# New to martial arts - Need help with survival training / workouts / conditioning



## liz (Sep 4, 2014)

Would appreciate any advice.

So basically, i always thought i could take care of myself just fine then something happened when i was on holiday and i had to run away to save my skin. 
It has been really bothering me since to the point where i literally cannot think of anything else. 



I need some sort of workout that encorporates stuff that will help me, preferably around 30-40 mins that i can do at home in the mornings before work.
 i also need to increase body and core strength. 


i have a water base swinging boxing bag in my garden but know literally no technique aside from jabs and probably i'm not even doing those correctly. 

I started taking Krav Maga lessons a month or so ago and find it really good, challenging, but good. i feel like i get thrown around more than actually fighting back but im hoping that will come eventually. I always end the lessons with 'conditioning bruises' which is to be expected, and i don't expect to be some sort of expert after such a short amount of time but i really need to speed things up a bit for my own sanity's sake. 

So any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## donnaTKD (Sep 4, 2014)

hi liz  welcome to MT 

you mean like lying on your back and raise your legs to varying degrees - that'll work your abs  

another one is similar to the first one but you raise your body to a half sit position whilst doing leg raises

get yourself a kettlebell - something around 6kg ought to be enough then sit on the floor raise your legs up and with the kettlebell in your hands twist your body from side to side so that the kettlebell goes behind you on each rotation  this one takes a bit of getting used to 

abdominal crunches are another good one - i use an incline bench for these  

aerobics is fantastic for all over workouts  you can use a yoga ball or you can use a step and you can use light or heavy weights to increase the intensity of the workout and it's a full body workout too  have you tried something like the insanity series of workouts ????? they only take the length of time you've got available to do a programme in  

also you say you're taking classes - have you tried doing homework ????? you say that it's good exercise etc....... so why not do what you do in class at home too  it'll also mean that you're more likely to get upto speed faster than if you only do what you do in class - in class 

you also say that you've got what we call a "slam man" in your garden have you actually tried to use it ????? if it correct technique for using that you're after then go to a boxing or muay thai class and ask the guy / girl in charge if they can show how to punch / elbow / knee / kick / headbutt the darn thing properly -- you'll get a few more bruises but hell you've got the motivation for it sat in your yard 

let us know how you're getting on 

donna


----------



## liz (Sep 4, 2014)

Thanks Donna, 

It's true i do really need to get my act together and start using whats available to me. 

I will invest in a kettle bell this weekend.

I will keep you posted


----------



## PhotonGuy (Sep 4, 2014)

If you want to build up your core strength do v-ups. V-ups are situps where your feet also come up and so you make a letter V. The internet would have pictures and videos of it.


----------



## oftheherd1 (Sep 4, 2014)

Welcome to MT.

You don't say what situation caused you to have to run for your life.  But any time you get into a situation like that, don't feel bad about running to save your life.  Even if several years from now you are an accomplished martial artist.  No matter how good you get, on any given day, you may not be up to par, and your opponent may be having the best day ever.  Don't study with the idea of being the martial artist that kicks the world's butt.  You may be able to do it most of the time, but what about that once or twice when you may not be able to?  That to say nothing of the fact that most martial arts teach students not to be that way.

It sounds like you are in a good martial art now.  Stay with it.  Do what you are told about exercising and learning as quickly as possible.  Don't expect to be a grand master in 6 months or less.  Learning any style of fighting art well takes a long time, even if you are able to learn well and quickly.  

Again I don't know what situation you were in.  But I would encourage you to learn ways not to get into bad situations.  You can't always prevent that, but with practice of good ways to avoid trouble, you can miss a lot of bad situations.  Situational awareness is a good thing to know.

Keep us informed on how you are doing.


----------



## mook jong man (Sep 4, 2014)

You've been learning Krav for a month and all they have taught you to do is to Jab?
Ok.

The fitness stuff is pretty easy , just get a skipping rope and mix it in with a body weight training circuit.
There is a ton of body weight training information on the internet.

I would stop punching the bag , if you are unsure how to punch properly you may end up injuring yourself.
Use palm strikes instead , keep the fingers vertical , thumb tucked in , and strike through the heel of your palm.
Visualise hitting the attackers chin.

