KRAV MAGA LIFE and INSPIRATION are short pieces of succinct brevity aimed at capturing the discipline and positivity behind the Krav Maga lifestyle.
In Krav Maga, you learn to forget Hollywood. The perfect, sequenced, synchronised action movements created by artistic fight choreography isn’t real life.
It may look great. It may appear inducing to copy. Don’t be fooled. It’s not authentic.
Fighting is dirty, dynamic, unpredictable. It has no pre-learned and unchanged list of strikes and combinations that you execute without revising your plan. You rely on constant corrections and improvisations to overcome your opponent to stay safe.
Anyone who’s trained realistically knows this. Punch bags don’t punch back. It’s a tougher game with people.
Take this knowledge into how you coach your life; in self defence training, at work, at home.
Aim to progress a little each day, not to be perfect in what you do, say and act. You’re in a long play, life lasting maybe, if you’re honest with yourself.
Want to get fitter? Set a long term plan to change your lifestyle, day by day. Don’t expect perfection for any point. It’s a journey, a discipline that pays off, surely but slowly. Love the process. It will take care of you in the long run.
Want to move forward at work? Do the same. Look after your character and your reputation will look after itself. Observe, imitate great behaviour. Rely on your values. Learn new skills over time.
Want to get better with people? Know that humans care about themselves and those close to them. You need to do the same. Be our own person, because authenticity draws those to you who truly value you. Carrying a mask hides the real you and invites anything and anyone in. It’s hard to change character or develop values overnight, but the principle applies; be a little more honest each day, and you become yourself over time.
‘It’s human to err’, Alexander Pope wrote. You don’t need to forgive yourself, just know you can do a bit better each day. ‘Be yourself, everyone else is already taken’, is attributed to Oscar Wilde. Copy what’s great from others, if it feels like you, but don’t clone yourself.
That’s enough, because time is on your side.
Picture: The Krav Maga Educator Orjan Pettersen in Hollywood, LA, USA.