http://kravmaga.com

BLACK BELT

July 27, 2021

It’s been a couple of days since my promotion to Black Belt and the idea that I have finally achieved this goal is starting to really sink in. This has been a long (much longer than expected) and arduous journey, but one that has been well worth it.

July 22nd thru July 25th 2021 will be four days that I will never forget. Sylvia, Elana, Mike, Peter, David, and Mark it was an honor to test and train with all of you. Thank you for the encouragement, the honesty, and the commitment to making this weekend amazing. Pete, Armando, Henry, and Daniel; thank you for all of the critiques, the assistance, tips, and just for being amazing people. Thank you for pushing us beyond our perceived limits, thank you for the knowledge. From the actual physical and mental trials of the weekend, to the memory of my wife putting the belt around me; this week will forever leave an imprint on my soul.

My pursuit of this has changed my life in more ways that I could have ever imagined. I have met and trained with people from all over the globe. I have been pushed beyond all limits that I thought I had. I have been injured, I have been enlightened. I have many highs, and many lows. I have found my mission in life.

There are so many people that I have to acknowledge and I’m sure I’ll miss one or two of you, I apologize in advance.

To everyone that I have ever trained with, THANK YOU for making me a better practitioner.

To my students, past and present, I will never be able to adequately express how much you all mean to me. You are the reason I strive to be the best Instructor I can. You are the reason why I push and demand as much as I do. The trust that you have put in me is never forgotten, or taken for granted.

To my fellow instructors, those with whom I have trained with during Phases or Expert Series, those whom I use to train with at KMD, you have all left a mark on me and made me better than I was before I met you. To Troy your journey is just starting and I am super excited for you.

Some people need some extra recognition:

Pawel: thank you for helping me with the critical first steps of this journey, from Phase A through Expert 1, your knowledge, passion, and dedication will never be forgotten.

Bruce: Man I miss training with you, but I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t help out in so many unique and “Bruce” ways. Bun, meat, and fire. Words I still use when teaching.

John: This is all your fault!! Seriously, thank you for the constant phone calls and dragging me to my first class. Thank you for being Yellow and Orange Belt testing partner. You were right.

Hunter: Valhalla is not what it is without your unending help in getting it off the ground. Valhalla isn’t what it is without your creativity and drive.

Shiela: My Krav sister!! I miss teaching and training with you more than you’ll ever know. You are a true badass!!

Rob: For all you do for our community, for holding the line, for the encouragement, for being an intense but smart training partner, thank you.

Mike: For all the Mondays that we worked together, for the knowledge, the different ways of looking at techniques that I thought I knew, for the unselfishness with your time, I am truly grateful.

Jamie: You thought I forgot about you!! Never and no fucking way. No one else I’d have shared this with. You made this weekend fun(ish). You are an amazing Instructor and an inspiration to your students. After all you have been through, your tenacity astounds me. There is simply no quit anywhere in you.

Wayne: I simply wish you were here so that you could have seen what we did, and the huge part you had in that. I thought about you more than once during the test. I hope you have found peace.

John (Jr): I often tell the time during my Phase B when you showed me just how hard it is to defend a dedicated attacker. You have been and still are one of my biggest influences. From the weekend you spent getting me ready for Brown Belt, to the actual Brown Belt test that you put us through, you have never given anything easy. I thank you for that. Your integrity as an Instructor is second to none.

Kelly: I don’t even know where to begin. You have been a part of every Phase, Expert Series, and finally the test. You have pushed, yelled, encouraged, taught, lead, with more energy and passion and commitment and drive and talent than anyone I know. You have answered emails, calls, you always seem to find time for us, even if you don’t have any. You have meant more to me as a person than you know. I can’t imagine how hard it was to be as honest and forthcoming as you have always been, even if the news wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I respect you for that more than anything.

Jeff: What’s to say that hasn’t already been said? Except this: No way this weekend goes the way it did without your influence and guidance. No way. No way that I am able to handle all the curveballs that were thrown my way without your mentorship. You have been an inspiration and an example of the type of leader I want to be for a long time now. You have always been there to answer a question (or 10) you have always been honest and sincere. I know that if you had seen the test, you’d have been proud of us all. Like John and Kelly; your integrity is without question or contestation. Your passion to help others succeed is limitless and that is a rare thing my brother. A rare thing indeed.

Maria: I have no shame in calling you my protege. Watching you become the Instructor, leader, and powerful person that you are had been a great joy. You are make Valhalla a better place. You make our people better. You reach people in ways that I don’t even think you understand yet. You inspire me daily to be better.

