My very first Krav Maga class

OK, so I thought since I have been working with a personal trainer over the last year that I totally had this, no problem.  I would be able to keep up and focus on the techniques, right?  Um, NOPE.  Within literally 5 minutes I was sweating, and after the 10 minute warm up I was gasping for oxygen trying to keep up.  Sheesh.  Now, it's true, if I hadn't been working out at ALL, then I wouldn't have made it through the first 2 minutes without stopping, but I digress.

There is a series of 'get your blood pumping' typical exercises like jumping jacks, sit-ups with punches and "spreads", but the instructors get you going with partners right away doing shoulder taps, 360's (blocking or punching in the immediate head/chest area with haymaker strikes coming in) and I tell ya, it's demanding!!  You have to pay attention. With my trainer, he holds pads up and I do punching/kicking combos, taking breaks in between.  Krav Maga?  No breaks.  Just the instructor yelling to keep going.  It is intense.  But fun!  One of the other students came up to me and said, "Don't worry, I had to sit out for most of MY first class!"  What a sweetie.  Everyone is so nice.

Then you partner up again and the training begins.  We first started with getting out of standing chokes.  Three people in a group - 1 victim, 2 attackers, rotating turns.  After 5 minutes of this I knew I would be going home with bruises already.  Yes, you get bruises!  I am very proud of mine, I'll have you know.  :-)

Being that I am in a beginner class (KM level 1), most of us are kind of clueless and confused (some more than others), and in our desperate attempt to figure this stuff out, giggling ensues over our mistakes.  We instinctively start doing girlie slap fights (unintentionally) and doing what the instructor called "Frankenstein" choking.  It is indeed difficult to 'pretend' to choke someone without looking like Frankenstein with our arms out in front of us waddling towards our victim.  Doug, the instructor for this class was all over that.  "There is no laughing in Krav Maga!" as he scolded us (lovingly, of course) and grabbed me to demonstrate the proper technique.  At attention I was.  Oh, side note:  Doug (the instructor) looks just like Hank Schrader - one of my favorite characters from the greatest TV show of all time "Breaking Bad"!  I'm just sayin'.

I learned several new techniques that night and the hour just FLEW by.  At the end of the class, seriously drenched in sweat with red marks all over my body, I walked to my truck and sat in the driver's seat thinking to myself "What just happened?"  LOL.  And so my life in Krav Maga begins...