Krav Class

Last night we went to our second Krav class. Going forward we will be going at least twice a week, so we will go again this Saturday. I am really enjoying the class. Last night, the aerobic workout portion of class almost did me in. During the previous class we had done a lot of jumping jacks, crunches, and push ups, so the week since then I have been practicing those moves every morning. Well, our instructor must of been wise to my training because last night's workout consisted of a lot of running, which by the way I had not practiced or trained for. Needles to say, it was another intense workout. After the workout we were broken in to two groups once again. Our group worked on getting up from a take-down position. At first, the move seemed overly complicated. I mean doesn't everyone know how to get up from the ground? However, once the instructor broke it down I finally understood. The move started from a sitting position. To get up, kick your attacker with your strong leg, for right handed people this would be your right leg, then at the same time brace yourself with your strong arm and hop back on your left foot to get distance from your attacker, then bring your right foot around and end up in your fighting stance. When done smoothly this is a quick and effective way to get up from the ground. In any event, I am a little sore today; however, I am really enjoying the class.

Krav Maga

Last week my husband and I signed on for a new adventure. We went to a Krav Maga class, and ended up signing up for the program. Krav Maga is a self-defense and military hand-to-hand combat system developed in Israel. It emphasizes maximum threat neutralization. It came to prominence following its adoption by various Israeli Security Forces. The class is broken up in to two parts. The first part is an intense aerobic workout consisting of timed drills of jumping jacks, push ups, crunches as well as punching and kicking. After the half hour aerobic workout the class is split in to levels, and each group works on learned and new skills. The part I found most interesting was holding the target pad while someone else hit the pad. The force, even with the pad, of a punch or elbow hit is amazing. I think it is very important in self defense to know what it feels like to be hit, so you can expect it to a certain extent. This was for me was the most intimidating part of the class, but I think in the end it will be the most important. We also worked on getting out of a choke hold. For me, this was the first time experiencing anything like this class, and all though a little scary I already feel more confident. I look forward to my second class this week, and to getting in to a routine.

Hike Around The Falls

This weekend my husband and I took a drive to a beautiful state park not too far from our house. It was on oppressively hot day but we decided to hike anyway. The scenery was amazing, and while on our hike we were able to take our shoes off and put our feet in the river to cool down. After making it to the top of the falls we actually crossed the river bare foot, and rested on the rocks before putting our shoes back on and heading down.

Even though it was a pretty short hike we had still worked up an appetite, so we changed and left the park in search of food. We came across a sushi restaurant. We ended up having a great meal, and we look forward to going back there for dinner in the future.

In the end, it was a great day to get out and enjoy each otheres company. We got in a little exercise and a good meal.

Rainy Days

Why do rainy days get us so down? Is it the darkness, or the dampness? I look out the window and up at the sky. The colors that are normally there are gone. The bright greens of the trees and the blues of the sky are replaced with shades of grey. The vitality and noises of the world are drowned out by the sounds of the rain as the drops hit the ground. Yet rain is such a cleansing phenomenon. It washes away dirt and nourishes life. So why do I feel so depressed? Why do I keep looking out the window? Just watching and waiting for that glimmer of sunshine to peak through the darkness.