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I've always been fascinated by martial arts and combat systems for as long as I remember. I think a few fights in primary school and the witnessing of an older cousin cut from ear to mouth with a cutlass (machete), made me realize the world could be cruel. Soon after, I started paying attention to anything combat-related. Media wise,
the Japanese show set in the Meiji period 'Ruroni Kenshin' started my romanticization with combat.
Truth be told, the character of Sanosuke Sagara the, mostly unarmed, fist user, is my favorite. The way he moved to block, the way he analyzed enemies, the way he hit back with full rotation stuck with me.
When I was thirteen, my mom sent me to a Karate school: Don Jitsu Ryu or Purple Dragon Karate under Sensei Ryan Lewis. This martial art was a combination of mainly Judo and Sanuces Ryu Jujutsu and set me up with a basis for how to diffuse situations and if that didn't work, how to strike, fall, and roll my way out of them. For two years I did those classes, earning a rank of orange belt, but the lessons resonated throughout my life. What was cool about that style is that my mom and aunt had also taken classes as children: my mom earned up to a yellow and my aunt a brown belt.
Next, I did Shotokan Karate in an after school program for a couple of months, and when I moved to the US to pursue a bachelor's degree, I helped form a martial arts club at the NYC College of Technology. There, I became the second president of the club under Sanuces Ryu Jujutsu (see what happened there) Instructor, Waylen Brown. I practiced with them for two years but we only did an exam once - a tough, three day exam where if you failed one part you failed to pass. Unfortunately for me, with all the skills I had, I failed a part of the physical.
Now that I look back on that event, I realize that it had sucked the interest out of me for a time. For years after, I did not have the money or motivation to re-enter a martial system. I also was very hesitant about deciding what to learn. I wanted to set myself up for success by choosing a system that fit my personality and capability.
I knew I didn't want to learn a sport and I was not planning to go into the ring
I wanted to be able to defend myself against multiple attacks in a proven system so I could survive, protect loved ones and go home
I did not want to be rolling around with a guy for any lengthy period
I cannot split - so a minimum of high kicks
I did a lot of research and finally lighted upon the Israeli combat system, Krav Maga. A couple of things immediately stood out: Krav Maga saw itself as a Defensive combat system, not a Martial art. Why is that important?
Martial arts focus on technique down to the smallest of details. But when one of those details don't line up with a situation in the real world ( a hand is not positioned where you expected) it tends to freeze the practitioner. They wonder why their technique didn't work. It's not that the technique didn't work, it's just that they were not trained for the unexpected. On the other hand, Krav emphasizes the principle of the technique. so if getting out of a standing choke, the principle is to always address the immediate threat, respond with a simultaneous attack, and finish with combatives. No one cares what form any of those three principles take.
Martial artists sometimes obsess about the technique (Kata) so much, that students forget that the Kata is addressing various threats. Whereas with Krav, after learning a technique, I'm instructed to immediately practice it with a partner (with intent), ensuring a permanent visualization of the technique, underlying principle and the force i'd have to deliver it with.
Many martial art schools enforce certain sporting rules: no biting, eye-gouging, groin striking to the point where you do not even consider it in a real fight. But if the objective is to survive and go home, everything should be on the table. Krav has no such compunction to be the honorable system.
If being attacked, a martial artist will stand to face the attacker, but in Krav, we are always reminded to not fight by rules. Disengage, use an object as a weapon, get help, whatever it takes to get home safely is the only interest of the system. As the main book on Krav says, it is "heavy on the martial and not much into the art"
Traditional martial artists tend to think their system is complete (closed system) and stubbornly stick to the traditions of the founder, easily forgetting that the founders tended to be people who earned a high rank in multiple systems in their time. Krav remains an open system, it is easy to see people with Judo or Jui Jitsu skills blending them into their personal brand of Krav as they spar. As long as the principles are still there, most instructors do not care.
This system can sufficiently train someone to be effective in short periods with a focus on principles rather than specific techniques and is in use by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Everyone knows that Israel has been in a few scrapes and if this is the system used, I have no doubt it is the real deal.
A friend of mine who I told about the system got the jump on me and started going to classes. He loved it. I went for a class myself, and have not looked back since. I remember coming home to my fiance after the first class with the skin on my knuckles peeled back and a bust lip saying what a great time I had. I know she secretly hoped I'd drop out after the first two weeks but no such luck. Shout out to Jason Summers, Head Instructor at Self Defence NJ in Dunellan.
As a Software Engineer by trade, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how well documented the system was. A book by Darren Levine and John Whitman Complete Krav Maga gave step by step instructions with pictures of every technique and principle covered to date with in-depth background about the difference between the self-defense aspects versus an actual fight. I explained the concept of correct context when using various moves, and the use of the same moves for different attacks to minimize how much you had to learn. I hate to say it but I wish my company's software could be this well documented. Additionally, there were videos of the various techniques which all shared unique names, so no fear of forgetting how to do a Kata like in the old days and hiding from your sensei in shame.
I learned that the addition of belt ranks to the system was only incidental. As Krav Maga started taking off internationally, there was a need to maintain the quality as more advanced students help beginners. This was the main reason for a ranking system. However, no one in class wears a belt, and the mode of dress is usually a short or long black pants and a black t-shirt.
I changed from someone with an Interest in the ranking to more of an interest in knowledge with the feeling that the correct ranking would come in due time. Krav Maga changed my view of combat for the better.
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