessary stretching and loosening up we started on 3^rd party protection. This was what it says on the tin, where you have to protect your “mate” from a frontal attack by a roving scallywag (or in this case, another practitioner). One technique which is fundamental in this type of thing, is that you MUST remember to extricate your 3^rd Party from the situation as soon as you have neutralised or reduced the attack.

Reason?

In real life people try to get involved or are panicking or just plain pissed off to have someone try and take a swing at them. Ever tried to defend a drunken yet outspoken girlfriend on a night out? My own experiences of witnessing this are that she will at least want to “have words” with the other party. The removal technique was to spin them round, grab their right arm with your right hand and grab their neck with your left (or vice versa) then push them in the direction you want them to go until you are both clear of danger.

The next technique involved if you are holding hands and someone tries to give you trouble, as your defence technique needs to adapt accordingly. Cue much laughter as some of the butchest blokes in the club were required to walk along with fingers entwined as if they were on a moonlit stroll along Brighton beachfront.

Later we moved to choke holds and then knife defences. The latter proved tricky as we were on hard ground but it’s always satisfying to get a bigger opponent onto the floor, just by applying the correct leverage to their wrist.

A few times we had members of the public wander through the group including a father with two wide eyed toddlers, several joggers, and a woman leading a dog on a length of old rope. She looked at us in bewilderment for a few seconds and asked, “Is this a fight or are you pretending to fight?” She then added that the dog was a stray she’d found and wondered if any of us would like to take it off her.

We all politely declined.

After the main techniques had been gone through, the daylight had faded and the park lamps had sprung into life. Bartosz then said, “Number yourselves from 1.” I got in first and then the remaining numbers were argued over. Bartosz told me to wait and took the other lads to where the path runs from the bridge, around the back of where we’d been training before it rejoins the trail. After some whispering and muttered instructions he came to fetch me and said grinning, “OK Lance, just walk from one end to the other.”

Even though I’d done this before and even though these were all my club mates and EVEN THOUGH it was a training scenario…there is something very creepy about seeing about 12 guys in black clothing, loitering silently around a dark alleyway in staggered formation, grinning and clearly planning mischief.

 

First guy simply wanted to ask the time, a red herring I’ve seen before so I politely declined and moved on. The second tried to grab me and I managed to kick him away before I reached the joys of the middle bit where I got attacked with knives by two guys at once and then jumped by three blokes pretending to mug me. I got through relatively unscathed and was pleased before swapping places with number 2. Each guy went through and Bartosz changed the roles of each “attacker” every time so that no one could predict what they would have to face. Funniest variation was a fairly big lad who was told to grab the person as if he was a drunken mate just wanting a hug. It didn’t take long before someone’s adrenalin got the better of them and they booted the guy asking the time straight in the groin rather than seeing it as a benign request.

Finally we’d all got through and we regrouped up the top for the final “Kida” and made our way home.

I thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s training. Mainly as it worked on techniques that are incredibly useful if out with friends or on a date,  but also because moving through the Tunnel of Fun in semi darkness and taking on loads of people is just such F.U.N.

http://www.kravmaga-midlands.com/