You gotta gear up

There’s something to be said for bare knuckle boxing. It mirrors real-world spontaneous fights, it intimately teaches you the importance of form and your own delicate areas, and it has to be said, it looks incredibly cinematic.

So why is it that we insist you gear up for each and every class we teach?

Simple. At Lion’s Krav Maga we strive to prepare you for real-life situations. It’s unlikely that you’re going to have to legitimately defend yourself or anyone else in a padded, sanitized area, but it’s just as unlikely that you’ll have a regularly scheduled fight that goes on for an hour multiple times a week.

Classes involve lots of practicing the same strikes, throws, kicks, and combos over and over again; if you’re not adequately protected, that repetition is going to bite you. Hard. One lucky strike to the shins from a real assailant might not leave you with a more than a bad bruise, but repeated kicks to the same spot during drills from a classmate that’s doing you a favor by not holding back are going to do more than sting the next day. Plus, you’ll probably end up training in a flinch response to the pain, and that’s no fun to have in your muscle memory!

To keep yourself safe in class, we need you to bring all of the following to each and every session you attend, no matter what:

• Mouthguard: We provide you a mouthguard with your membership, but you’re free to use any brand you wish later on. Keep those teeth in your head!

• Shinguards:  Your shins are some of the least naturally protected parts of your body. That bony area needs to stay covered to avoid injury. You may not need them in every class, but it’s better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them. Look for brands that cover your shin and top of your foot, and that have velcro attachments instead of a sleeve.

• 16 oz. Gloves:  There’s nothing like a paper cut along a joint to remind you of how often your fingers need to bend in your everyday life. Think of what a stress fracture or skinned knuckle will do! Better yet…just glove up.

• Hand wraps: Gloves provide a nice cushion to protect your hands, but wraps are what maintains the stability of the joints. Protect your wrists and knuckles with hand wraps, and you’ll get the bonus of leaving less sweat & wear inside your gloves!

• Groin Protector: This is Krav Maga, after all. Trust me. You’ll want it.

Keep yourself safe in class, and you’ll be better equipped to keep yourself safe outside our doors.

Gear up, and train hard!