“Come to Carnage they said, it will be fun they said!” and it was – Oren’s Blog about Training with a Krav Maga Master
We arrived in Harlow Town as a contingent from Lancashire on the Saturday night, a night before the training so we could enjoy a nice meal as a club before a fresh start the following day. From midday on the Sunday, people started to arrive at Harlow Leisure Centre for the training event. Some people I knew as I’ve been to several KMG masterclasses before, most I didn’t.
Carnage started with a mat chat from the UK Director of Krav Maga, Jon Bullock. He explained what is going to happen over the next 4 hours, the important health and safety pointers then Rick the UK lead instructor for Ground Force Method appeared as if by magic and the warm up commenced (oh the pain). Yoga style moves, slow and deliberate to get us ready for the hardships ahead. The warmup became competitive with drills to test your strength and balance. We were told to partner with a person the same size so obviously I got a big guy from Grimsby. He could almost be Andris’s brother (Andris is a really big guy training at West Coast Krav Maga). After the 1 hour warm up, Zeev Cohen (Krav Maga Master) commenced the Carnage. It was so intense.
I was ready for a break after the first 10 minutes but this didn’t happen. We kept on training, increasing the scenarios and adding knives into the attacks as well.
Zeev coached us with 360 defences and other attacks from a knife that we love to train in class. However, the training became much more aggressive and physical. Once maybe twice in an hour we would stop for a quick drink then quickly continue with a relentless pace. It was soon time to take the training to the next level, the floor. Whilst on your knees, the knife between two people Zeev would shout GO. Only the quickest could grab the knife to help them attack or defend. Grabbing a knife does not mean you’ll be able to hang onto it as you’ve to try and keep it from your training partner who is also buzzing. It was interesting to see how many knives got broken in that stage from people grabbing the blades instinctively whilst under pressure.
After 3 hours training under Zeevs coaching and seeking the strongest guys in the room to partner with, It was nearly the end (of me). My last training partner happened to be a lovely lady, the size of our lovely Megan from the Preston Krav Maga classes. I got the knife first and for the next 2 minutes she tried without slowing to take it from me, no fear, every move she demonstrated was calculated technique and pure aggression. I was impressed! After fighting on the floor, fighting standing, grappling, with knives and anything else to hand. Too soon it was time to go home.
So onwards to a lovely drive up north. The next day it was 2 hours of more of very intensive training at my local club in Preston with my coach Lee Douglas. Krav “it’s what we do”.
Oren – West Coast Krav Maga. Classes in Preston and Blackpool.