As you move in to strike the bag  , coordinate it so that your advancing step  and palm strike are in sync.
This will ensure that your full body mass is behind your strike. 

You can also do a double palm strike , which as the name suggests , uses two hands together at the same time , this is a very powerful strike used in Wing Chun
Keep your elbows tucked in for maximum power , don't let the elbows flare out.

These are solid self defence techniques that you can do on the bag right away, without risking injury to your wrists.


----------



## Tgace (Sep 4, 2014)

Burpees.



Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2


----------



## K-man (Sep 4, 2014)

Hi Liz. Welcome to MT. Your post actually says a lot. It tells us that you know the first rule of self defence ... you ran away. You get full marks for that.  

You say that that bothered you and you're obviously still very concerned about what happened and how you dealt with it. Now can I suggest that even if you had 10 years of Krav training under your belt when the situation occurred, you still made the best decision.

You've made a great choice in selecting Krav. I'm not at all biased. I just happen to teach it.   But don't expect to become the best street fighter in your city overnight. What you are training for is to develop a certain skill set that will kick in automatically if a nasty situation arises. I would hope that your initial instinct to run away remains, just that you also will have additional resources at hand if you need something extra. In your Krav training I would expect that your instructor has shown you how to make a fist correctly and how to strike to pads or kick bag. Keep practising those punches on your bag at home. As others have said there are fitness and core exercises you can do as well but a few minutes a day beating the crap out of your bag will do heaps for you. 

Good luck with your training.
:asian:


----------



## drop bear (Sep 4, 2014)

Do a ring fight with a quality gym. Either you will get bashed and realised it is not a big deal or you will win and realise you can handle yourself.

Either way the training should get you fit.

Soldiers use it to overcome PTSD.

HBO's 'Real Sports' explores veterans using MMA to treat PTSD - MMA Fighting

Otherwise try this one. 
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/46-health-tips-martial-artist/113954-crash-mat-workout.html


----------



## ks - learning to fly (Sep 4, 2014)

Just my .02 cents - First, do NOT feel bad about running away!!!!!  Cannot stress that enough!!  One day, you may find yourself in a situation after years of training and you might get in one good shot
and then - yup - you should run!!  Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is run!!  One of the reasons I'm in TKD is a situation similar to yours except - I didn't have a chance to run and wound up
broken and bleeding at the back door of my hotel with 3 fractured ribs, 2 black eyes and a broken nose and - believe me - if I'd been able to run, that is the first thing I would have done!!
In addition to the good fitness advice already given - if you're interested in core strength - the plank is excellent for that!!!  I wish you nothing but the best!!!


----------



## Tames D (Sep 4, 2014)

K-man is telling it like it is. And if you can afford it, buy P90X and disipline yourself to follow it.


----------



## PhotonGuy (Sep 4, 2014)

Tgace said:


> Burpees.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2



More challenging are frontkick burpees, where you do a pushup and then a jumping frontkick.


----------



## donnaTKD (Sep 5, 2014)

PhotonGuy said:


> More challenging are frontkick burpees, where you do a pushup and then a jumping frontkick.



come on guys liz is just starting out on her road to recovery she doesn't need to make things really hard yet


----------



## Hanzou (Sep 5, 2014)

Liz, you made the right choice in running away. That's really the best self defense of all.

Ironically, I'd say that running would be a good core exercise for survival and conditioning. You can never have enough endurance and stamina.

Is your Krav school offering plenty of sparring opportunities where you get to fight your classmates? In Brazilian Jiujitsu we sparred for 30 minutes straight after an hour of practice. Fighting is a great way to develop core, conditioning, endurance, and your timing. I lost 50lbs in about three months because of it. If your Krav school doesn't offer it, maybe you and your classmates can do some on your own time?


----------



## Tames D (Sep 5, 2014)

donnaTKD said:


> come on guys liz is just starting out on her road to recovery she doesn't need to make things really hard yet



I don't know about Burpees, but P90X is as mild or intense as you want to make it.


