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Girl Power

As we approach the middle of March we should start thinking about the coming month of April as it is very pertinent to our training at Krav Maga, especially if you are a woman. April is sexual assault awareness month and if you want to look up statistics on how often sexual assault occurs then go online and do some research. The findings are quite sad and disheartening for our society today. Although they are staggeringly low compared to a few decades ago, the numbers my friends, are still too high. There are far too many women who don't report their victimization due to shame or fear. There are far too many men who walk free or walk away unharmed (how dare they). And most women KNOW their attackers.

We have a job as Krav Maga instructors and practitioners to raise awareness of violent crimes which includes sexual assault everyday. That is our responsibility for learning Krav Maga. The system was created "so that one may walk in peace," according to the founder, Imi Lichtenfeld. We should want the same confidence and weapons available to our friends and loved ones. Not that our efforts to raise awareness are done for the month of April, but April is the national month so we embrace it fully.

Today's post comes from a well known member of our Krav Maga studio and she has an excellent message to bring with her. Her post is named "Girl Power" and is directed at all the women out there at our studio and their female friends and loved ones. I urge you to spread this message to those who are not yet members to perhaps get them to consider a self-defense program. Without further ado, here is Jennie Trower, guest blogger of the week! (Yes that is her punching me in the face in the above picture)

Girl Power

My name is Jennie Trower, and I am one of Fit & Fearless’ original students. I signed up for a free intro class with Jeff and Kersten in 2002, and I was hooked immediately. My experience with Krav Maga has been so empowering and transformative, that it’s really inspired a passion in me for self-defense – particularly encouraging other women to learn how to defend themselves. However, I’m often met with reluctance when talking to friends about what I do.

I am not particularly athletic. I am not a violent person. I could not tell you the name of a single professional cage fighter. I’m not fearful or paranoid.

Yet I am strong – mentally and physically. I’m fit enough to keep up with people 20 years younger than me. I enjoy an activity that is healthy and fun (yes, I said fun!), and a community of fantastic people. And I have learned some valuable techniques that I could use to effectively defend myself or my family. Though my greatest hope is I will never need to.

I want all the women in my life to know how to do this.

I tell co-workers and friends about the incredible women’s self-defense seminars at Fit & Fearless, but, unfortunately, very rarely does anyone take the step to sign up.

Here are the most common reactions I get:

I really should do something like that, but I’m just too busy.
Guess what? We’re all busy. But I’d argue that nobody is too busy to take 2 or 3 hours out of their day – ONCE – to attend one of these potentially life-saving seminars. Come learn how to throw a devastating punch, a kick that will double over an attacker, and how to avoid a bad situation in the first place. Then go back to your regular life, with some skills in your back pocket.

That looks too scary. I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t think I could do that.
It isn’t. You won’t. You can.
Yes, Krav Maga training can be intense, but everything is broken down into easily digestible steps and drilled repeatedly. Everyone at Fit and Fearless, from the instructors to the other students, is there to help you and support you. Safety in training is emphasized and enforced, and you always have the right to tell someone to ease up or slow down. You can do it, and you’ll feel great about it (and yourself). I promise.

The media is just trying to scare us – I don’t want to give in to the fear.
It’s true – the news is full of horrific stories. And bad things sometimes happen, but training for the worst doesn’t mean it has to run your life or change your outlook on humanity. It will help you walk a little taller and more confidently. And if something happens, it will give you the tools to fight back. To no longer be a victim, but to aggressively defend your right to live. Learning self-defense does not take away your sense of safety; it enhances your ability to maintain it.

I will be at the women’s self-defense seminar on April 9, and I’m happy to report that three of my friends will be there this time, too. Join us!

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Combatives Conditioning Explained

I think that many people come into the Combatives Conditioning class with varied expectations because of the word "Combatives" in the name. In my class and I am most definitely sure in Ed's class as well - our focus is heavy on the Conditioning Side. I see a lot of first timers leave exhausted but sometimes confused wondering "where the Krav was". It is no mistake - we will drill, squat, jump, push, run, and condition more than any class at the studio.

