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Yeah i dont mind getting hurt but i will go with the mouth guard. I'm used to 2 and 1/2 hour training sessions at the moment, Lots of body conditioning, we do those run's too, run, jump double punch on one whistle, run, 3 push ups on two whistles, run, 5 sit ups on three whistles, sir stands on our stomach's and we practice with the medicine ball to temper the stomach. Ive also been playing with nunchucks for tempering my ribs etc. I know KM will be much more intensive but im looking forward to the new challenge. I scare most of my male friends with my attitude towards meeting new friends. Three of them recently discovered what i do when i meet people. I size them up and figure out how i would take them out in a fight. We were all just hangin out chatting when one of them jokingly threatened me, I simply pointed out that if i was ever in a fight with him i would go for his left knee as i know he had surgery on it a few years ago, and pointed out that one of the others has back lower troubles so he would go down very quickly indeed. The looks on their faces was priceless. Only the one friend i spar with understands the benefits of practicing. Every time we spar we change tactics coz we lean from each others movements and get inspired to try new methods. it really teaches us to improvise. Im lucky to have a friend like that. Although it will be a while before he can spar again, He fractured his spine recently, L3 vertebra. stuck in a back brace for at least another 6 weeks and then probably another 6 months before he is as close to normal as possible
Oh, when I was in Krav Maga, shin guards, gloves, helmets, they were all optional until Level 2(6 months experience) and they were like $200 total. I sometimes wore gloves, but felt like it was somehow making my punches weaker. Most of the people there wore gloves and mouth guards because it is real pain. Haha, I can't even count how many times my face has met someone's shin or how many times I've been choked helplessly. When I practice at home, I feel kind of weak because I have to hold back so much because I don't have others with me to train with. If you decide to take KM, wear some sort of mouth guard or protection if you don't like getting kicked to the face. I haven't broken any bones or anything, but it stings at times. Also, KM isn't just fighting, while I was there I remember the teacher made us run laps in a parking lot using the white lines as push ups spots where we had to do 5 push ups each line(counting every line you pass, there was around 40 lines). My teacher also had us get punched in the stomach during sit ups and do lots of pull ups. It was like a personal boot camp for us. Only after all that, we started the lesson and I think it kind of helped because we were always full of energy when it came to fighting. I had a guy on the SWAT team as my buddy and we were good friends, but when we fought, we forgot the very meaning of friendship. That mindset helps a lot because in the real world, even a friend is an enemy.
Dang, I'm sorry for him. Unlike TKD, there really is no advantage of having any sort of fighting stance. It all happens so quickly. Lol. I do tend to size up people too. I don't just say "Come and hit me, I'll beat you up.", I say "You can have one punch in my face, because after that punch, I'll know everything there is." People who fight in martial arts, tend to build some sort of awareness that many people lack. We have the ability to see every detail of a person we have never even seen before and determine their weakest links. My advantage in fights was my Muay Thai knees and elbows. You tend to use lots of MT in KM because they are effective. Getting a mouth guard will save you the pain in the mouth from all those knees you'll be taking. That's what I love about fighting though, the pain we endure each day just to get stronger. My first week in Krav, we had 53 people. The second week,there was only 20 of us left. A lot of people can't handle what we do. It's not like Karate, you don't just kick a wooden board and get a belt. We kick to the face, the sternum, the chest, places that make it difficult to survive in a fight. That's why I love Krav Maga more than anything. We don't roundhouse kick or do backflips, we simply grab your arm, break it in two, and kill you. ;)
Karate: kara, meaning empty, and te, meaning hand; thus, karate means "empty hand."
Judo meaning "gentle way"
Karate and judo are martial arts of Japanese origin. Both have distinct characteristics. While Judo is what could be called a soft martial art mainly involving body maneuvers against an opponent, karate can be termed as a hard martial art where blows are landed on an opponent’s body.
A Karate exponent would strike an opponent whereas somebody practicing Judo would endeavor to throw him. A Karate man would batter a man to submission whereas a Judo man would grapple with, wrap or trap an opponent, the effort aimed at tiring down the opponent.
A Karate person takes their energy from mother earth and uses it against their opponent in the form of blocks and counter assaults, whereas in Judo energy is drawn away from the opponent by redirecting it towards mother earth by tossing the opponent down. As a sport Karate involves earning points for kicking and punching, whereas in Judo points are to be had for grappling and throwing your opponent as one would in wrestling. In Judo the body and its weight and how it is balanced vis-à-vis the opponent decide the course of a fight, while in Karate, hands are used to chop and legs to kick at your adversary.
I wish I was there longer, but the money was too much to stay. During the 6 months though, I learned Level 3(4+ years of experience) moves and I still practice them at home. We treat our teammates as part of a family even though we hurt each other. Just remember, don't be afraid to give it all you have. I was once pitted against a woman in Krav Maga as a test of my skills. She punched me around 4 times in the face and chest and I hadn't even touched her because she was a girl. Then a buddy of mine told me it doesn't matter if she's a girl, so I punched her in the chest 2 times and knee striked her to the skull. She dropped to the ground, and at that time, I realized it's not about boy vs. girls, or skills, it's life vs. death out there. If it was real and I held back, she could have killed me. But despite that, we looked out for each other. I made sure the girl was okay from the strike because on the mat, we're friends, but out there, we are strangers to each other.
