Big Changes After Two Months Of Krav Maga Classes in Tempe

Guest Post by Abby Huot

I’m officially two months into my krav maga training and I can’t lie, the last month has been a little bit of a mess. I went home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, then was home a few days and had to head to Las Vegas for a convention. I’ve been home since Sunday and I’m now attending another convention in Phoenix for the next few days. My training has been on and off mainly because I’ve been away from EVKM and it’s made me feel a tad rusty, which is pretty sad when you’re still fairly new to krav maga.

Still, I can tell how much I’ve progressed. My hits are faster, my kicks are higher, and I’m remembering the sequences of moves. Moreover, my mindset has drastically shifted and faces have been becoming more familiar and my social life has been growing too!

When I went home to see my family for Christmas, I was antsy to train in Krav Maga but it’s not extremely well known there. There’s also no Krav Maga Alliance facility in the Minneapolis/St Paul area, so this made keeping up with my growing skills a little bit difficult. I did what I could on heavy bags and doing things “dry” (without a partner and without pads) but as anyone who does Krav Maga can tell you, it’s completely different.

                “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WONT CHOKE ME?”

I was so desperate to have someone run through choke drills in Minnesota that I legitimately ran up to a guy that was kicking a heavy bag and asked him “HEY, do you do Krav Maga???” in hopes he would say yes and he could drill with me for 10 minutes. (He didn’t know what krav maga was, he was just kickboxing).

I can only assure you, 3 months ago, the concept of going up to a strange man in hopes he would choke me would NOT have been on my excited “to do” list. I’m crediting my EVKM family and instructors with that evolution in mindset ALONE. As someone who was attacked and choked by a stranger in the past, it’s mind-boggling to me to realize that I was sulking like a small child when I found out I couldn’t find someone to do that with me at a traditional gym!

Over the last week, I was asked to partner with a new member a few times. In both cases, it was their first class and I could see myself in the not-so-distant past in the new student. They were timid and shy and the uncertainty in their eyes was palpable.  I know that feeling all too well as someone new to krav maga and I know that it is OK because they are doing the right thing. I did my best to make them feel comfortable, reassure them they were doing well, and make gentle corrections and they ended up loving it.Verbal communication and reassurance is something that new people crave (I’m no exception), so I’m hoping that it helped.

At the end of a class, one of the new members asked me how long I’d been doing this. I told her I began in November, and she said: “Wow, I can’t wait until I’m as good as you are!”  While this was a kind compliment, I know I’m far from being “good”. Someday I’ll earn that title, but not yet.

I told all these new members that there’s nothing to be shy about and to just keep it up. It does get easier with time.  It’s an interesting position to be in to assist someone with something new when you’re still fairly new yourself, but I remember my partner my first class being helpful to me and I love to pay it forward!

Cheers to an amazing 2018—I’m so glad to be back in Arizona for awhile! I eagerly returned to classes after my hiatus and found my groove again. My excitement to go to class hasn’t waned. In fact, I find myself going to the All Levels classes in addition to the Krav Maga Basics, simply because I enjoy the additional challenge of them. All Levels also allows me to observe higher level Krav Maga ppractitioners so I can see how they move and what I can look forward to after training over time.

My schedule continues to be a big pile of “How will I have time?” but I won't let that stop me. I’m planning on cutting early from the convention I’m currently attending so I can continue my training for the remainder of the week. It’s extremely important to me that I keep up and keep progressing. The only way that’s going to happen is if I continue prioritizing attending EVKM regularly. 

This is a post in a series of guest posts by EVKM Student Abby Huot where she chronicles her Krav Maga journey. To see her first post click here "My First Krav Maga Class and The Start of a New Adventure!"

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