Before I go on I would like to take a moment to mention the regular attendees of my class. You never cease to impress me with your drive and intensity in my classes. You tackle every challenge like champions and I truly enjoy leading a class with people like you.

These classes will challenge you. They wont get easier either. You will be pushed and be asked to push yourself to your upper limits for the entire class. The purpose of this class is not to make you better at this class - it is designed to make you better at Krav Maga. Many times I will give you exercises that are extremely hard to complete, simply to make you try. When you try to overcome a challenge, you knock down one part of a barrier to doing something you couldn't do before. Even if your step forward ends in failure it was still a step forward and I encourage you to remain vigilant in your training.

My goal is to make you stronger, faster, and an overall more capable practioner of Krav Maga -or- Kravist. My goal is not to make you better at just drills (which is most certainly a possibility) but to make you better conditioned to handle and last through the physical training of Krav Maga which is ultimately training you to survive the moment you have to fight for your life - to fight for your right to live (God forbid that ever happens).

In this class your drive to perform under exhaustion is frequently tested - the drills you do all play an integral part in Krav Maga training. This isn't your typical boot camp - in boot camps you don't hit anything! In boot camp you don't get to practice aggression under fatigue! These, my friends, are valuable training assets that could one day help save your life or your loved ones. In high stress situations your adrenaline will spike for a few seconds and then drop rapidly making you feel extremely exhausted very fast. This feeling, this effect, is VERY REAL, and in Krav Maga training we try and make you work under physical duress as much as possible for this very reason - so you are accustomed to it. Hope for the best, plan for the worst as if it's inevitable.

If you need a mantra for class, consider this: "A strong person is harder to kill than a weaker one."

Train hard. Get strong. Be hard to kill.

I look forward to seeing you all in class!

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Music and Drills - You Call It!

Today I have 2 Questions for all of you - Your answers can be submitted in the comments or emailed to me privately at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) . All of your responses will remain anonymous!

1) What are some songs you would like to hear played during Krav Maga class?

It can be anything - if it gets you pumped and that gets you going then let's have it! Rocky theme song? 80's Big Hair Bands? Lady Gaga? (JK...but seriously) You can submit your requests here in the comments OR send me an email. Your requests will remain anonymous so no one has to know who requested what!

2) What are some things that you would like to see in training drills?

As I am sure that many of you who are reading this have come to realize, I take joy in making up creative lesson plans and drills that will challenge you and exhaust you! I think quite a bit about how I can make a training drill just a little more creative and fun - because let's face it - when you know what's coming all the time it can get kind of boring and you might lose that excitement that motivates you to push yourself beyond your wall. Leave the drills to me but please give me your suggestions or thoughts on how I can make some drills better!

Is there any drill(s) in particular that you really liked or didn't like?

What combatives or combinations would you like to see?

What self-defense would like to have more of?

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A Note On Hook and Uppercut Punching

Hooks and Uppercuts can be difficult at first but once you get 'em you got 'em. Remember, never circle the punch back to your face or you could end up hitting yourself...like this guy



LMAO :D

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How To Be Amazing

Have you always been athletically gifted? Are you one of those people to whom martial arts flow from your limbs as if you were born to strike? Well if you are NOT one of those people, you are like me. I know that a lot of times when I teach class, especially Combatives Conditioning, I may make things look simple, rather, easy. I know that sometimes if you take class with me, it may seem that I struggle much less than others or perhaps not at all. Trust me, this has not always been so. Everything that I have attained thus far is a product of hard training, commitment, and repetition, repetition, repetition. Did I mention repetition yet? Good.

For the purposes of this blog, for this post, we are going to FOCUS on KRAV MAGA only, although this can be applied to almost any aspect in life.

I work like crazy at the things that I care about and appreciate. If I am not good at something, I will work at it until I am good at it. If there is an exercise I hate - I do it until I love it. I do it until I am good enough at it that only a malicious exercise combination or very ambitious amount of reps will make me weary of it. It becomes some form of obsession. Let me tell you that when I first started Krav Maga around 4 years ago I practiced EVERYWHERE. While I was in the car I would practice where my hands would be in a fighting stance and at the lights I would practice inside defenses dry. I would punch and focus on body rotation and form in the shower (slowly of course). If I ever did any ab workout or was just lying on the ground watching TV I would ALWAYS get up "the Krav Way". I would turn corners in the house with elbows, hammerfists, whatever I could think of! ... What is the point in all of this? The point is this - although I might make it look easy, which sometimes it might be for me now (depending on technique), it has only become so because I put in the work and continue (keyword: CONTINUE) to do so.