----------



## liz (Sep 5, 2014)

Thanks guys this actually means alot.

 its all good DonnaTKD, I am going to try and take all of this on board (although it will deffo be work in progress particularly with the burpies of the front kick variety  )  

Just to clarify i had been doing the krav since like mid july and my holiday was last week. So the Krav is good but mainly we have done knife blocking and throws and the 360* something, lots of fore arm blocks and an anti-elbow strangle thing and regardless that none of those particular blocks etc would have been appropriate for the situation, Its more that if i did have to fight i wouldve lost anyway so running was really the only option. 

its like ive only just realised that all this time i've had a false confidence and now its shattered so i will be doing as much of the above as possible. i'm fed up of feeling like i'm doing nothing about it so all of this stuff will be really handy for me this weekend when i make some sort of regime for the next few months.

Yes i have tried insanity before i'll be starting it again next week. Day 1 Monday  Ive been looking alot at insanity vs. P90X reviews and just from the equipment side of things this time round ill be doing insanity, although its more to increase endurance vs P90x which would be more of the resistancy stuff and i dont have a 'pull up bar'*? at this early stage for me anything like this will help.

they are beginning to do sparring at the krav gym, i think they are trying to ease my friend and i into it since we started in the middle and everyone is way more advanced than us and we are the only girls there, i think they were trying not to scare us off. i have a friend that does krav at another gym in london i was going to go test his class out see if its much different or if i can pick up some stuff there i know he wont hold back too which is added bonus, depending on how you look at things.

Thanks again randomers


----------



## donnaTKD (Sep 5, 2014)

cos of the length of time that most of us have been training our various MA's things can get a bit advanced rather quickly  glad that you're ok with it 

which gym in london does your friend go to ?????

and by that statement i take it that you're a southerner ?????


----------



## liz (Sep 5, 2014)

Ha!

 yea i'm from just north of London.

His gym is Tang Long in Golders Green they do all sorts there but just for now i recon ill stick with krav maga at the risk of being over stimulated lol


----------



## donnaTKD (Sep 5, 2014)

it's all right - it's them in westminster that we don't like  

cos us welsh are severely hampered by them --- reckon that we might see a welsh referendum at some point - yippee baaa, baaa even the sheep like that idea 

sorry i digressed again 

i've heard of that gym cos if i'm right they have a muay thai fight school there cos i'm pretty sure that i've gone up against a few of their students in the past 

oh and if you hadn't guessed i'm heavily into muay thai in fact it's my life 

you're better off sticking with one art and learning as much as you can - you need to be like a sponge  - before moving on you never know you might just like the competition and being in that environment  

i wish you all the best with your studies


----------



## WaterGal (Sep 8, 2014)

Well, first off, if it's really bothering you emotionally/mentally and it continues to be on your mind all the time, you may want to talk to a therapist or counselor about what happened.  Being in serious danger can be traumatic, and it might help to have someone to talk to about it.

As far as your actual question.... running is a great defense, as you saw, and a great way to build your cardio.  If you hate running, mix it up with other cardio activities like riding a bike or jumping rope. There's a lot of gear you can get for strength training, but crunches, push-ups, squats, and leg lifts are all totally free, as is hitting the bag you own.

Mook jong made a good point about how you can injure yourself punching someone if you're inexperienced.  He recommended palm strike; another good option is an elbow strike (tip: don't hit with the point of your elbow, but right below that, at the top of your forearm).  You can elbow strike the nose, chin, side of the head, even the gut.  I'd recommend practicing some kicks to the knee and groin level too. 

Beyond that, just, go to class, learn your techniques and do some sparring.


----------



## oftheherd1 (Sep 8, 2014)

WaterGal said:


> *Well, first off, if it's really bothering you emotionally/mentally and it continues to be on your mind all the time, you may want to talk to a therapist or counselor about what happened.  Being in serious danger can be traumatic, and it might help to have someone to talk to about it.*
> 
> As far as your actual question.... running is a great defense, as you saw, and a great way to build your cardio.  If you hate running, mix it up with other cardio activities like riding a bike or jumping rope. There's a lot of gear you can get for strength training, but crunches, push-ups, squats, and leg lifts are all totally free, as is hitting the bag you own.
> 
> ...



