Beginner (B1)

Palm Heel Strikes

Round Kicks

Drill: Cauldron w/ palm. Round 1 – pad holder calls combo, striker performs the combo 1x. Round 2 – pad holder calls combo, striker performs the combo 2x, sprawling in between combos. Round 3 – pad holder calls combo, striker performs combo 3x, sprawling in between combos.

Headlock from Behind

Drill: A/B/C drill. Divide the class into three groups. Group A holds a tombstone pad, Group B is striking/defending, and Group C is attacking. Pad holders and strikers free work palm heel strike & round kick combinations. Attackers roam and put strikers in a headlock from behind randomly. Strikers defend, then get back to their respective pad holders. Cycle all three groups through all three stations

 

Intermediate (B1)

Reflexive defense vs front (groin) kick

Outside stabbing defense vs front (groin) kick

Drill: Free work thai pad combinations. Pad holder randomly mixes in groin kicks for striker to defend.

Choke from behind with a pull

Drill: A/B drill. Divide the class in to two groups. Group A stands on a line with eyes closed. Group B randomly attacks with choke from behind with a pull. After the round, the groups switch roles.

 

Advanced (B1)

Jumping Spinning Back Kick

Drill: Thai pads and belly pad required. Free work on thai pads, mixing in jumping spinning back kick to belly pad. Safety note: kickers should refrain from delivering kick full force in case they miss, accuracy and contact are the goal.

Long Gun from the Front – dead side

Drill: Same drill as above, this time have 2-4 students roam the room with long guns. Attackers will verbally get a random striker’s attention. Striker will perform dead side defense before getting back on the pads

Beginner (B1)
Straight punch
Straight punch low
Inside defense
Inside defense vs straight punch low
Choke from the front (1-handed)
Drill: after the defender starts delivering combatives from the choke defense, the attacker may create space and attack a second time with either a straight punch (high or low) or 360 attack. The second attack can also come from a different attacker. "Roaming" attackers work well in this drill.

Intermediate (B1)
Focus mitt combinations
Defense v hook (extended)
Defense v hook (covering)
Ground - trap and roll
Drill: attacker starts in full mount with either boxing gloves or focus mitts. Attacker delivers hook punches to defender, who defends until instructor calls "go," after which the defender escapes, stands, and runs to a pad holder or heavy bag and starts throwing punching combinations. The drill resets either when the pad holder or instructor calls time. The drill can be repeated with a knife, depending on the group's skill level. Allow the knife attacker to start moving the knife before "go" is called.

Advanced (B1)
Striking practice: front kick (vertical target), defensive front kick. Practice first on striking shield, then again with kicker held in a full nelson.
Review low kick defenses - each student has shin pads; after a low front kick or round kick defense, immediately return with a low round kick on the same side.
Full nelson - finger strip
Full nelson - sweep
Drill: defender starts in full nelson, with secondary attackers advancing in from the front with striking shields. The defender must kick and otherwise defend against the mob of attackers until they have enough space to escape the hold.

 

BEGINNER CLASS (B1)

Palm Strike

Palm Strike Combo: Left/Right/Right

Elbow #1

Combo: Palm Strikes Left/Left/Right/Right Elbow

Knees – emphasize control and turn, use attacker as a shield

Choke Front (1 handed pluck)

Advanced Technique: Choke from the Side on the Ground (ONLY IF the instructor knows it)

Awareness Drill: groups of 3; defender closes his eyes; the attacker makes the choke, while a third person stands somewhere nearby; the defender must defend, then spin the attacker so that he is between the defender and the third person

INTERMEDIATE CLASS (B1)

Front Kick to Groin (review)

Forward Roll

Drill: pushed, make forward roll, turn and give front kick to pad

Inside Defense with Counter Attack v. Left Punch

Inside Defense with Counter Attack v. Right Punch (2 counters)

Inside Defense with Counter Attach v. Right Punch (1 counter)

Drill: pushed, make forward roll, turn and defend Left or Right Punch (appropriate speed!)

ADVANCED CLASS (B1)

Focus Mitts with disturbing (pad holder strikes the puncher, then calls a combination)

Axe Defense v. Overhead — like stick defense, but emphasize opening outward with the defending arm so that the axe head moves away from the body. If you want to be very elaborate, you can tape rubber knives perpendicularly to the end of sticks to create an axe head.

