'He's no Jason Bourne yet!....but give us time!' KMAS Instructors
Fife Free Press reporter David Blackwood tries his hand at Krav Maga - 'Hollywood's Martial Art'...
ISRAEL is not the first country that comes to mind when you think of martial arts.
But the Holy Land's very own form of self defence, Krav Maga, is becoming more well known across the world, and now it has come to Kirkcaldy.
Invented before the Second World War to help Jews facing persecution from the Nazis, Krav Maga has been made famous as 'Hollywood's Martial Art' in such films as 'The Bourne Identity'.
Adam McKellar (38), has just started running classes in Krav Maga at the Fitness Factor in Mitchelston Industrial Estate.
"From a self defence point of view, it actually works," he said. "It's effective because your confidence improves and it gives you the tools you need, so that if you're in a situation where you need to defend yourself, you're more likely to walk away unharmed.
"It's not flowery. It doesn't take long to learn the basics. The techniques are based on established natural reflexes."
Arriving at the class I was greeted by Adam and his co-instructors Rab Baird and Stevie Ross, who were already putting the trainees through their warm-up. I was surprised that more than half of the class are women. Most of the class, like me, were beginners.
After the warm-up we got round to learning some moves. I started off trying to land effective punches on the pads and recoiling them as quickly as possible - Krav Maga favours quick strikes. Then I moved on to hitting with palms and elbows (which stretched muscles in my back that haven't been used in years).
Krav Maga is different from other martial arts in that it is tailored to suit real world situations. It acknowledges that fighting isn't fair, and chances are if you are attacked it will be by a group.
Therefore there's an emphasis on evasion and escaping from violent altercations.
The principle is, if you are attacked (and you can't escape) you should counter attack as quickly and as aggressively as possible, targeting an attacker's weak points, such as the nose, eyes, groin, kidneys, or the back of the knee.
Adam showed us a few defences and let us practice them. We took turns at being the attacker and the defender and as my partner swung at me, I finally managed to pull off a reasonable defence.
I slapped the punch away with my left hand, made to punch the nose of my assailant, followed by a knee to the groin area, before I leaned round and punched at his side. Unfortunately, I didn't pull my punch quick enough and jabbed full force into the poor man's kidneys. I managed accidentally to do this several more times. Oops.
Obvious mistakes aside, by the end of the lesson I was feeling more confident and able.
The great thing about Krav Maga is the accessibility of the training and the lack of reliance on form as in other martial arts.
"It's not a sport," Adam reminded me. "It's self defence."
However, I'm still a long way away from being Jason Bourne. Oh well, same time next week?
But the Holy Land's very own form of self defence, Krav Maga, is becoming more well known across the world, and now it has come to Kirkcaldy.
Invented before the Second World War to help Jews facing persecution from the Nazis, Krav Maga has been made famous as 'Hollywood's Martial Art' in such films as 'The Bourne Identity'.
Adam McKellar (38), has just started running classes in Krav Maga at the Fitness Factor in Mitchelston Industrial Estate.
"From a self defence point of view, it actually works," he said. "It's effective because your confidence improves and it gives you the tools you need, so that if you're in a situation where you need to defend yourself, you're more likely to walk away unharmed.
"It's not flowery. It doesn't take long to learn the basics. The techniques are based on established natural reflexes."
Arriving at the class I was greeted by Adam and his co-instructors Rab Baird and Stevie Ross, who were already putting the trainees through their warm-up. I was surprised that more than half of the class are women. Most of the class, like me, were beginners.
After the warm-up we got round to learning some moves. I started off trying to land effective punches on the pads and recoiling them as quickly as possible - Krav Maga favours quick strikes. Then I moved on to hitting with palms and elbows (which stretched muscles in my back that haven't been used in years).
Krav Maga is different from other martial arts in that it is tailored to suit real world situations. It acknowledges that fighting isn't fair, and chances are if you are attacked it will be by a group.
Therefore there's an emphasis on evasion and escaping from violent altercations.
The principle is, if you are attacked (and you can't escape) you should counter attack as quickly and as aggressively as possible, targeting an attacker's weak points, such as the nose, eyes, groin, kidneys, or the back of the knee.
Adam showed us a few defences and let us practice them. We took turns at being the attacker and the defender and as my partner swung at me, I finally managed to pull off a reasonable defence.
I slapped the punch away with my left hand, made to punch the nose of my assailant, followed by a knee to the groin area, before I leaned round and punched at his side. Unfortunately, I didn't pull my punch quick enough and jabbed full force into the poor man's kidneys. I managed accidentally to do this several more times. Oops.
Obvious mistakes aside, by the end of the lesson I was feeling more confident and able.
The great thing about Krav Maga is the accessibility of the training and the lack of reliance on form as in other martial arts.
"It's not a sport," Adam reminded me. "It's self defence."
However, I'm still a long way away from being Jason Bourne. Oh well, same time next week?
- Last Updated: 19 Feb 2012 10:42 AM
- Source: n/a
- Location: Fife Now