We have just concluded the New Years Resolution month - that means, it's time to separate the "Talkers" and the "Doers". Those that talk of big change, of moving forward, and of perfecting a technique or skill-set AND...those that ACTUALLY DO IT. Be the one that DOES it. There doesn't have to be any losers either. If you are reading this post there is no reason you can't be a "Do-er"

So a student comes in, he wants to learn Krav Maga. He starts training and then gets distracted, he does a technique a few times and wants to do something else. He does a gun disarm five, six, times and says, "I got the basic idea." No my friends, this is not the way, this is not the way of the warrior, this is not the way MY instructors trained - this is not the way I train - this will not be the way you train.

Commit to your training - do whatever is necessary to be the best for yourself, for your family. Use wraps and gloves, take cardio class to gain some endurance, take conditioning classes, get some private lessons, use the Level 1 classes to PERFECT the techniques you "already know" - if you are a level 2+ student please do not get caught in the mental trap of being "too skilled" for Level 1 classes either! Commit to yourself - commit to your training and do whatever is necessary to achieve your goals!

I was focused on what I needed to do, nothing else mattered. It is simply a mindset. You go for it, you don't stop and look to the side of the road; you just keep driving. It all starts in your head.

Do today what others won't and tomorrow you will do things others can't!

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Just Another Day in Combatives Conditioning

If you haven't yet tried out Combatives Conditioning you should! I try my best to make the classes as diverse and fun as possible. This class will push you to use your muscles and stamina harder than most traditional Krav Maga classes. There is little explanation and more of you going to work, work, work! If you are scared, DON'T BE! If you are curious, ask around for people's opinions and come try it out!

Combatives Conditioning: Tuesdays at 5:45 with Me and Thursdays at 5:45 with Ed!

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New Green Belt

Congratulations Jade Green for passing her Green Belt Test this past Saturday, it was tough! She will be moving in January and she will be missed. If you know her and you see her make sure to congratulate her on a job well done!

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Open Hand vs. Close Hand Striking

I have been asked quite a few times in the last 2 weeks or so when I would use a palm heel strike or a hammerfist or a punch in a fight and/or why I would use one over the other. This is good! It means that you all are thinking about your options that your self-defense training has given you! Different options will work for different people depending on many factors - mentality, strength, orientation of the striking (against an object, standing, on the ground, etc), and of course your training.

When you would use either can be answered by addressing the pros and cons of Open Hand strikes and Closed Hand strikes. After that, we will address some gray areas.

The Upside to punching:

- A punch uses your bones, your hard knuckles: these are very powerful
- For this reason, a punch has a better chance of knocking out your opponent
- Punching is pretty natural for us, even for those without any fighting experience, making a fist and punching is a natural movement

The Downside to punching:

- Many people with little to no training, non combatant types, and women (I most frequently see) do not know how to properly make a fist. It sounds simple, but in reality, this can actually be a challenging task and even more so when asked to make a proper fist and keep it while throwing a high quantity of punches in a drill type setting. If you have ever noticed in my class, I rarely do straight punches when there is a guest in my class, I always start with the open hand strike. It is for this reason that I do so.

- Punching can lead to broken hands. Even the most experienced fighters can break their hands if they miss their target or hit a hard surface in a high stress situation. Boxers frequently break their hands in street fights because the protection of the glove is not there. For those that are in law enforcement, the risk of breaking ones hand can mean you losing the ability to fire or operate your gun.

The Upside to open-hand striking:

- The risk you pose to your hand when striking with an open hand is significantly reduced! When you strike with your palm you are taking your fingers and knuckles out of harms way.