SAMANTHA: None of this is possible without you. None of it. Valhalla does not exist without you. You are my rock. You are the one person who knows me better than anyone else. You refuse to let me quit, you refuse to let me wallow in self-pity. You refuse to accept anything less than my best. You are my MUCH MUCH better half. I would not be half the man I am today without your love, guidance, and support. So many people’s lives have changed for the better, because you would not let me not open Valhalla. You have helped more people become stronger, safer, and healthier than you’ll ever know. I am so happy that you were in Texas to put the belt around my waist. There is no one else I’d rather have do that than you. In many ways this accomplishment is as much yours, probably more, than it is mine. I love you more than I am capable of expressing.

Irvin Automotive Seminar

On Thursday June 7th, Valhalla Krav Maga Lead Instructor Don, and Candidate Instructor Ashlynn headed out to Pontiac, to run a seminar for Irvin Automotive. We led a number of short, but intense 25 minute sessions attended by 100 people.

Covering anti-abduction and assault techniques with some knife and gun defenses thrown in for good measure. In addition to practical hands-on learning, we also talked about different strategies to avoid being a victim in the first place.

We had a great time sharing our knowledge of Krav Maga with people who have had little (or no) self-defense experience. We'd like to thank everyone who took part in the seminar and to the Management Staff at Irvin that put this event together.

If you or your company are interested, we are more than happy to sit down and talk about what we can do for you.

 

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Welcome our new Instructor

So, as many of you know by now, Ian recently went to Los Angeles to train with Krav Maga Worldwide's Head of Instructor Training, Kelly Campbell. Ian went through five days of grueling training that is designed to push candidates both physically and mentally. For eight hours a day, Ian and the rest of his class practiced and honed their craft to earn the right to test. They sent thousands of kicks, and punches, and elbows, and knees. They did countless repetitions of choke defenses. They taught and they learned.

That's just part of the story.

What many of you don't know about are the countless hours Ian spent training for his chance to go to LA. What many of you don't know about are the sacrifices he made with his time, body, and mind to earn the right to call himself an Instructor. You didn't witness the hours training with Hunter and myself (which are even less fun than they sound) you don't know about the extra work he spent getting physically ready, the running, extra training, the ice baths, and the commitment.

You will soon see the results.

I am beyond happy to announce that Ian, as expected, passed his Phase A course certification. He has joined a family of dedicated Instructors from around the world whose purpose is, as Imi stated, "So that one may walk in peace".

Welcome Ian, your place has been earned.

 

Kida!!

 

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WOMEN'S SELF-DEFENSE SEMINAR FALL 2017

SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2017

Ladies please join us for our next Women's Self-Defense Seminar on September 24th, 2017. We will spend four hours practicing combatives, ground-fighting techniques, anti-assault and abduction techniques, improvised weapons, and the best ways to use them. This is a seminar that you simply do not want to miss.

 

You can register under Class Schedule (9/24/17) or at the front desk at Valhalla. This seminar is open to women only, however you do not have to be a member of Valhalla to participate. The seminar is open to all levels irregardless of experience. Space is limited to 20 participants, so register soon.

Bring water, and a light snack.

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Women's Anti-Assault Seminars

This past weekend, April 22nd and 23rd, Valhalla Krav Maga hosted its first two Women's Only Seminars dealing with assaults abductions. Two different groups of women joined us for a couple of hours over the weekend to make themselves and their loved ones stronger, safer, and much better prepared for an attack.

It was amazing to experience.

Hunter, Ian, Samantha, and I have been talking about the seminars non-stop for the last couple of days. We keep remarking on how awesome everyone was, how hard they trained, how willing they were to leave their comfort zones and push themselves to new heights.

Drill after drill, technique after technique, strike after strike, everyone in the seminars kept coming back for more. The instructors challenged, and the women delivered. At the end of the day, sweaty, winded, tired, but smiling, a group of incredible women left here with the knowledge, ability, and most importantly the CONFIDENCE to better protect themselves from potential attackers.

It was an honor to help. Moments like the ones I had over the weekend are some of the many reasons I love doing what I do.

To everyone who took part in these seminars, to everyone who helped put them together, a huge Thank You. You made our communities a little safer,

 

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Women's Self-Defense Seminar

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, as such Valhalla is happy to announce that we will be hosting a FREE two-hour seminar on April 22nd from 1pm to 3pm. This seminar is open to women ONLY, ages 15 to 100. We will be focusing on Anti-Abduction, Anti-Assault, and Improvised Weapon techniques.

