etkm new student guide

Learning New Skills: The “Crawl, Walk, Run” Approach

At East Texas Krav Maga, we believe that learning new skills should be a steady, step-by-step process. Just like riding a bicycle, mastering Krav Maga techniques requires the right balance between pace and precision. Move too fast, and you’re likely to struggle with technique or risk injury; go too slowly, and it becomes hard to build momentum and confidence. That’s why we take the “Crawl, Walk, Run” approach to learning new skills in Krav Maga, ensuring that you progress with confidence and control.

1. Crawl: Build a Strong Foundation

In the “Crawl” phase, you’re learning the basics. This is where you’ll focus on the details of each technique—stance, positioning, and form—breaking down each movement step by step. At this stage, precision and understanding are more important than speed. Just like learning to ride a bike, it’s essential to get comfortable with the fundamentals, allowing your mind and body to grasp the technique without rushing.

Tips for the Crawl Phase:

• Focus on form over speed. Getting the basics right will make the next stages easier and more effective.
• Be patient and repeat each movement until it feels comfortable and controlled.
• Don’t worry if it feels slow—this stage is about building the foundation that will support you as you progress.

2. Walk: Develop Fluidity and Coordination

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you move into the “Walk” phase. Here, you start adding fluidity and coordination to your movements, practicing techniques at a moderate pace to help you connect each step naturally. In this phase, you’re beginning to feel the rhythm of the technique, just as you would when riding a bike without training wheels. You’re still going carefully, but now you’re gaining momentum and confidence with every practice.

Tips for the Walk Phase:

• Focus on connecting each part of the technique smoothly.
• Gradually increase speed as your coordination improves, but don’t sacrifice form.
• Start practicing in realistic scenarios to help make the movements feel instinctive.

3. Run: Build Speed and Instinct

In the “Run” phase, you’re putting it all together—speed, power, and instinct. This is where the technique becomes second nature, allowing you to execute it quickly and confidently under pressure. Just like when you’ve mastered balance on a bicycle and can ride smoothly and swiftly, you’re now able to rely on your muscle memory to guide your movements. In this stage, your technique should feel automatic, giving you the ability to react instinctively when it counts.

Tips for the Run Phase:

• Emphasize speed and power, but stay in control—never lose sight of proper form.
• Practice in scenario-based drills that simulate real-life situations to reinforce instinctive reactions.
• Challenge yourself with stress drills or advanced variations to keep building skill under pressure.

Learning Krav Maga Like Riding a Bicycle

Learning Krav Maga is a lot like riding a bicycle: you need to find the right balance between going fast enough to stay steady and slow enough to stay in control. By taking things step by step—crawling, walking, and then running—you’re building a solid foundation and gradually layering in speed, power, and instinct. This approach keeps you safe, boosts your confidence, and ensures that you’re truly prepared to rely on these skills when you need them most.

Stay patient, stay committed, and remember that each stage of the journey has its purpose. The skills you’re building now will serve you for a lifetime. Let’s keep moving forward, one step at a time!