Very good point about seeking help if needed.  Of course, professionals are usually the best ones to talk to, but sometimes, fellow martial artists can be of help as well.  The 'been there done that' understanding can help.  You may have noticed that you have been complimented on that several times here already.  I told you earlier that you shouldn't expect to be able to show Superman a few tricks after only a couple of months of MA training.  Nobody likes to back down.  But knowing when you are in more danger than you can handle is a precious gift.  Even more so the understanding that sometimes you may need to run (retreat: military practice how to do that, did you know?) to be able to fight another day.  You can't fight if you are dead or bed-ridden.  That's why military, although they don't like to, do practice how to retreat with the fewest casualties possible.  It allows the then continue to enjoy life and fight another day.

If you were certain that was your best option at the time, it was.  Don't feel bad.  If you have since changed your mind, *be sure* you know how to bring a successful conclusion to the problem if it happens again, instead of just beating yourself up now.  But Watergal's point is right, are you obsessing on fear or shame?  Fear is a survival factor.  Shame is self defeating.

It's OK to make mistakes sometimes if you learn from them.  In my life I have learned a lot.


----------



## liz (Sep 8, 2014)

Thanks Watergal, i have some really good friends this is councelling enough for now and this site has helped heaps too. My friends don't know i have asked about it on here but they virtually said the same thing that running was best and i don't really feel bad about it anymore. I would however still like to increase martial arts knowledge and practice, regardless.

 I joined this site at the beginning of the year to get advice what type of punching bag to buy, then i never really used the site apart from having a look every now and then. when we got back from holiday the site popped in my head and it just seemed like the best place to ask advice.

i do generally hate running as an excercise but i am going to encorporate it into the mix as with all the above. i bought an 8kg kettlebell this weekend and i have a varied excercise regime in place for the next 3 months with lots of cardio, resistence and strength exercises. 

Oftheherd1 - i didn't know that about the military although i suppose it makes sense, i went through a fase of reading about the SAS alot so i should've known this really. I've been thinking about it from both sides fear and shame but things could've been alot worse i feel lucky. 

The advice has all really helped i'm soaking it all in like a sponge.
Seriously though i will take this all on board. Thanks


----------



## Tames D (Sep 9, 2014)

liz said:


> Thanks Watergal, i have some really good friends this is councelling enough for now and this site has helped heaps too. My friends don't know i have asked about it on here but they virtually said the same thing that running was best and i don't really feel bad about it anymore. I would however still like to increase martial arts knowledge and practice, regardless.
> 
> I joined this site at the beginning of the year to get advice what type of punching bag to buy, then i never really used the site apart from having a look every now and then. when we got back from holiday the site popped in my head and it just seemed like the best place to ask advice.
> 
> ...



Whatever methods you use to improve your fighting abilities and fitness level, just stay consistant in your training. Results will come.


----------



## Tez3 (Sep 9, 2014)

I have a friend who is a martial artist, he has world kick boxing titles as well as having fought MMA, he helps people who are dealing with trauma ( and phobias among other things) with hypnosis and other methods. Gary works with soldiers with PTSD and has a very good reputation. He coaches kick boxing and personal fitness, comes very highly recommended. He also runs two gorgeous huskies. If you felt you weren't sure whether you wanted any help, with anything you can email him or give him a ring, he'd be more than happy. Gary's blogs on fitness, diet and other martial arts related stuff are well worth a read for anyone. He gets a bit too scientific for me at times lol ( science is not my best subject) but knows what he's talking about, does a huge amount of research.
Personal Training and Sports - Gary 'Smiler' Turner


----------



## Badger1777 (Sep 9, 2014)

liz said:


> its like ive only just realised that all this time i've had a false confidence and now its shattered so i will be doing as much of the above as possible. i'm fed up of feeling like i'm doing nothing about it so all of this stuff will be really handy for me this weekend when i make some sort of regime for the next few months.



I consider myself to be fairly streetwise. In order of preference and effectiveness, here's my list of techniques for staying in one piece.

