Krav Maga Addiction

If anyone has been following along with the posts, you would notice a common thread of Krav Maga throughout each installment of our journey from Fatness 2 Fitness. Krav Maga has become quite addicting, inspiring confidence, greater physical strength and endurance, speed and awareness....not to mention the rather quick loss of weight in comparison to typical dieting.

Each class has taught us a new lesson about ourselves, our physical strengths and weaknesses, our habits, our fears and also our aspirations toward Krav Maga excellence. I never once thought that I would place so much value on a simple cloth belt...aspiring to reach each new belt with increased skill, power and technique....yet here I am planning how long it will take to reach the next belt, wondering what kind of training I need to go through to move to the next level. Without searching for some sort of Zen or peaceful frame of mind, I still find that after a great training session I reach a pleasant state, without concerns or problems...only reflection on my moves, how I can get better and what I've done well. This side effect was not in the brochure....and I've spoken to others who feel the same way. Conclusion: I'm not crazy.

Carrie has progressed in so many ways, as I have also, but she has transformed the way she punches (no girlie punches anymore) and kicks/knees (look out genitals...she's lethal). Her confidence in the ability to defend herself if danger came her way is a perfect example of how important a defense system like Krav Maga is for any individual. For over an hour each night (3-5 nights a week) we train; sweating, punching, kicking, blocking and throwing our bodies all over the mat. At the end of the night everyone is smiling, drenched with sweat, but floating on a euphoric high that we've all become just a bit more deadly. It's a great feeling to have.

It must be noted that this is not a basic cardio kickboxing course, not a typical karate course or even a typical boxing course...but is a combination of all these movements, stripped down to their bare essentials and taught to us in the simplest terms and moves possible. It's not about beauty but about effectiveness....or as one of our instructors Eddie puts it, using offense as a defense. I guess in my opinion Zapata had it right when he said, "I'd rather die on my feet than live a lifetime on my knees"....of course I have no intention of dying....that's something my attacker should be worried about.

Halloween Scares Us

I think we can all unanimously agree that the "choco-face" on a child is cute, with their giant glowing grin bursting from a little body satisfied by the incredible taste of chocolate. An openly blatant disregard for manners, hygine or appearance of their faces tells the grown up world..."screw you man...I love chocolate...it makes my tummy happy and gives me hyper-energy to run, jump, yell and annoy the crap out of adults."

The reason I mention the infamous "choco-face" is that I still do it...as a grown adult. I've confessed that I am a junk food junkie, fighting the temptation with better eating habits, working out and Krav Maga, but that chocolate monkey will never be off of my back.

There are three times in the year which specifically try my willpower to avoid candy. Christmas, Easter and Halloween. It's always been this way...especially around Halloween, all the planning, scheming and rationalizing reasons why a big, fat bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or assorted packs of Kit-Kats are "for the kids trick-or-treating" knowing well that I live in an apartment and most likely won't be answering the door anyway.

There are devils and spirits in my neighborhod this Halloween, but this year they're in tiny little wrappers tempting me with their chocolatey delights...getting into my head with the "just one won't hurt", knowing well that I'll have already ate 5 by the time that rationale kicks in. Halloween is scary, but this year it's more specifically focused on the junk food portion of the holiday. Seriously....I've got issues with this stuff! I like to eat candy corn...in fact I can eat loads of it!!! I must be sick.

Tonight we're heading in to the city for Krav Maga...and be assured that I'll be working overtime to make up for the candy I've consumed "for the kids". Maybe this Halloween I'll be like the lady down the street from me growing up and hand out toothbrushes and dental floss to teach good hygine....yeah, right....I'd have to kick my own ass for that move. Regardless...this year I'm skipping the treats (at least in large quantities) and focusing on tricks (meaning practical jokes...and not illegal activites of course).

Kicking and Punching Fat Away

There are few things as sobering as a look at the scale after a few days of binge eating, drinking and generally enjoying the finer things in life. The good news is that lately the damage has been minimal due to our regular Krav Maga activities and also the fact that our appetites have become smaller due to better eating and smaller portions.

The outcome of this whole Krav Maga and overall fitness experiment has been very encouraging. I have to openly support both the regular practice of Krav Maga and also the regular morning ritual of standing on the scale to see what's happened each day....always hoping for some rapid unexplained weightloss which will put me at the 20lbs lost mark. Did I ever mention the $100 bet that Carrie and I have with eachother? Basically whoever reaches 20lbs lost first gets the cash in the pot....and I'm at 11.5lbs already. I can almost see the Franklin within my grasp now.

Yesterday I read in the paper that 1 in 3 white Americans will become obese. What great timing as a motivation for our exercise routines. It's funny to think that mentally I work out ways to get more exercise when not even 4 months ago I'd be looking for methods to find more relaxation. Little things like taking the stairs at work instead of elevators, walking down to the train station from work(only on select occations like Yankee game days because the area of South Bronx is shady and the traffic is terrible) and walking to the local bodega (look that one up if you're outside the NYC area) for a sandwich instead of eating at work or fast food. Basically I figure that every little bit helps, and an extra boost today means that I can have a little break later and not feel as guilty. Hopefully Carrie and I will be the 2 in 3 who look at the 1 in 3 and think...."Wow....didn't they see it coming, all that fried chicken, Cold Stone and McDonalds?"

In the meantime we continue our fitness journey with Krav Maga as our guide...squeezing in a workout at the gym as well when not in class. We've trained very hard, sometimes to exhaustion with kicks, grabs, punches and throws, but it's been worth the time and effort. We're taking a special knife seminar (yes...knife, as in the sharp object an attacker would like to harm you with) and also will be testing for our Yellow Belts soon. It sounds funny...but in class it's a serious thing to have your belts and know your stuff. So with confidence increased, weight decreased, strength enhanced and focus maintained we're continuing to kick and punch the fat away...always checking in the morning to see if we've moved closer to the $100 incentive.