DFW Contact Combat May, 2007 Newsletter
Hello, and welcome to the new DFW Contact Combat newsletter. I hope you find something interesting and useful to read here at our new location on Myspace.
This newsletter will be a work in progress until I find a good rhythm. I hope to have big updates every few weeks, interspersed with smaller updates as information becomes available.
Your information is always welcome here. If you have photos, links, comments or other material you wish to share please feel free to do so by emailing me at bbriscoe@att.net
The focus of this newsletter will be the three Dallas-Fort Worth area Krav Maga schools. We will also include KM-related material from elsewhere on occasion. This is first and foremost a KM newsletter, though we will be respectful of all other martial arts, as we know that some of our students come from diverse backgrounds.
Well, almost all other martial arts.
Thank you for stopping by.
*
News: There will be a yellow belt test at 1:00pm on May 12 at the Trinity Mills school.
*
Let's meet our head instructors.
Jack Bolowskie is owner of Krav Maga DFW, located at 4043 Trinity Mills Blvd, Suite 118 in Dallas.
Bio:
· Martial Arts/Self Defense Head Instructor
· Martial Arts/Self Defense School owner since 1991
· Certified Grade 2 Krav Maga Instructor
· Certified Haganah Instructor
· 4th Dan Tang Soo Do
· 5th Dan Tae Kwon Do
· 2nd Dan Hapkido
· Cardio Kickboxing Instructor
· Strength & Conditioning Instructor
· Training in: Han Mu Do, Aikido, Gojo Rha Karate, Tai Chi, F.I.G.H.T., Tactical Knife Fighting, Ground Survival Tactics & Cardio Karate.
*
David Wilson is the general manager of Krav Maga Bedford. He teaches the majority of the Krav Maga classes. He has been Involved In Krav Maga for over eight years and has been teaching for approximately six.
Bio:
· Certified Krav Maga Instructor
· Certified Haganah Instructor
· 1st Dan - Tae Kwon Do
· Experience in American Kenpo (Parker System)
· Texas Certified Personal Protection Officer
· Texas Certified and Licensed Private Investigator
*
Erik Hicks is president of Performance Fitness & Self Defense, located at 1328 McDermott in Allen, Texas.
Bio:
· Certified Krav Maga instructor
· Fitness instructor
· Greco-Roman & freestyle wrestling
· Wing Chun Kung Fu
· Personal trainer/diet & nutrition consultant
· Restaurant entrepreneur
· 15+ yrs marketing
*
Here and There
We have a two-part Q&A as part of our occasional series on Krav Maga beyond the DFW area. First up we have an interview with Marcus Kowal, general manager of the Krav Maga National Training Center in Los Angeles.
What is your name?
Marcus Kowal
Where do you live?
Los Angeles
What do you do for a living?
General Manager, Krav Maga National Training Center
What is your martial arts background?
Boxing, Kickboxing
How did you get interested in Krav Maga?
One of my cornermen in Sweden was the man who brought KM to Sweden, so I tried it there. When I moved to LA, I started teaching Kickboxing & then went through the instructor courses.
How have you benefited from your training?
I learned that I wasn't as "safe" on the streets as I might have thought (from Kickboxing, boxing); it complements my ring fighting (guns, knives, etc.)
(Email Mr. Kowal at marcus@kravmaga.com if you have questions.)
*
Next we feature Corpus Christi's Larry Escher, who has a long and accomplished traditional martial arts background. He trained with Eyal Yanilov on March 19-20 of this year.
"Knowing what I know now, if I could start my training all over again, I would start in Krav Maga."--Larry Escher
Where do you live?
Beautiful and scenic Corpus Christi, TX. Hometown of Selena, Whataburger, and Eva Longoria
What do you do for a living?
I'm the Marketing Director for a group of small businesses including a gold coin company and a world-famous knife maker.
What is your martial arts background?
I was first interested in martial arts the first time I caught the end of "Kung Fu Theatre" one Saturday morning. The movie was the classic Five Deadly Venoms. After that, I got my hands on every martial arts book the library had, and all the magazines and books a 4th grader in the late 1970's in small town, Texas could find and afford! Unfortunately, I was not allowed to join the local Kung Fu school and didn't get any real training until I graduated and moved to Corpus. Since then, I've been training and have acquired ranks in Sil Lum Kung Fu, kickboxing, combat Escrima, and American Freestyle Karate (plus some groundfighting/JJ).
How did you get interested in Krav Maga?