Oh, trust me KM will teach you lots. We learn different chokes and escapes, where to punch an enemy to make him paralyzed from the neck down, all kinds of things. I remember how my instructor told us "The only way to understand the true potential of your moves, it to experience them.", so she made us spar with each other at 100% potential no holding back. I think that's what drives people away from Krav Maga. People don't really know what Krav Maga is, and when they find out and see how dangerous it is, they get scared to try it. I say, take a knee strike to the face, take the takedown armbar as it comes because those beatings will help you realize that your moves are just as powerful so it's not something you can show off with. I show off for my sister while trying to teach her, and I sometimes have to remember that it's not the streets, I can kill her if I gave it all I had.
You've got the spirit to handle it. In KM, one of the first kicks you learn is the groin kick. Very effective, even to women. ;) Krav Maga isn't for everyone though. You have to take it seriously because most of the people who left after the first week didn't really take it as seriously as some of us did so they didn't really learn anything. I hold the mindset that if a person hits you intentionally or starts to challenge you, then they're looking for a fight and that's okay with me. I know you'll have fun in KM, it's a lot of fun, if you go on to Level 2 and 3, you begin to learn knife and weapon defense. I didn't stick around long enough, but I had buddies who taught me knife and gun defense. I don't know if it will be tougher than TKD for you. We didn't really kick boards, ever. We usually just kicked punching bags and each other, because a board can't hit back. :)
Yeah it sucks about my friend. Ive been playing nurse, cooking, shopping cleaning. Torturing him mentally to keep him on his guard, ;) we have been stuck indoors for weeks now, Missing all the summer sunshine, but we have been catching up on our zombie/horror/action flicks.
Love it love it love it. nothing like the adrenaline rush you get from a good blow to the face, chest, gut etc. No shame in busting a mans testicle with a well placed kick, if its what you have to do to survive so be it. My friend has a good attitude about it, He was taught to never hit a lady, and a woman who hits you is no lady. His parents are smart people indeed. I think i can handle KM, i just hope im wright!
Just take my advice and wear lots of padding. My first 3 days in there were spent getting kicked in the jaw by some 6'1" 300lb. guy without any mouth-guard or helmet. There is only one rule in KM, and that's: Do whatever it takes to survive. They allow groin kicks, eye gouging, biting, anything you want to do to make sure your opponent is down. I can tell you from experience, the women loved to groin kick! One of them almost took off my b@lls! It's fun though. I've learned so much, and trust me, it's stuff you can use in real situations unlike TKD or Karate. I've used it before on people who tried to hit me and I almost broke a kid's arm.
My only problem why I don't like to fight is because I don't know when to stop hitting. I hate it when kids make fun of me, and one kid got what he deserved, he got punched in the face several times and smashed into a brick wall. The problem with people attending KM and TKD and others is that they think "Oh, it's like in the movies. I'll get to fight like Bruce Lee, or Jet Li or whoever else." It's really not that way at all, and I think they leave because they think one day, or one week will teach them how to do a trip backflip with a flying kick. I practiced KM for 6 months, and I still train at home, and I will never be great.
True indeed. Board don't hit back. I take self defense very seriously indeed. Its the same in my TKD class. People come in expecting, well im not sure what they expect, but leave shortly afterward when they realize that we hit hard, no point in getting the movements down if you cant make contact, or hurt your opponent. I have a similar attitude to fighting, if someone is starting something with me i just assume they are prepared to deal with the consequences of it. Id love to learn the knife and weapon defense. I have throwing knives, ninja stars for target practice. I juggle too which helps with the throwing knives allot.
I know what you mean. ive been doing TKD since the age of 4, its fun and makes you strong but its not very practical. Ive also done some street fighting, only a few months though, it cost too much money. Being a girl i know how much we love groin kicks :) Nothing like taking a good beating to remind you of how much you want to survive. I would prefer learning something i can actually use in a street fight
yeah it really sucks how much these classes cost, and that before you buy your sparing gear, pads and suchlike. I agree, if you hold back in sparring then its harder to go full force in real situations. I spar with my best mate all the time. He doesn't go easy on me coz he know if he does he will only get hurt. lolz I love the family feeling you get with the people your training with
They're both Japanese martial arts, but Karate is more focused on linear movements, kicks and punches, where Judo is focused on grappling and "wrestling" type movements as well as holds and locks.
However, there are a lot of styles of Karate, the ones I'm characterizing are all from "Funikoshi" I think, who's one of the founders of modern karate in the early 1900's.
I know. I just love when I still practice the Muay Thai moves in Krav Maga. I no longer take KM classes, but I still practice when I'm bored. I've kicked trees so much, my shins and knees are hard as rocks, and they help when it comes to Muay Thai knee strikes and kicks.
I prefer Krav Maga over Tae Kwon Do. Krav Maga is meant to kill an opponent because it is a Military Martial Art. But as a sport, I would definitely prefer to see Muay Thai.
sounds like exactly what im looking for. Im all excited to try it now. Yay! Im used to beatings anyway, i have an older brother :) Thanks for the info, You rock
Karate is based on standing striking like kicks and punches but Judo deals with ground grappling and hip throws and tosses and doesnt deal much with striking
Motto: Practice makes better. Pobody's Nerfect. Im quite good with self control, only ever lost it once, but managed to get away with it. Damn lucky i was
that last part is best case scenario, worst case, he will need three vertebra fused together. ouch!
I really want to give krav maga a try. Looks like something i could really get into
Muay Thai is amazing indeed. So cool
I prefer Taekwando
