That was weird

That was weird.  After work I was walking to my bus stop, which is under the downtown shopping center.  Just as I entered the building, a skinny, dishevelled middle-aged guy, my height, was exiting the complex.  He was walking briskly along the same hallway as me, but in the opposite direction, and was talking in some nonsensical language.

All of a sudden, just as he was passing me, he looked in my direction, saw something in my face he didn't like, turned toward me and kicked me in the leg.  Luckily he didn't kick very hard.

I was surprised!  I got into an open-handed fighting stance and waited for whatever would come next.  He looked at my face, and either he decided better of it, or (more likely) he just went on to his next thought, because he walked quickly away.

In hindsight I should've gone after him -- because who knows how many other people he'd kick -- but I was already late for my bus.


I'm not sure how well I handled the encounter.  I lost points by not giving him a wider berth, and by not blocking the kick -- although I'd like to think that if it had been a punch, or a kick to the crotch, that I would've reflexively blocked it.

I get credit for reflexively going into a good stance.  My hand positioning of my right hand was a little low:  my left hand was correctly at face height, but my right hand was more at chest height.  But I think my right-hand positioning was because my right shoulder (which I dislocated a month and a half ago) still doesn't have full flexibility -- so when I think I'm moving it to a certain location, it takes more effort than I expect.  But at least I got it up there. 

And I'm pretty sure I looked like I knew what I was doing:  so, that's something.

Points for reacting calmly:  instead of an adrenaline surge, I just thought "Huh.  Now what?"  I credit that to the Krav Maga class that I took (although it's been several months):  it just kind of seemed... normal, somehow.  Certainly, I didn't feel at a loss as to what to do next:  I was in my fighting pose.


But, yeah:  I should've missed my bus, followed him at a safe distance, and called the cops on my cell phone.  Next time.


Regardless -- pretty odd.


--GG

Female garb

My daughter is in early middle school.  Today we were going out to run some errands, and she was wearing an outfit with a skirt and knee-high boots -- but with only a little bit of a heel.

I gave her some advice, as her father:  "I don't want you wearing anything you can't fight in."

By that I mean:  no super-high heels.  No constrictive dresses or skirts.


Guys' clothing tends to be fairly neutral:  flat, comfortable shoes; some variety of pants.  Whereas female clothing -- especially as they get older -- can let "fashion" override practicality.


I should probably add "...or run in."  But "fight in" is more empowering.


As I've probably mentioned, she and one of her brothers take Tae Kwon Do once a week.  When she turns sixteen, she's going to take a term of Krav Maga with me.  The boys, too, when they're of age.


Taking Krav Maga is like taking an "un- first aid" course:  it teaches you how to not get hurt.


--GG

Swing like an American

Yesterday our Krav Maga instructor held a special session on defenses against stick attacks.

One of the defenses we learned was against a club, baseball bat, or other swung object.  We got into groups of two, and one person swung a thick dowel (about the diameter of a broomstick) at the other person, horizontally, as if he were trying to really whack the other person -- and then the other person would defend.

Most of the other guys (none of the females in the group attended) faced their opponent at about a 45 degree angle, and held their hands close together on the stick.  The instructor, as he walked around giving suggestions and making corrections, commented that it was obvious who was the American in the group (me!) -- as I was the only one swinging the stick in an effective manner.

I hadn't thought about it, but I had just done what came naturally if I was trying to whack the heck out of someone, with a stick:  feet apart, left hip towards my opponent, elbows out, hands a fist's-width apart.  Classic baseball batter position.


Apparently not a lot of Australians play baseball. And the cricket batting position is pretty different: you're swinging a plank with a handle -- underhand.


--GG

Great Krav class

Had another Krav Maga class.   **Really** enjoyed it:  it's everything I've been searching for in a martial arts class for the last fifteen years.

Did some review of previous sessions' techniques, including a "friendly" escape from a one-handed shirtfront grab.  Then did an extension of that, where you've messed it up and your arm gets tangled -- how to turn it into an armbar-style takedown.

Then did a defense against a two-handed shirtfront grab -- with the anticipation that the attacker is trying to headbutt you.  It ends up with a wristlock and a takedown.

I **love** arm throws and wristlocks!!!  (Sometimes I miss Aikido a bit...)  So I particularly enjoyed this session.


The other thing that was great about that nights' session was that we closed out the class -- as we often do -- with a controlled free-for-all:  in the school hall (basically the gym), four of the painted lines formed a rectangle, which was the zone in which everyone wandered around.

Four of the students were attackers, and everyone else defended.  The attacker with the kick shield would "boomf" another student, who would then defend and retaliate.  Two of the attackers had medium-length sticks, and would attack the beginner students with a "pin" across the chest (which would then get countered), or -- against the more senior students, with an overhand strike (which would get blocked and countered).

And the fourth person -- me! -- had a dagger (a short wooden dowel), with which I would attack people with a circular attack, and they would block and counter.

With all of these, the more senior the defender, the broader the range of counter-attacks they would throw.