All you need to bring is comfortable clothes to train in, hydration (water, gatorade, etc.) and maybe a light snack if you get a little hungry. The seminar is limited to 20 participants, if however, we get a strong response we will hold another second seminar on April 23rd.

 

What you can expect:

At Valhalla we believe that technique only gets you so far. This seminar will focus on sending effective strikes and kicks in addition to techniques. You don't have to have any experience and you don't have to be a workout warrior. All you need is the attitude to say that you WIll NOT BE A VICTIM. The rest we'll provide.

Active Shooter Neutralization

As many of you know, on March 11th 2017 I assisted in an Active Shooter Neutralization Seminar hosted by Krav Maga Maryland. For the past few days I've been thinking about what to write about the experience. Trying to sum up 8 hours of drills, defenses, scenarios, and the collective will of 115 people in a blog is no easy task. But I gotta try...

Let me start with a shout out to all of the talented and dedicated people of Krav Maga Maryland. This seminar doesn't happen without their vision, and hard work. Just the logistics of the event gave me a headache. Looking back I can only imagine the meetings, phone calls, the hours of planning, getting all the right people together, getting all the gear that we needed, and making sure everyone on the team knew what to do and when to do it was a victory in and of itself.

The effort paid off. I have attended a number of seminars and even led one or two, and in my experience this was the best run one I have ever been a part of. At one point we were ahead of schedule, which I have never seen before, allowing us to add a few bonus techniques.

On to the good stuff.

Have you ever seen 115 people decide that they were going to make their families, friends, and communities safer? I have. It is an awesome sight. It is an inspiring sight. If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend it. Essentially that is what happened on March 11th. A large group of people decided that if they should ever be faced with evil, they would fight back. A group of people decided that they were not going to be bullied by fear and arrogance. They were going to fight back. They were going to win. At the end of the day, that's all it really is; a decision. A decision that says " I will live. My loved ones will live. The people who are around me will live."

Everything else is schematics. Learning how to punch, throw an elbow, kick, or send an effective knee are the easy parts. Learning how to effectively disarm an attacker; not that difficult. Learning how to do so under stress adds some pressure, but nothing that you cannot train yourself to handle. The hardest part is making that initial decision. The hardest part is accepting the responsibility that you will be the difference between life and death. Once you make that choice, everything else falls into place.

So that is what happened. After 115 people made that decision, it was inspiring to watch them attack everything with passion, energy, and purpose. I love watching people get stronger, more confident, and more assertive as training goes on. By the time we got to the 8 different scenarios, you could feel the energy and excitement from everyone. All we had to do was let them out of the cage.

My partner Kirk and I ran the bar scenario. Or as we started calling it the Last Shot Saloon. We watched 8 different groups of people repeatedly take down attacker after attacker. We ran our groups through a number of different scenarios form one attacker, multiple attackers, one defender, multiple defenders, hand guns, rifles, multiple weapons. Nothing we threw at them fazed them. Even when blanks were being fired, and you could smell the gunpowder in the air, 115 people kept fighting.

It was awesome.

Stay tuned Valhalla peeps, you're going to get your chance to make that decision soon......

 

photo credit: Rachel Parker

photo credit: Rachel Parker

VALHALLA GOING HOLLYWOOD

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine put me in contact with Douglas Winningham, a local photographer and videographer. Over some coffee, we discussed shooting a video for Valhalla Krav Maga. During that initial meeting, I quickly realized that Douglas would be a perfect for the job of capturing what Valhalla is and what we want it to become.

A short time later, Douglas embedded himself at Valhalla filming a number of our Little Vikings, Yoga, and Thor classes. After that, a bunch of us met up at Valhalla on a Sunday and for about six hours we filmed and filmed and filmed.

I could not be happier with the final product. I think Douglas expertly captured the spirit of Valhalla Krav Maga. I'd like to thank him for his time, his patience, and his vision. I'd also like to thank everyone who took time on a Sunday to make this video what it is. Without you all, Valhalla doesn't exist.

Enjoy the video:

FRIDAY CHANGES

Valhalla Krav Maga is excited to bring you our new Friday Night line-up. Beginning this Friday, January 20th at 5:30 pm.

 

INTRO to GROUND FIGHTING (5:30)

A class designed for beginning students to learn the fundamentals of ground fighting with a Krav Maga edge to it. As many of you know, Krav Maga is about being on your feet, striking, and escaping. However, fights are dynamic and unpredictable. It's best to be prepared for anything.

VKM APPLICATIONS (6:30)

Applications is designed around specific techniques and scenarios. While not as physically intensive as many of our other classes, Applications will test you mentally. Each class is different, and each class will leave you with a deeper understanding of what Krav Maga really is.