- The palm strike allows you to strike very hard surfaces and come away injury free. This is especially useful if you are ever found punching in the direction of the ground, against a wall, or towards the harder parts of the body, specifically, the head.

The Downside to open-hand striking:

- It is not as penetrating as the hard knuckles and therefore does not cause as much damage.

- In a more advanced scenario involving guns or knives, when a punch becomes the punch of your life, realize that the punch has slightly more range than that of a palm strike. This range translates to a fraction of a second but realize that every fraction of a second counts when your life is at stake.
(To try this, extend your hand straight out and touch a wall with your top two knuckles, then, without moving your position make your fist an open palm and you’ll see that you are no longer in contact with the wall - this is the range difference I am talking about)

Addressing some Gray Areas:

- For the reasons listed above, to be truly effective at using a punch involves a lot of training and understanding the fundamentals of combatives and when and where they are appropriate on the body. Through training we learn not to just strike wildly, although this is important in the beginning to build aggression! But after training, we learn to see open targets on our opponents and almost instantaneously determine whether its better to strike with an open hand or a closed hand. Trust me, this is tougher than it sounds but it will come to you with more training. Keep this in the back of your mind and apply it to your training and it will help you become a more proficient practitioner of self-defense.

- A general rule that can be applied is this: Hard to Soft & Soft to Hard. This means using a hard weapon to soft targets (a punch to the body or any other soft tissue) and soft weapon (palm strike) to hard targets (the head).

- Gray Area: What about hammer-fists, those are closed-hand strikes are they not? Yes they are, however, realize that the point of contact is the SOFT muscular portion of the hand, not the actual knuckles. So, this particular close hand strike is a “soft” weapon, but much more devastating than a palm strike.

- Gray Area: A palm strike can also be made in the same fashion as a “hook punch” - you using your palm instead of your fist. This reduces risk of injury and at the angle of the strike allows the palm strike to be a little “harder” of a weapon.


The best thing to do is to keep training (obviously) and ask questions. Learn how to strike effectively. When doing self defense take a few repetitions SLOW and asses your targets and strike with the appropriate weapon. Slow work seems boring but it is invaluable. During this time your brain is thinking and remembering how to asses the targets its sees which will you make you faster at target assessment in the long run - AND - your muscles are taking notes as well creating muscle memory of your body’s movements (so remember, FULL EXTENSION on ALL counter-attacks)


Train Hard. Train Smart.


If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, email me: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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Big Things Come In Small Packages

Sorry fellas,

This post is for the ladies: I don't know why this girl did what she did, maybe she was justified, maybe not - why these events happened is not what I would like you to focus your attention on




Yes, it is true that women are naturally not as strong as men are, however, you cannot see yourself bound to these paradigms. No matter how small you are, and this includes us small guys too - no matter how small you are, you have to think to yourself, "I am able to cause damage to anything. I am able to inflict pain on anyone." The human body is a weapon. Strike hard, strike very very hard

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Good Luck to All Belt Test Takers!

Good luck to those of you who are taking your Yellow Belt and Orange Belt exams. Each will be another milestone in your self-defense training and possibly in your life.

Train hard, never, ever, quit.

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Instructors in Training and Level Tests

Sorry for being gone from this blog for a while. I promise I will pick up the blog entries starting now it's just been a little hectic as of the last few weeks.

Instructors in Training

As most of you have noticed, we have instructors in training in most of our level 1 classes. This may be frustrating to you at times or sometimes confusing if they say one thing that you are not accustomed to. Please be as patient with them as we are with you. In many ways, the patience required from an instructor to teach a student is much the same patience you need to give them - you are accustomed to what is correct and sometimes they may not be or may say it in a confusing way. We are preparing them to be good instructors and preparing them for their week long, intense physical and mental exam. Vanessa Apodaca, Michelle Windle, Steve Gordon, and Kirby Kirkconnell all leave this coming Friday so if you see them be sure to wish them luck. They are going to need all the good energy and prayers they can get - its gonna be a long week!