1. Don't be anywhere near the trouble in the first place. That comes from avoiding situations where trouble is likely.
2. Don't look like a target. If you happen to find yourself where there is trouble brewing, you don't want to be a target. Best option is to not even be noticed at all, but if you are noticed, you need to strike a balance between not looking nervous and not looking aggressive.]
2. Joint second place, get out of there as nonechalantly as possible.
3. Talk the situation down. Show no fear, but at the same time show no aggression.
4. Don't be afraid to leg it.
5. If you really stuffed and have no option but to fight, then focus more on flooring the opponent as fast as possible rather than wasting time with kicks and punches. Any fool can throw or take a punch, and punches and kicks, in the heat of the moment, often miss. Your opponent is unlikely to be following club rules, so he may not move in the way you expect him to. Punches and kicks may buy time, but on the rare occassions when I've had to fight for real, it has been more about restraining, flooring the aggressor, and subduing them. Having thrown them to the floor, see rule 4.

There is no shame in having to run. No amount of martial arts training is going to guarantee that you can fight an attacker. What if they are trained too? What if they are armed? What if they outnumber you? Learning a fighting art is obviously going to help if you really find yourself in a pickle, but I would never want to rely on my ability to fight as my only defense against aggression.


----------



## drop bear (Sep 9, 2014)

Oh and that crap feeling you get after a confrontation is not uncommon.


----------



## cqbspartan (Oct 10, 2014)

Krav Maga is a great place to start...may want to look into some Wing Chun also...designed by a Chinese nun so a women can defeat a male attacker...its not based on power or strength but on quickness, leverage, and reflex training...also I would suggest finding Lee Morrison in the UK and at least go to one of his seminars...he is probably the most knowledgeable in the UK on self defense/survival for the streets...he is a wealth of knowledge and you will not be disappointed...


----------



## cqbspartan (Oct 10, 2014)

What was your question about the survival training??


----------



## Hanzou (Oct 10, 2014)

cqbspartan said:


> Krav Maga is a great place to start...may want to look into some Wing Chun also...designed by a Chinese nun so a women can defeat a male attacker...



Honestly, she's better off sticking with Krav....


----------



## PiedmontChun (Oct 13, 2014)

Hanzou said:


> Honestly, she's better off sticking with Krav....



Krav is focused on realistic / practical self defense so it definitely has points for that. I have a friend whose done it for years and loves it. It's effectiveness however (like a majority of striking systems) often comes down to strength or force against force. Wing Chun follows very different principles including yielding to a greater force, borrowing an opponent's force, striving to deflect energy or attacks in a relaxed way while countering efficiently. It's not the only system that does this, but it is unique in how it does incorporate these principles. 

I would say for a woman, such a system might suit her body / strength, depending on her outlook or what she hopes to gain by studying an MA. (I am biased as WC/WT is the art that I practice and am only pointing this out to piggyback on the original suggestion by another poster.)


----------



## drop bear (Oct 14, 2014)

Hanzou said:


> Honestly, she's better off sticking with Krav....




Depends on the school. You can get kravs that harp on about how evil a confrontation will be. And how everything is life or death. Grr arg. And coming off a trauma she may not need that.


----------



## Dylan9d (Oct 14, 2014)

Hi liz,

If you want to train self defense there are many good martial arts systems.

I myself can recommend Silat. Most people think about the flowery stuff in Silat but i can show you otherwise.
There are 2 teachers based in the UK that are very good Silat Open Circle - Welcome to the Frontpage and Silat Suffian International Groups both teachers know their stuff very well, also a personal friend of mine teaches in the UK his school is loboacademy . 

Hope you will find what you need, physically as well as mentally, to overcome your fears.


----------



## Shai Hulud (Nov 10, 2014)

liz said:


> Would appreciate any advice.
> 
> So basically, i always thought i could take care of myself just fine then something happened when i was on holiday and i had to run away to save my skin.
> It has been really bothering me since to the point where i literally cannot think of anything else.
> ...



Hello Liz,

I'm with Donna when I say that you should get yourself a kettle-bell. Personally I'd recommend that you start anywhere from an 8kg to a 15kg KB, but that's just me. Should you ever decide to get one, I suggest you try each of them out when visiting your local supplier just to get a feel of them, and which one's probably the best for you. It's important not to start too heavy, but too light can be just as bad.

I love the kettle-bell, and as is I only need a handful of moves to form a solid program for myself. The double-hand/single-arm swing, the clean, the overhead press, the snatch, the Turkish Get-up, and the single/double-KB front squat. 

Good luck on your S&C journey! 

Ally


----------