INTRO to FIGHT (7:30)

Intro to Fight is for people who are new to the sparring game. For this class you will need boxing gloves and headgear. This class will help you learn to spar safely and effectively. Our Instructors will bring you along in a controlled, steady environment. We recommend that you do not use this class as your Free Trial Class.

NERF/Parent's Night Out (8:15)

Hey Moms and Dads, need a quiet meal? A glass of wine? A movie? Whatever it is drop the kids off for a couple of hours and enjoy yourselves. While you are out your kids will be having a blast with some Krav Maga and some NERF gun wars. We supply the safety glasses and darts, you supply the guns. Cost is $20 per child.

 

SCHEDULE CHANGES STARTING NEXT WEEK

Starting the first full week of December (5th) Valhalla's schedule will have a few changes. Now that we are up and running, it's time to fine tune a few things and give our students what you've been asking for. The changes will be reflected in the calendar starting next Sunday (December 4th). The schedule will remain the same until then, so no need to make any different plans this week.

For starters, Tuesday nights will look a little different, with a VKM Kid's class being added at 5:30pm, a Yoga class at 7pm, and VKM Level 2/3 being moved to 8pm.

Stay tuned for more information.....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Valhalla Krav Maga would like to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving Holiday. May you get to spend time with the ones you love and may you eat too much.We will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but we will be open with our normal schedule Frid…

Valhalla Krav Maga would like to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving Holiday. May you get to spend time with the ones you love and may you eat too much.

We will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but we will be open with our normal schedule Friday,  November 25th. Enjoy the holiday and be ready to train hard as soon as it's over.

GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION

On November 3rd, Valhalla Krav Maga celebrated our Grand Opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Berkley Chamber of Commerce and the City of Oak Park. It was a great turnout and Samantha, Hunter, and I couldn't be happier with the response and the support we have received from friends, family, and our community.

We'd like to send a special Thank You to The Honorable Marion McClellan, Mayor of Oak Park and to Darlene Rothman, Executive Director of the Berkley Chamber of Commerce for all of their help and support in the launching of Valhalla Krav Maga.

Of course, none of this is possible without the help and sacrifice of our family and friends. You have been our inspiration, our confidants, and our never ending support and encouragement.

I've never written liner notes, or a thank-you speech, but the following peeps deserve a little mention: Dave and Donna Lams for always believing, Joyce Martina for being our emergency baby-sitter, Jeff Jaworski for laying the mats, Paul and Amanda Locklear for making Valhalla look good, Darryl Lams for the sounds, Jac Hilgendorf for the wisdom, Paul and Todd Turner for supplying a place to start, Hunter Hall for crunching the numbers, Tim Galloway for the web and the images, Chuck Gibson for the web and correcting my missteps, Rob Phillips for the hammer, Ian Redmond for the legal stuff, Jeff Mount, Vinay Chary, and Steve Sulze for the advice.

Too all our clients, thank you for the faith in us to help you be better prepared for the dangers facing us.

It's Your Life, It's Worth Defending.

VALHALLA'S GRAND OPENING

Valhalla Krav Maga is excited to finally announce our Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Join us on Thursday, November 3rd at 2pm as we officially join the amazing community of local businesses in Berkley, Huntington Woods, and Oak Park.

We cannot wait to provide our community with the Self-Defense lessons that will help keep our members safe and able to Walk In Peace. Join us, in opening YOUR Valhalla Krav Maga!!!

WEEK ONE

Well, Valhalla Krav Maga got off to a pretty damn good start. It has been a long time coming and we couldn't be happier with the results so far. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into creating our dream and we can't wait to share it with you all.

It is an honor to train people and help them get into the best shape of their lives while at the same time, giving them the tools and more importantly the confidence to protect themselves and the one they love from the dangers of society.

Samantha, Bee, Hunter, and I are super excited for what we have in store for you. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from Week One.

 

 

34 HOURS TO GO

Well, we are about 34 hours away from the first class to be held at Valhalla. We've been working non-stop to get the center ready for you. We hop to see you on Saturday (10/8/16). We'll be running three classes, VKM Open at 9am, Intro to Krav at 10am, and VKM Open at 11am. Classes are open to everyone, regardless of your experience level. See you soon!!!!

 

 

In the meantime, here are some pics to give you a glimpse:

Its getting closer...........

We are happy to announce that construction is happening and happening fast at Valhalla's new home at 26039 Coolidge. Check the pics out to see what your Valhalla Krav Maga is shaping up to be!!!