BEGINNER CLASS (B1)

Straight Punch

Straight Punch with Advance

Straight Punch Low

Inside Defenses

Inside Defense v. Straight Punch Low

Drill: Defend Left Punch only, high or low; then right punch only, high or low, then either

If you have time, and with more advanced groups, introduce SLOW fighting, straight punches only

INTERMEDIATE CLASS (B1)

Hook Punch

Combos #3 & 4

Combos # 6 (right straight/left hook/right straight) and 7 (left hook/right straight/left hook)

Defense v. Hook Punch (extended)

Defense v. Hook Punch (covering)

Inside Defense review

Drill: defend straight or hook (left only, then right only)

Sparring: light sparring, 50% speed, with straights and hooks

ADVANCED CLASS (B1)

Focus Mitts: 2 rounds of 2 minutes

Sparring drill (with gloves, etc.) – defend any single attack from the left hand; then any single attack from the right hand

Sparring drill: defend Left Straight/Right Round Kick OR Right Straight/Left Round Kick

Sparring drill: defend Left/Right/Left Round Kick OR Right/Left Hook/Right Round Kick

Sparring: 2 minutes rounds, 60% speed and power

BEGINNER (B1)

Straight Punch Low

COMBO:

Striker sends Straight Low and orients perpendicular to pad holder. Padholder punches tombstone straight out from chest presenting pad for a rear straight. Reset and repeat.

Straight Punch Low Defense

DRILL:

Group of 2, Striker, Defender. Defender begins holding pad for Straight Low. Striker sends strike, resets, sends again. At any point, as the Striker begins to punch, the Defender can pull the pad away and perform Inside Low Defense. Replace pad and allow additional punches. Repeat for time.

Headlock Rear

DRILL - FINAL:

Groups of 3, Striker, Padholder, Attacker. Same drill as above, but Attacker may apply Headlock Rear at any point to the Striker to defend.

___________

INTERMEDIATE (B1)

Outside Stabbing Defense vs. Front Kick

DRILL:

Groups of 2, Attacker, Defender. Begin facing each other. Defender then must transition between laying chest to ground and standing. At any point during the transition, Attacker can send a Front Kick for defense. Defend, counter, and return to transitioning.

Ground - Trap, Buck and Roll

Ground - Choke from Mount

Ground - Choke from Side

DRILL - FINAL:

Group of 3, Attacker 1(A1), Attacker 2(A2), Defender. Defender begins on back, eyes closed. A1 can apply any Ground attack above. After defending, as Defender gets to feet, A2 can send Front Kick for defense.

___________

ADVANCED (B1)

DRILL - WARMUP:

Groups of 2, Striker, Padholder. Review Advancing Front Kick (Neutral and Fighting). After basic review, begin seeing how much distance Striker can cover with advance and still make a powerful kick.

Gun Front - 2 Handed Technique

Gun Front - Kneeling

Gun Rear - Hostage

DRILL - FINAL:

Defenders scattered, neutral, eyes closed. Attackers roam with guns presenting any attack above. Perform 1 round for each participant without Attackers resisting. Then perform a second round per participant with Attackers permitted to resist during the defense.

Beginner (B1)

Fighting Stance

Hammerfist Forward

Hammerfist Downward

Drill: 2 people; 1 tombstone pad holder & 1 striker. Striker stands in passive stance with eyes closed. Pad holder jolts striker and either holds tombstone for hammerfists forward or for a groin kick. Striker opens eyes, recognizes threat and delivers a broken flurry of hammerfists forward or a groin kick followed by a broken flurry of hammerfists downward (3-5 punches). After the threat is neutralized, striker returns to passive stance with eyes closed and the drill repeats.

Choke from Behind with a push

Drill: Group of 3; 1 attacker, 1 defender, & 1 tombstone pad holder. Defender stands in the middle of the mat in passive stance. Attacker chokes from behind with a push. Once defender reaches control position and is delivering combatives, pad holder immediately jolts the defender with the pad calling for either hammerfists forward or a groin kick followed by hammerfists downward (as in the drill above).

 

Intermediate (B1)

Side Kick (with and without advance)

Back Kick

Drill: 1 striker, 3 kick-shield holders, 1 focus mitt holder. Kicker stands in the middle, surrounded by pad holders. Focus mitts at 12 o’clock and kick shields at 3, 6, & 9 o’clock. Once instructor starts the round, focus mitt holder calls for basic combinations 1-4 adding in looping attacks to force striker to either bob & weave or hard cover. Kick shield holders verbally try to get striker’s attention, at which point striker will deliver a back or side kick followed by 3-5 combatives before returning to the focus mitts. If striker does not respond to verbal provocation by kick shield holders, they may jolt the striker with their pad (Note: pad holders must quickly get back to an effective range for kicks if they do this).

