Up close and personal in Krav

I’m not sure that there are many moments when you become more aware of your body and someone else’s than when you’re practicing mount defenses in a Krav Maga class.  Still being new to this stuff, there’s a certain level of awkwardness in being in compromising positions (purposefully) with people I don't really know.  A hug is a hug but you usually release within an understood “polite” timeframe, unless you’re particularly close.  Believe me, we’re not hugging in Krav Maga.

Sometimes I'm not the only woman in class.  The other night there was one other woman.  She and I were paired together although she usually partners up with her husband who also takes the class.  Now you might think female-to-female ought to feel relatively “appropriate” if you have to be in close physical contact with an unfamiliar person.

Not.

OK, it wasn’t too bad once we got going but we both ended up laughing a lot.  She has been in these classes for a while so she helped walk me through some of the bumps, flips, holds, escapes, etc.  But she was more accustomed to working with her husband so I think it seemed a little strange for her too.  You can try to not care who you’re partnered with, but you can’t help being especially aware of where your hands and arms and everything else make contact.  Simply the closeness of another body for an extended period of time can be awkward at first.

After we practiced certain drills for a while, a few partners changed up.  The woman got her husband back, and I worked with someone I partnered with in a previous class.  His weight and strength made the situation seem much more realistic.  I don’t mean in an alarming way, but that a male attacker would feel much more like this than a somewhat tentative female.  I found it easier to respond and to practice the escapes and counter-moves when I could put myself in a realistic mindframe.  I also found that I was less concerned about whether I would hurt my partner when it was a guy.  Not that I was out to hurt him, but I found myself being less concerned about "politeness".  I felt more comfortable trying out the tactics with a male partner and using force as necessary.

Changing up the partner also seems to be valuable.  The woman I partnered with for a while commented to me that some of the moves didn't work as well on me as they did when she worked with her husband in previous classes.  In this case, since I was not as tall as her husband, everything didn't work the same.  It was a good reminder that an attacker could come in all shapes and sizes, and practicing with just one person can influence your expectations on your abilities.  What you might face in real-life might not match what you encountered with one person in class.  So you need to keep practicing and your partners need to vary.

Wow, there is still so much to learn and practice!  And I want every bit I can get because you just never know if/when you’ll need it.