I first read about Krav Maga in a martial arts magazine in 1999. I liked the techniques I saw and soon got the book followed by the videos. I liked everything about it from the training methods to techniques themselves, to the concept of basing all techniques on natural reactions. I have always had problems with every system and style; feeling they're incomplete or required too much training to be effective for beginners. So, when designing my own system, I used a lot of the concepts from Krav Maga to facilitate the design of a martial art that was more suited to me than all the ones I had been taking for 15 years.
Where/when did you train with Mr. Yanilov?
A friend of mine who owns a Kung Fu school in McAllen informed me of an upcoming seminar with Eyal Yanilov in the next two weeks. I took time off of work and drove to the Valley for the two-day seminar on "Executive and VIP Protection." Because it was such short notice and in the middle of the week, there were only about eight of us there including a protection specialist from Britain and a female officer who drove from Oklahoma.
This was actually my first real Krav Maga seminar and it couldn't have started any better. Everything he taught from the exercises, to the aggression, to the formation of the fist was right in line with what I had already believed in from my years of varied training or had discovered myself that NO ONE had taught me. It was like I was on a path of martial arts discovery and Eyal Yanilov had already been there, done that, and was drawing me a map to get to the end. For instance, other "combat instructors" may teach you to hit your opponent with a gun when they're too close to shoot, but Mr. Yanilov taught HOW to hit, where to hit with the gun, and why.
Every aspect of a technique had been thought of, considered, and perfected. Trust me, over the years, I have had the opportunity to train with many people, some world-famous, but no one had the combination of polished technique, speed, and accuracy that Eyal Yanilov demonstrated. He never made a single mistake in 2 days of instruction and even adapted when the attacker attacked with the wrong technique or reacted differently. I knew then that I needed to adopt more than just the Krav Maga concepts, I needed to really pursue more serious study of the system.
Where do you train currently?
Lacking a Krav school in the area, I currently train on my own or with a few of my former instructors in all the standard fare: Kung Fu, kickboxing, jointlocks, weapons, groundfighting, MMA, etc. I have an apprentice/training partner who I am passing my knowledge to, plus I occasionally give private lessons and seminars on jointlocking, weapons, self defense, and my own martial system which has now been heavily influenced by Krav Maga.
(You can contact Mr. Escher by visiting his website or emailing larry@jointlocks.com
*
Again, thank you all very much for dropping by. Next time around we hope to have a first-person account of instructor training from Elizabeth Gibbens.
This newsletter will be a work in progress until I find a good rhythm. I hope to have big updates every few weeks, interspersed with smaller updates as information becomes available.
Your information is always welcome here. If you have photos, links, comments or other material you wish to share please feel free to do so by emailing me at bbriscoe@att.net
The focus of this newsletter will be the three Dallas-Fort Worth area Krav Maga schools. We will also include KM-related material from elsewhere on occasion. This is first and foremost a KM newsletter, though we will be respectful of all other martial arts, as we know that some of our students come from diverse backgrounds.
Well, almost all other martial arts.
Thank you for stopping by.
*
News: There will be a yellow belt test at 1:00pm on May 12 at the Trinity Mills school.
*
Let's meet our head instructors.
Jack Bolowskie is owner of Krav Maga DFW, located at 4043 Trinity Mills Blvd, Suite 118 in Dallas.
Bio:
· Martial Arts/Self Defense Head Instructor
· Martial Arts/Self Defense School owner since 1991
· Certified Grade 2 Krav Maga Instructor
· Certified Haganah Instructor
· 4th Dan Tang Soo Do
· 5th Dan Tae Kwon Do
· 2nd Dan Hapkido
· Cardio Kickboxing Instructor
· Strength & Conditioning Instructor
· Training in: Han Mu Do, Aikido, Gojo Rha Karate, Tai Chi, F.I.G.H.T., Tactical Knife Fighting, Ground Survival Tactics & Cardio Karate.
*
David Wilson is the general manager of Krav Maga Bedford. He teaches the majority of the Krav Maga classes. He has been Involved In Krav Maga for over eight years and has been teaching for approximately six.
Bio:
· Certified Krav Maga Instructor
· Certified Haganah Instructor
· 1st Dan - Tae Kwon Do
· Experience in American Kenpo (Parker System)
· Texas Certified Personal Protection Officer
· Texas Certified and Licensed Private Investigator
*
Erik Hicks is president of Performance Fitness & Self Defense, located at 1328 McDermott in Allen, Texas.