Well, this time -- I'm not sure why -- the instructor joined in.  (Usually, he just watches.)  So when he was nearby, I took a stab at him -- and because he's advanced (of course!) part of his counter was a weapons take-away, plus a wristlock takedown.  Except, because he was being considerate, he didn't complete the throw -- he just put me off-balance a bit.

"Go ahead -- throw me!"  I said.  He looked hesitant.

"It's OK -- I've had two semesters of Judo!  Go ahead!  Wait -- reset!"  I backed off -- then re-attacked.  And, he did the takedown -- and I slapped the floor, and "fell" safely.

(Hm.  I can't remember whether the floor is concrete, or fake wood.  Certainly it's not a "sprung" wooden floor...)

A few minutes later, he was "open", and in my vicinity -- so I attacked him again.  This time he threw me right away.  (And took the "knife" away.  And helped me up.  And gave it back.)


So:  two takedowns, including a wristlock -- and I got thrown by the instructor!  A good night.  :)



P.S.  Technically, it was only one semester of Judo.  But I've had a little Aikido as well.  So it probably equals about two semesters of doing "hard falls".

I don't remember much about the throws or wristlocks.  But golly, I do remember how to fall!  :)


P.P.S.  He's a really good instructor.  If you're in the Brisbane area, you should stop by.


--GG

Bruised hand

Thurday night at my Krav Maga class we practiced rolls and breakfalls.  Now, most of the things we do in class are either new to me, or so different to my previous martial arts experience that my old habits just mess me up.

But breakfalls and rolls?  Yep:  can do those.  Granted, it's been about ten years -- but I took a semester of Judo, and two semesters of Aikido -- and all you do in those styles are throw and be thrown.  So, a fair amount of practice.  :)


We started out by doing rear breakfalls -- like these:


And we spent 10-15 minutes doing them. 

My hands were getting kinda sore -- but I kept going.   They were especially sore around here:

Then, the next thing we did in class was practicing escapes from wrist grabs.  But the funny thing was, I couldn't grip with any strength with my right hand!  The pad of my hand -- the circled part -- is basically the thumb muscle.  So I could grab with my fingers -- but not my thumb.

It felt better the next day, though -- and by Sunday it felt fine.

But today is Monday -- and for some reason I was looking down at my hands at work, and I noticed this weird bruise:

(It was difficulty to get a good photograph of it.  It's more obvious in person.)


I don't think I've ever had a bruise like that.  Also, a little weird:  the **palm** of my hand was sore -- and yet the "web" gets the bruise.  Kinda like bumping your nose, and then ending up with a black eye.




--GG

Lovin' the Krav

So, when I was in Seattle, I dabbled in about eight martial arts.  Sadly, I didn't spend enough time to get actually good at any of them:  some were for a month, most were for a semester; the longest was about two years.  In order, they were:

• Aikido
• (long break)
• Karate
• Shaolin five-animals kung fu
• (short break)
• Hung-Gar kung fu
• Judo (there was a semester where an evening class conflicted with Hung-Gar)
• A different Aikido (one summer, instead of Hung-Gar)
• Mantis style kung fu (two or three weeks, visiting Australia)
• Tae Kwon Do (another summer, instead of Hung-Gar)

(Note:  If I don't specify the style of Aikido, Karate, etc., it's because I don't remember.)

During the period that I was dong Hung-Gar, I also observed a friend's fencing session, and did a session of archery.

(I also did wrestling in middle school for a season.  It was OK; I think I'd get more out of it now, given my broader martial arts context.)


Then, since moving to Australia about ten years ago, I've intermittently shopped around for martial classes (roughly once every two years).  I've observed a class session of:

• Zen Do Kai (met at a local community hall)
• Aikido (at the university gym where my wife worked)
• Capoeira (also at the university gym)
• Lei Quan Gong kung fu (also at the university gym)
• Jeet Kune Do + Escrima/Kali (a few neighborhoods away)
• Black Crane (a few neighborhoods away, in a different direction)

...and, nothing panned out.  For a variety of reasons. But essentially, they all had good points -- but also had aspects that I didn't want. 


So:  My kids are taking a Tae Kwon Do class once a week at the local gradeschool.  About two weeks ago they had their first belt testing.  And as I sat in the bleachers and watched them going through their moves -- I got the itch again.

There's a local Ju-Jitsu class (traditional style, not Brazillian) that I'd been considering over the years.  I e-mailed the instructor, asking if I could observe the class.  No reply.  OK, then -- never mind.

I also did a web search on local Wing Chun and Krav Maga schools.  All the Wing Chun classes I could find were too far away from where I live.  Conversely, I found two Krav Maga branches ten minutes away from home:  each in a different direction, and both part of the same organization.


I went and observed an "Intermediate/Advanced" session of Krav on Thursday night, March 13th.  Very promising!

The Krav webpage said that Thursday, March 20th was the start of the new term at the other branch -- and the first class is free.  That was tonight.  So I attended.


I'm sold, I'm in.  Signed up.


Krav Maga won't suit everyone.  Different people do martial arts for different reasons:  fitness, spiritual development, sport, sociability, self-defense -- the groovy katas ("forms").

But so far, at least, Krav has everything that **I'm** looking for -- and none of the things I want to avoid.

We'll see how things go.


--GG