Taking my first Krav Maga test!

So,

Tomorrow morning I will be taking my first test in Krav Maga, for Practitioner 1, at IKMF Springfield, MO. Excited and nervous? No, I'm trying not to think too much about it. But I'm sure it'll be fun. I did a couple of things similar to it in the Army.

I came to Springfield about four months ago, and started taking Krav Maga classes here. At first I was like, "Eeeh, I gotta go but I don't have to enjoy it". Very un-psyched every evening I went, but gradually, as I felt myself improve, I got more and more psyched, until I was totally hooked. With a good instructor and fun class mates, I thoroughly enjoy it. And of course, needless to say, it's a great thing to do in case various kinds of # hits various kinds of fans.

I'm going back to Sweden in a week, so tomorrow will also be my last class of KM in the US for a while, but I'll be picking it up again in Sweden as well. My hope is that I do pass the test and have a P1 certification to sport when I head back to the homeland.

So, wish me luck, y'all, and if you've done it yourself or have any KM knowledge to share, please go ahead and do so.

ok so Krav Maga
is an Israeli martial art
for those that don't know
Wiki Krav Maga

how are you being tested ?
have you been studying it for a while...
or is this an introductory thing...

Thanks for the link. I should've clarified. My bad.

I've been practicing Krav Maga for roughly four months now. And we did a practice test a few weeks ago. Based on that, I suspect we will go through most or all of the techniques we've been taught, to make sure we know all of them, followed by something called "the zombie game", basically sparring against two or three other opponents, one minute rounds three times, and finish it off with fifty pushups and fifty situps.

Shouldn't be too hard, but there are a few things that sometimes tend to slip your mind during tests.

reply to post by Gauss


Good luck Gauss! I want to train in Krav Maga and Taijutsu, but of course I only have time for one. (AND I have to get off my lazy butt and actually join one lol)
Again, I wish you the best and keep up the good work!

reply to post by WalterKovacs


Thanks, man. If you're interested in taking Krav Maga, a good place to start looking is at the IKMF website. There you can search for IKMF places near where you live.

kravmaga-ikmf.com...

Edit to add: I don't know about Taijitsu, but I do know that if you're looking for a satisfying workout and a genuinely effective self-(and others)-defense technique, Krav Maga is one of, if not THE, best ways to go.

reply to post by Gauss

Nah... you don't need luck... just remember, whatever happens during the test you don't stop moving and you don't quit. The testing is a mental challenge more than anything else (you know this) so keep the focus out (not inwards on yourself) and you'll get through. My first test was a 7 hour day (different discipline) hope yours isn't quite that long...

reply to post by LadySkadi


Whoah, 7 hours!? That's some serious Krav Maga there.

The instructor estimates 2-4 hours of testing for us, probably closer to 2 than 4 though. And as you did he also emphasized not to stop moving and not to forget scanning your surroundings after completing a technique. He actually disqualified all of us during the practice test for forgetting to do it in the beginning, so none of us will forget that this time around.

reply to post by Gauss

Oh sorry, my test was based in Kung Fu, not Krav Maga, but regardless - I think the only thing I really learned that day was to keep my eyes on something in the distance and keep moving, technique was either there or it wasn't, by that time. Lol... Good times (not)

reply to post by LadySkadi


What form of Kung Fu did you study?
I've always been extremely interested and I already dabble in inner martial arts.

reply to post by LadySkadi


Ah, Kung Fu. I had a mate who took Kung Fu way back when. Still, Kung Fu or Krav Maga, seven hours is just crazy. Mucho kudos to you for going through that!

So, today's the day. Wish me luck, ATS!

Well, folks, I passed the test at 87,4 points, and am now officially a Practitioner 1 at the International Krav Maga Federation. It took just about two hours, and I came to the conclusion that some of my techniques are a bit sloppy and needs to be tightened up, and others I need to learn way much better. But in the end, I'm satisfied because I passed.

And as an ego boost, in the car after the test (which she watched the whole thing), my girlfriend said I'm the first boyfriend she's had who she feels can actually defend her if she gets in trouble, which was kind of awesome. She went on to add that I kick ass, which made me feel kind of badass.

reply to post by Gauss


Good stuff Gauss! Take that success and keep running with it!

Thanks, dude! I will. I'm leaving Springfield in a week, but when I come back to my home country (Sweden) I'm planning to take up Krav Maga classes again, so it's all good.

reply to post by Gauss


This isn't fair! How come I'd never heard of this stuff when I was growing up??? Sure, I knew of karate, but there were no schools in my area.

Now that I'm old the only defense I have against an attacker is to yell, "Please don't hurt me!"

On a serious note, Gauss, would this Krav Maga also help against, say, a pitbull attack? Or any animal other than human?

P.S. If that's you in your avatar, with that hat and your Krav Maga, I would SO watch you in a movie.

reply to post by jiggerj


I'm not sure how old you are, dude, but we have a 50+ dude there who kicks lots of ass. There's at least three people who are over 45, not including the instructor, so I don't think you're ever too old to take classes. And, when it comes to animal attacks, we haven't had any specific techniques learnt for that yet, though our instructor did mention that if a dog attacked, you should give it your arm and then punch the crap out of it. There might be techniques specific towards it later on, though - I'm thinking maybe P3 or P4.

Oh, and yeah, that's me in the avatar alright. Thanks, man. Indiana Jones was a childhood hero.

reply to post by Gauss


Just watched a show on this fighting technique. This is not pretty. It's kill or die against many attackers. Brutal, and I would've loved to have learned this way back when.

Here's part one if anyone's interested.

Yup. Many of the techniques are extremely brutal because the theory is that the only way to survive is to use more force than your attacker. One of my friends there, one of the old guys who has about twenty years of martial arts experience, put it like this; "The bull# factor is non-existant in Krav Maga compared to other martial arts", meaning there's no needless fancy moves in it.