Bio:
· Certified Krav Maga instructor
· Fitness instructor
· Greco-Roman & freestyle wrestling
· Wing Chun Kung Fu
· Personal trainer/diet & nutrition consultant
· Restaurant entrepreneur
· 15+ yrs marketing
*
Here and There
We have a two-part Q&A as part of our occasional series on Krav Maga beyond the DFW area. First up we have an interview with Marcus Kowal, general manager of the Krav Maga National Training Center in Los Angeles.
What is your name?
Marcus Kowal
Where do you live?
Los Angeles
What do you do for a living?
General Manager, Krav Maga National Training Center
What is your martial arts background?
Boxing, Kickboxing
How did you get interested in Krav Maga?
One of my cornermen in Sweden was the man who brought KM to Sweden, so I tried it there. When I moved to LA, I started teaching Kickboxing & then went through the instructor courses.
How have you benefited from your training?
I learned that I wasn't as "safe" on the streets as I might have thought (from Kickboxing, boxing); it complements my ring fighting (guns, knives, etc.)
(Email Mr. Kowal at marcus@kravmaga.com if you have questions.)
*
Next we feature Corpus Christi's Larry Escher, who has a long and accomplished traditional martial arts background. He trained with Eyal Yanilov on March 19-20 of this year.
"Knowing what I know now, if I could start my training all over again, I would start in Krav Maga."--Larry Escher
Where do you live?
Beautiful and scenic Corpus Christi, TX. Hometown of Selena, Whataburger, and Eva Longoria
What do you do for a living?
I'm the Marketing Director for a group of small businesses including a gold coin company and a world-famous knife maker.
What is your martial arts background?
I was first interested in martial arts the first time I caught the end of "Kung Fu Theatre" one Saturday morning. The movie was the classic Five Deadly Venoms. After that, I got my hands on every martial arts book the library had, and all the magazines and books a 4th grader in the late 1970's in small town, Texas could find and afford! Unfortunately, I was not allowed to join the local Kung Fu school and didn't get any real training until I graduated and moved to Corpus. Since then, I've been training and have acquired ranks in Sil Lum Kung Fu, kickboxing, combat Escrima, and American Freestyle Karate (plus some groundfighting/JJ).
How did you get interested in Krav Maga?
I first read about Krav Maga in a martial arts magazine in 1999. I liked the techniques I saw and soon got the book followed by the videos. I liked everything about it from the training methods to techniques themselves, to the concept of basing all techniques on natural reactions. I have always had problems with every system and style; feeling they're incomplete or required too much training to be effective for beginners. So, when designing my own system, I used a lot of the concepts from Krav Maga to facilitate the design of a martial art that was more suited to me than all the ones I had been taking for 15 years.
Where/when did you train with Mr. Yanilov?
A friend of mine who owns a Kung Fu school in McAllen informed me of an upcoming seminar with Eyal Yanilov in the next two weeks. I took time off of work and drove to the Valley for the two-day seminar on "Executive and VIP Protection." Because it was such short notice and in the middle of the week, there were only about eight of us there including a protection specialist from Britain and a female officer who drove from Oklahoma.
This was actually my first real Krav Maga seminar and it couldn't have started any better. Everything he taught from the exercises, to the aggression, to the formation of the fist was right in line with what I had already believed in from my years of varied training or had discovered myself that NO ONE had taught me. It was like I was on a path of martial arts discovery and Eyal Yanilov had already been there, done that, and was drawing me a map to get to the end. For instance, other "combat instructors" may teach you to hit your opponent with a gun when they're too close to shoot, but Mr. Yanilov taught HOW to hit, where to hit with the gun, and why.
Every aspect of a technique had been thought of, considered, and perfected. Trust me, over the years, I have had the opportunity to train with many people, some world-famous, but no one had the combination of polished technique, speed, and accuracy that Eyal Yanilov demonstrated. He never made a single mistake in 2 days of instruction and even adapted when the attacker attacked with the wrong technique or reacted differently. I knew then that I needed to adopt more than just the Krav Maga concepts, I needed to really pursue more serious study of the system.
Where do you train currently?
Lacking a Krav school in the area, I currently train on my own or with a few of my former instructors in all the standard fare: Kung Fu, kickboxing, jointlocks, weapons, groundfighting, MMA, etc. I have an apprentice/training partner who I am passing my knowledge to, plus I occasionally give private lessons and seminars on jointlocking, weapons, self defense, and my own martial system which has now been heavily influenced by Krav Maga.
(You can contact Mr. Escher by visiting his website or emailing larry@jointlocks.com
*
Again, thank you all very much for dropping by. Next time around we hope to have a first-person account of instructor training from Elizabeth Gibbens.
posted by BB at 7:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home