I Couldn’t Have Been More Wrong…

It is 3 p.m.
He is the last speaker in a long line of speakers, which had begun at 8 a.m.
 
I am attending a holistic health summit. Some of the speakers are riveting and some are technical and above my pay grade.
 
On the verge of a major headache from information overload, I am tempted to skip-out on the last session, which features a black belt in Krav Maga. I quickly google Krav Maga on my phone. From Wikipedia, I learn it is an Israeli martial art. Utilized by the Israel Defense Forces, it is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and wrestling.
 

 
Why would it be of interest to me? 
 
I am 75-year-old grandmother who is not overly obsessing (or obsessing at all) about cultivating an aura of bad-assitude as I traverse the aisles of Publix. What relevance could Krav Maga possibly have in my life?
 
I couldn’t have been more wrong. 
 
From www.theartofmanliness.com, I glean the following:
The origins of Krav Maga can be traced to pre-World War II Czechoslovakia (present-day Slovakia) and a young Jewish athlete named Imi Lichtenfeld. Imi was a nationally and internationally renowned boxer, wrestler, and gymnast. Beginning in the mid-1930s, fascist and anti-Semitic groups rose to power in Czechoslovakia and began inflicting violence on Jewish communities. Feeling duty-bound to protect his neighbors, Lichtenfeld organized a group of young men to patrol his community and defend against would-be attackers. He quickly learned, however, that his training in sport martial arts was no match for the anti-Semitic thugs he encountered. Fighting for points in a match and fighting for your life in a street fight require a different mindset and different techniques. To effectively defend himself and his community, Imi began synthesizing his martial art knowledge and started placing an emphasis on attacks that quickly disabled and neutralized a threat.
 
The study of Krav Maga, which is known for its focus on real world situations and extreme efficiency, naturally led the speaker to explore not just training his body, but training his mind as well. He began focusing on two key concepts:
                             How to avoid burn-out and get more done
                             How to balance energy, time and attention   
 
“There are conflicting pulls on our resources. What does ‘I don’t have the time,’ actually mean?” he questions us. “It means we are not prioritizing. It means we are not blocking out distractions.”
 
Here are his suggestions for getting more done efficiently and avoiding exhaustion:
      “Choose wisely – we can’t do all of it well.
       Learn to say ‘No’ – by saying ‘No’ to something, we can focus on what              really matters to us. By saying ‘No’, we are saying ‘Yes’ to something                  else.”
 
How do we choose where to put our energy and effort?
He prods us to consider our own roles and goals and whether what we are choosing to do is moving the needle in the right direction.
 
People have things that come easy to them, but are often hard for others. He suggests devoting time to those things we have superpower in. “Our time and energy are finite – we need to guard them closely,” he cautions.
 
His template for getting things done are measurable and methodical:
     Plan
     Act 
     Review
     Improve 
 
As our time with him is winding down, he asks us to close our eyes and visualize two interlocking circles:
     One circle contains things we care about
     The other circle contains things we can control
 
     Where those two circles interlap is where we should focus and invest our time.
 

                                                                                                           
 
His words of wisdom stick with me and later that evening, I google “What is the best age to learn Krav Maga?” The answer: Anyone between the age of 3 to 80 years old can start learning Krav Maga, even if they are completely new to the world of Martial Arts. 
 
Hee hee! See you in the studio!
 

 
And Keep Preserving Your Bloom,
 
Iris Ruth Pastor
 
PS A hearty “shout-out” of thanks to my loyal readers who took the time to answer all those “annoying” questions included in my survey last week. Your answers were eye opening, somewhat surprising and very much appreciated.