Teaching at Free Training Day
I have wanted to write about Whistlekick Free Training Day since the day I came back, but it’s only now that I’m finally taking a trip home to Israel that I’ve had a second to breathe and process the amazing experience. I decided to pause my article series on becoming an instructor to talk about it.
A few months ago, I volunteered to teach at the Free Training Day, because I have a lot of respect, gratitude and appreciation for Jeremy Lesniak of Whistlekick and to all of his contribution to the martial arts community. I wanted to support his idea of martial artists coming together to teach each other
After reaching out, I had to consider what to teach. This was an unusual group, I needed something that would challenge seasoned martial artists as well as be applicable to new students. After thinking a lot about it, I decided that I should be authentic to myself, and go back to my speciality, my military Krav Maga roots.
Under Pressure
The topic of my lesson would be training under pressure, “focusing on the prevention and defenses when dealing with surprise attacks from behind, based on the combat quick training in the Israeli Defense Force.”
I chose that lesson because I had been trained in the IDF and I knew what pressure felt like. I prided myself on being able to bring that sense of urgency required in self-defense to the students I would have. In the Israeli army, we had very few lessons to turn the recruits into soldiers, and we needed to make every moment count, and make them ready to deal with life-threatening situations.
This could be applied to civilian instructors as well. We only have a little time a week to teach civilians how to defend themselves in the face of possibly life-threatening danger. How can we make that time efficient and give our best to our students?
Surprise attacks were a perfect lesson topic to simulate the pressure. Nothing puts the fear into people like being surprised from the back, where we are weakest and most helpless.
The Day Comes
I will admit, I was also scared. I remember the day of the event, I woke up twenty minutes before my alarm. As I lay there, I had so many questions on my mind. I had no idea how many students I would be teaching or how it would be received. I had no idea what the range of experience my students would have, and would have to intuit the class instinctively.
As I went over notes in my mind, I could feel the time crunch. Normally, I have a minimum of an hour for a class and a seminar is two to three hours. Now, I only had forty-five minutes. I needed to be concise and efficient. Happily, getting a lot of learning in a little time is one of the core foundational skills of Krav Maga teaching.
I felt I wasn’t only representing myself, but Krav Maga, Israel, all of my teachers and my team who had come with me. I might be the first IDF veteran people ever met, and I wanted to bring honor and respect to its name. No pressure, right?
I was grateful that Jeremy had scheduled me at the perfect time, the second block of classes. That was early enough that people were fresh, but were already warm from the first class.
The Hour Comes
My lesson was so large, it had to be moved to the biggest room. Around sixty-three students were waiting for me.
I had a wide range, including other instructors, young children, seasoned martial artists and complete beginners. I was honored to see such a huge attendance. It made me confident to flip the switch to become the instructor. I’m glad to say it was a complete success. The students were eager to learn, and I was in my element.
I really enjoyed seeing how the different students applied the techniques, many using the skills of their own disciplines. It was incredible to see high level students train with new students, everyone working together to learn.
In order to add to the pressure, I even had knife defenses added to the class. Knives are legal and easy to hide, and they are incredibly dangerous. A single cut to the wrong area like a main artery can be fatal. I wanted the danger to feel real. That’s why I used improvised training knives made of plastic bottles. That way, the students could feel and hear the touch of the weapon.
Everyone seemed to be picking up the skills and I only wish I had more time with such a wonderful group.
I got wonderful feedback and I even found out other teachers were quoting me in their lesson. I also met amazing new friends and got to learn from other incredible teachers. Many of the techniques I learned, I’ll be adding to my own curriculum and further broadening my abilities. One lesson I’ll definitely take with me was the Power of Slow. Although Krav Maga does push a fast pace, I’ll be incorporating more slow training into my curriculum.
Whistlekick Free training day reminded me of one of the great benefits of martial arts. We talk about the health and safety benefits, but the friendships we make are just as valuable. I met people with amazing stories, who inspired me. People who taught martial arts in orphanages, people who used martial arts to help deal with bullying, people who came to martial arts to work through trauma. I hope all of them tell their stories more widely, I definitely gained from them.
I can’t wait to work with all the people I met, in the future.
Special shoutout to my team who came up with Whistlekick with me.
- My amazing student, co-teacher, partner and wife, Liz Chen who works alongside me, as well as her own work at Dedimus Potestatem where she brings incredible results and affects so many lives! Thank you, for your presence, support, patience and love that you dedicate to me every single day. I love and appreciate you.
- My senior student Elke Weiss, who provides the team with writing, research, strategic planning, and networking, I’m still not sure how a law degree and a Masters in Urban Planning apply to Krav Maga, but the results are great. Happy birthday!
Also, thank you to Jeremy who brought this whole event together. Looking forward to next year!
- Tehran fails to impress on Krav Maga - September 18, 2023
- The Pursuit of Perfection - August 7, 2023
- Grace Under Pressure - March 17, 2023
Thank you so much for the shoutout! It was a weekend I’ll never forget!
Thank you so much, Raz – it was an honor to be in your class that day, and we learned so much from you which we have begun to incorporate into our classes as well! The beauty of Free Training Day – not only did we learn so much, we made new friendships that will last a lifetime. I am honored to know you and Liz and all those we met!