Level 1 - Level 2 Belt Tests

We have Level 1 and Level 2 Belt Tests scheduled for this Saturday be sure to sign up! Without people's interest, as you all know, the tests cannot go forward, but the Level Tests so far seem to be a go! 9:30 will resume as normal but the 10:30am classes will be canceled!
Ask questions ALL week if you are planning on testing - no question is a dumb question (generally speaking ':-) - Consider a private lesson this week if you really want to jump ahead! During the week of the test I will offer private lessons at a discounted rate OR you can split a lesson with a friend or your partner for the test!

Where's Wayne?
Before you ask - Wayne will be out all week in L.A. training to get his Advanced Law Enforcement Certification! Good luck and wish him no injuries!

That is it for now, just updating you on what is going on this week!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, email me: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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My New Schedule - Effective…sometime soon!

Hello everyone,

Not that I want to toot my own horn, but on the off chance that you actually like my classes ":-) and how I run class then you might be interested in knowing my new class schedule that will most likely go into effect within the next week! The schedule is as follows:

Tuesdays
5:45pm - Combatives Conditioning
6:30pm - Level 1/2

Thursdays
5:45pm - Combatives Conditioning
6:30pm - Level 1/2 (I will fill in only when Brett Hellerud is unable to make it)

Saturdays
9:30am - Level 1
10:30am-Level 2/3

I am at the CrossFit box on Monday's and Wednesday's and if you haven't tried Crossfit or have been curious come check it out! It is a wonderful supplement to the already killer workout you should be getting from Krav Maga.

Of course, like always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns - never hesitate to shoot me an email!

See you in class!

Disclaimer: Yes, those are nunchucks ':-)

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Combatives Conditioning - Tuesday - August 24

What a fun class today! The usual group showed up, worked hard (also, as usual), and had the most fun they could going non-stop all class. Here is a quick run down of what we did:

Palm Heel Strikes - quick review, normal pad work with a couple of drills
Groin Kicks - quick review, normal work, then a fatigue drill: Non stop kicks 100% speed and power, on "instructor cue" both the pad holder and the kicker dropped down for mountain climbers - on the way back up the pad holder switched so both partners got a constant workout!
Round Kicks - quick review, normal work - worked a drill that made us use both legs for front kicks and round kicks - nonstop
Knees - emphasized the hips and worked on power for only a couple of minutes

Grand Finale Drill:
1 kick-shield holder
1 striker
- Starting with hand strikes, the striker grabs the shirt of their padholder and delivers non-stop knock-power strikes with their hands (palm heel strikes, punches, hammerfists, or elbows)
- When the instructor yelled "knees" the striker would move in slightly and position for knees and deliver knees
- When the instructor yelled "disengage" the striker disengaged off angle!
- This repeated for about 3 rounds each person for a total of about 2 minutes of constant work at full power (as much as their bodies allow)

This was a great drill, it emphasized aggression (grabbing the shirt and striking like an animal), fighting through fatigue (non-stop striking for power), and tactics (disengaging off angle). Overall everyone had a great time with this drill and believe me I will be storing that one in my pile to reuse so you will see it again sometime soon!

Thanks again for working hard! See you next class!

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Level 2/3 Class - Saturday August 14

What a great class - it also helps to have a great group of people! We worked nothing but hands today! Your hands are the fastest thing on your body so if we can become proficient punchers and movers we can get that much closer to being an all around better fighter!

We focused (no pun intended) on a lot of FOCUS MITT work. We worked movement the entire time while working on straight punches high, mid level (head level), and low. After playing with that we added on some low punches for the bag holder to absorb and then moved on to reviewing level 1 inside defenses vs. low punches. I was very pleased overall with the way everyone looked.

Then, we did some punching drills, worked bob and weaving, covering and extended defense against hooks/haymakers & inside def vs low punches and then we put it all together. We talked a bit about fighting tactics, seeing openings off the defenses we worked and how to exploit them. The structure of the class was great and after adding building block after building block, the last 3 minutes of free hands-only sparring looked really good from everyone. I saw lots of movement, some feints here and there, good counter attacks, good defenses, and overall, great attitudes from everyone!

Those who were there, thank you for working hard, challenging each other, and keeping a great attitude!

See you next class!

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“It Ain’t About How Hard You Hit”

Every now and then we need a little reminder

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