I was talking about weightlifting with a colleague who said the biggest frustration with Olympic lifts was the need to push to failure. In weightlifting, the whole point is to see how much heavy stuff you can lift off the ground. It stands to reason, therefore, that you won't know how much until you reach a weight you can't lift; i.e., until you fail. This person doesn't like failure (which is why we are colleagues) and insists on pushing through it (which is why we are friends). On a rational level, she gets it, but on a visceral level, she dislikes it. She insists on pushing through it, and finding some new level.

That's what I like about her, and many of the other friends I've made in Krav Maga. It's what I want the Krav Maga Alliance to be about: a group of people striving for new and better training methods.

In the book Complete Krav Maga, I wrote that "techniques are the beginning of your understanding of self defense, not the end." It's a good policy, as far as it goes, but it's perspective is limited to actual self defense. I have a broader saying that I've adopted for myself, and for the Krav Maga Alliance: our achievements aren't pinnacles, they're platforms. They're the launch pads for our next endeavor.

KM Alliance founder John Whitman was named one the 7 martial artists who "set the new standard" for the 21st century.  Check out the February issue for more details!

Mary Matia, a Krav Maga student at KBX Gym in Alpharetta, Georgia, won her kickboxing bout January 29 to become the Amateur Muay Thai MFC Champion.   She won the fight by unanimous decision.  You can read more about the bout here.  Congratulations, Mary!

Krav Maga Alliance announced today that Jeremy Stafford has been named Director of the Krav Maga Alliance Force Division. As head of this division, Stafford will be responsible for developing and implementing training programs for law enforcement and military services under the Krav Maga Alliance banner.

Stafford’s credentials are impeccable. He is a Black Belt in Krav Maga and is the lead instructor at Simi Valley Krav Maga in Simi Valley, California as well as the President of Vindico Training Group, a full service tactical and firearms training company. He has been an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department for 13 years, where he has served as a Field Training Officer, a Narcotics Investigator, and a Counter Terrorism Operator. He currently works as a Senior Instructor in the Firearms and Tactics Section where he serves as a mentor instructor and works on program and curriculum development. Stafford has served in the U.S. Marine Corps, including a combat tour in Iraq, where he received a Bronze Star with a ‘V’ for valor.

John Whitman, founder of Krav Maga Alliance, believes Stafford will bring a whole new dimension to the Krav Maga Alliance’s programs. “We didn’t want to activate the Force Division unless we could make it great,” says Whitman. “But making it great meant having the right person in charge. Jeremy Stafford is that person.”

Jeremy added “Police Officer deaths are up 37 percent in just the last year and our Armed Forces are entering the 10th year of a Global War on Terror. All of this is happening in an environment of budget cuts and a reduction of manpower across the board. More and more is being asked of our nation’s warriors at home and abroad, and we intend to give them more. You can expect to see an aggressive program that not only addresses traditional defensive tactics, but also addresses the realities of moving from less than lethal force all the way up to and including lethal force. I am especially looking forward to working with our affiliates and small school owners, helping them to provide world class training on a local level.”

Krav Maga Alliance is expected to announce a schedule of upcoming law enforcement and military courses soon.

Krav Maga Alliance is a global network of Krav Maga school owners and instructors dedicated to making their communities safer through Krav Maga training for civilians, law enforcement, and military personnel. The organization’s headquarters is in Los Angeles, California, with affiliates around the United States and in eight countries around the world.

For more information, please email info@kravmagaalliance.com

We are sponsoring a tactical firearms course with IMS Security and its chief instructor, Aaron Cohen.  Aaron served in the Duvdevan unit of the IDF, a very high speed anti-terrorist unit.  The course will include Israeli-style tactical firearms training, room clearing, transition from carbine to pistol, and much, much more!  The cost is $299 before March 1, and $399 on March 1 or after.

To register, please email info@ims-security.com.

We are very excited to be working with his team, and bring to the KM Alliance the very best training possible.  We hope to see you there!

We want to congratulate our recent group of Level 3 instructors.  These instructors from Beach Cities Krav Maga, America's Best Chatsworth Karate, Team CrossFit, and Focus Self Defense and Fitness, did an outstanding job!

I'd like to state plainly to everyone that KM Alliance has established the Open Policy.  In fact, it's one of the founding principles of the organization. The Open Policy simply means this:  affiliates have a right to be involved in other organizations. In fact, we encourage it.  From our point of view, school owners have two obligations: 1) to provide quality training to their students and 2) continually improve their own abilities and knowledge.

Nothing on that short list, that mandate, requires you to be slavishly devoted to the KM Alliance. In fact, that kind of exclusivity would hinder your ability to fulfill your mandate.  If anything, the obligation goes the other direction.  WE at Krav Maga Alliance are obligated to continually keep ourselves relevant to you, so you can achieve the abovementioned goals.

Of course, we want you to see us as your primary source of information. But as I just said, it's our job to prove we deserve that recognition.  Your job is to seek as many sources of quality information as you can. If that means joining other organizations as well, you should do so!  In my view, that will make you better. The better you are, frankly, the better we are.

I mention this because I recently asked a question of an affiliate regarding his relationship with another organization. My question was more about logistics and curiousity than about politics, but I feel that I misled him, or made him feel cornered. That was not my intention.

Undoubtedly, this will come up again.  Politics run rampant through the martial arts world.  Now and then, when planning future events, or involving affiliates in high level programs, we'll ask if they're happy with us. It's human nature. But we'll never ask judgmentally.

We are proud of the way the organization has grown, and we're honored to have you all as part of the Alliance!

We have posted information and links for the Krav Maga Alliance Training Team under "Affiliates."  If you're interested in getting extra training, prepping for an upcoming certification, or just getting know the people who are part of the team, you can find them on that page!

The Krav Maga Alliance is proud to be a part of Winter Camp 2011 in Denver, Colorado.  For the last few years, James Hiromasa and his crew at Colorado Krav Maga have put on one of the best training weekends you'll find anywhere, and John Whitman has had the honor to teach at each one of them. The streak continues this year.  Winter Camp is not to be missed!  Training is February 18 & 19, 2011.

PLUS, there is a school owner's meeting on Thursday, February 17. We encourage all KM Alliance schools to attend this meeting of the minds to gauge performance, find new ideas, and plan to make 2011 a huge success!

See you there!

We conducted a law enforcement seminar at West Chester County Police Academy in early December.  Over 20 officers were there, training in weapon retention and basic knife defenses.  Nice work, everyone!