How often should I train?
As a professional Krav Maga Instructor one of the most common questions I hear is, “How often should I train?”
The answer is…
Professional Krav Maga Instructor Paul Grey answers your Krav Maga training questions. todays subject revolves around:
How many classes should I attend each week?
This is an important question but is difficult to answer until the coach knows what the student wants to achieve with their training. It is impossible to look at training methods and frequency if you have no idea what a students training goals are.
With new students, training goals are understandably ‘soft and vague’. Typically they revolve around questions such as “how long will it take me to become good enough to protect my self”, or “how long till I get fit/loose 5 kg” and so on.
Like my fellow Krav Maga Bristol coaches, my interest is in coaching students to achieve their goals rather than selling student memberships. Consequently we try to pin down your training objectives which can be hard initially.
Understanding the real cost of training
The real cost of training is the commitment and effort it takes to achieve your training goal. Paying class fees is the easy part. Even with professional coaching, we can only work with the amount of effort and attendance you give us. Before you join, we ask that you carefully consider what your training goals are and choose a programme appropriate to that goal. You will also need to consider if your goal is realistic within the time frame you have set and the amount of training you are prepared to commit.
It’s OK to change training objectives
When you start training, it’s important to understand that you dont have to make a long term commitment to training goals you have not clearly defined yet. Arealitic minimum is 12 -16 weeks. If you cant commit to that window of training you probably cant commit sufficient time to make a significant impact on any potential goal. Typically, students become more serious about Krav Maga as they progress with their training. If you are not sure and just want to “see where it goes” thats fine, enjoy it.
Define your training objective
When choosing your program you need to consider what you want to achieve and how often you can spend the time to invest sufficient ‘sweat equity’ you’ll need to spend to achieve it. Having coached hundreds if not thousands of Kravists I know that the 2 major goals of most beginners are improved fitness and the ability to protect themselves against common street attacks. Analysing this volume of new students has shown us a number of consistent and repeatable patterns of performance from a large number of untrained and usually out of condition new students.
Just over 90% of new Krav Maga students achieve the following after 16 weeks of twice weekly training:
- Stop common street attacks
- Show significant measurable performance gains in power, speed and endurance
- Understand and demonstrate ‘Tactical Awareness’
- Understand how to use the environment in a conflict situation
- Have effective striking and grappling skills against common attacks
- Stop common edged weapons attacks
- Able to perform all of the above whist fatigued against a fully resisting attacker making unpredictable attacks during a 4 hr test
We know the vast majority of beginners want a significant, measurable improvement in fitness and the ability to protect themselves against common street attacks. We can deliver this to over 90% of our students within 16 weeks
We know what the most common goals are and how long it takes students to achieve them. This benchmark is the first logical training goal and the minimum commitment we ask for. It is the minimum period 90% of the population can achieve their goals training twice weekly. Here at Krav Maga Bristol we wrote a specific accelerated programme for this called the Krav Maga Challenge take a look.
What if I cant commit to a several months training
Something is better than nothing. Be realistic, speak to your Krav Maga Instructor about what you can realistically expect to achieve and adjust your goals accordingly.
If there is a fixed external reason, moving away, limited employment contract, changing work commitments etc consider Pay As You Go training. It is more expensive but there is no tie in and no commitment. You can stop at any time or upgrade to another training programme when circumstances allow.
If you are reluctant to commit for other reasons – ‘don’t know if you want to train for that long’ etc. That’s fine, but Krav Maga Bristol is probably not the place for you.
We have high expectations of students and expect your regular attendance and commitment to training. Inevitably you will be pushed hard mentally and physically. We have a proven track record based on these very same expectations.
We know that if you are not commited you wont meet the first training goal irrespective of what it is. You’ll be one of the 7% who dont achieve it. Today, you may not want or be ready for this commitment. That’s fine, make the decision now and move on in a direction more aligned with your interests.
Good luck
Paul Grey – Coach. Krav Maga Bristol
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