Considering that I really didn’t want to go to Krav Maga last night, it turned out to be a really good class.
After our initial warm-up of shadow-sparring, those of us in Black Belt Club were instructed to put on our headgear and prepare for sparring.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve done any sparring, and most of those have been very light contact. We started out separated by gender, but as the rounds progressed, the belt levels and genders mingled. (Aside: When Mr. Turner announced “guys and girls,” I asked him where the women should go. 🙂 He didn’t get it at first.) Because of the variation in sparring partners, and because we went for so many rounds (45 seconds each, I believe, with a 15-second break to recover and find a new partner), I got a lot out of that sparring session.
Even though we’re all in “Black Belt Training Club,” the experience levels run the gamut. There’s the girl who’s a Sophomore in high school, black belt, and is one of the assistant instructors; there’s the young woman who joined about the same time as I did, and was just as blind as I was in sparring gear and no glasses; then there’s her husband, the Iraq vet who totally went all out and punched me in the nose a couple of times before I told him to go easy. I got some good pointers from black belts and red-black belts, and I got some confidence from people closer to my rank.
I’m not ready to join the tournament team any time soon, but I at least feel like I’ve got a better handle on finding openings to attack, as well as defending against single strikes. I still feel pretty overwhelmed when someone bursts in with a punching combo and won’t quit — I just cover my face with my gloves and wait for it to be over — but it’s all a matter of experience. I’ll get there.
I did have to sit out the last round — to be fair, though, Mr. Turner had said that the previous two rounds were the “last” round, so I didn’t leave anything in reserve. When he called for one more round, and I felt my head getting exceptionally warm in my headgear, I knew I needed to take a knee and remove said headgear or risk overheating. In that case, I knew that pushing my limits wasn’t going to do me any favors.
We also rocked out some calisthenics — jumping jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups. I learned that I’ve got about three or four full push-ups before I need to drop a knee to help me back up, and about five of full-plank-down-one-knee-up push-ups before I have to drop to both knees. I’ve been working on my push-ups almost daily since January, and I can see a huge improvement in my shoulders and upper back… but it looks like I need to stop working the modified knee push-ups and just go for the full ones as much as I can.
I’m not going to have 35 unmodified push-ups tucked up my sleeve for my belt test in two weeks, but I will eventually.
The other main drill in last night’s class involved blocking a swing from a partner wielding a body shield, then punching or kicking said body shield on their cue. That was probably the least stressful or difficult part of class, although any minor bruises I came away with were from that part. Punching without gloves messes up my pinky knuckles — presumably because I don’t turn my hand over and fully extend my punch.
I test for my purple belt in Krav Maga on March 18 — the same day as Connor tests for his green belt in American Freestyle Karate. Wish us luck!