Ground – headlock from the side (weight forward & weight backward)

Drill: 1 attacker & 1 defender. Starting from headlock from the side position, defender’s job is to get out as quickly as possible. Attacker may shift their weight forward & backwards changing the required defense on the fly. Note: attackers should make it difficult NOT impossible for defenders to have success.

 

Advanced (B1)

Review fall breaks

Full Nelson – throw

Full Nelson – sweep

Drill: Group of 3; 1 focus mitt holder, 1 striker, & 1 attacker. Striker and Focus Mitt holder free work. Attacker randomly catches striker in a full nelson. Striker defends, finishes with combatives and gets back to free work on the focus mitts. Safety Note: when the attacker catches the striker in a full nelson, the focus mitt holder needs to get away from them quickly so there’s no risk of collision.

Long Gun from the front – live side

Drill: A/B drill. All students who are A’s start in passive stance with eyes closed. All students who are B’s randomly attack A’s with long gun from the front. Reset & repeat for the length of the round, then switch.

 

 

 

 

 

We've been asked a couple of times recently about the KMA fight requirement, so I thought I would update and re-post the link to that requirement. Check out the details here!

 

Beginner (B1)
Straight punch with advance
Straight punch with retreat
Round kick
Movement drill: using Thai pads or striking shield, striker pushes pad holder across the length of mat. Power jab/rear leg round kick, power cross/lead leg round kick with step.
Choke from the front with a push
Drill: defender starts in neutral position with eyes closed. Attacker either gives choke from the front with push, or hard push to chest with tombstone to create distance. On the push, the defender delivers an advancing straight punch and advancing round kick then resets.

Intermediate (B1)
Review straight punches and inside defenses (high and low)
Forward headbutt
Focus mitt combos: add slips and inside defense. After slip, striker delivers a #6 or #7 combo to pads (cross/hook/cross, hook/cross/hook), also add headbutt variable - after last punch, grab the mitt, close range, and headbutt.
Inside defense w/counter vs. left punch
Inside defense w/counter vs. right punch (1 counter)
Inside defense w/counter vs. right punch (2 counters)
Light sparring - Round 1: only straight punches, controlled body contact. Round 2: boxing only, body contact only. Emphasize combos.

Advanced (B1)
Warm up - review guard sweeps
Review standing guillotine defense (level 3)
Position drill: defender starts on ground with attacker in guard. The defender must break the attacker's posture and pull them down. Emphasize headlocks, underhooks, and using legs to pull attacker in. Repeat with light shoulder touching
Ground - leg triangle
Ground - guillotine
Ground - defense vs. guillotine
Repeat drill from above, but give the defender the option to get submission via leg triangle or guillotine.

New Mexico Krav Maga's lead instructor, Heather Rider, started taking classes at Worldwide Los Angeles in 2002. In 2007, when John Whitman opened his own gym she went with him and started teaching bag classes. Heather moved to Santa Fe, NM in 2010. She looked everywhere for Krav Maga classes but none were in existence here. John Whitman suggested she get certified to teach and so she did. Since then we have had three four class members who came to us as beginners, go to Alliance to get certified to teach and one member who is now certified to teach Young Warriors. We are the only Krav Maga alliance affiliate in New Mexico. Our emphasis is on teaching every beginner the fastest ways to defend themselves and encourage them to move on to more advanced training. We also love to make them work hard and get a great workout in. Our hope and vision is for anyone to be able to walk in for their first class and walk out knowing the basics.we want to constantly expand our knowledge and share it with our members. We also frequently teach seminars for women's self defense to raise money for certain centers that care for victims of domestic violence.

Beginner (B1)
Palm Heel Strike
360
Drill: groups of 3, palm heel strikes to target, third person gives a verbal signal and burst forward with 360, defender must defend, then turn to the pad.
Knees (quick review)
Choke from the Front (1-Handed)
Drill: Non-Compliant Attacker- Attacker makes Choke from the Front and the defender defends. Once the defender begins to give knees, the attacker breaks off and comes back with a 360 attack.
Intermediate (B1)
Focus Mitts: Hooks and Uppercutts
Drill: groups of 3; make the appropriate hook or uppercut while third person holds up a hand; striker must call out the hand motion.
Defense v. Hook (extended)
Defense v. Hook (covering)
Ground- Trap and Roll
Ground- Elbow Escape
Advanced (B1)
Choose 3-4 self defense techniques from the lower levels to review
Add non-compliant attacker as described above
Gun from the Front - attacker grabs gun with his left hand to secure it; the defender must maintain control and continue with counterattacks.
Gun from the Front- attacker tries to punch defender with his left hand as the defender defends. Defender must be sure to keep his chin down.