I have a student, let’s say his name is Bob. Bob and I were having a familiar conversation a few weeks ago. Bob had, once again,left the equipment necessary to participate in class at his home. I called him over after class and asked him if everything was alright.
Bob indicated things were fine. I then asked him to be sure to bring the necessary equipment to class. Bob took a breathe into his lungs and slowly let the air out before asking me how I remembered all my things all the time. I laughed a bit before I let him know I don’t remember everything. I do, however, have a checklist and a process – because being prepared for class is important to me.
Bob asked me to expound on my comments. And, after a quick talk, Bob thanked me for my time (and he hasn’t for forgotten a singe piece of equipment since). The information I shared seemed to have helped Bob, so I’m now sharing it with you. Here are the 7 best tips I have for preparing for Krav Maga class (in terms of showing up equipped).
- Keep a list of equipment and training aids you need for every class, and invest in a sufficiently large bag to accommodate the items on your list.
- Sunday evenings are great for looking at the week ahead. What classes are you attending, and will there be any unusual equipment required. Make note of any irregularities.
- Gather your support items and develop a process for getting them into your bag. For instance, if you train on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule, make your off days your laundry days to ensure towels are washed, water bottles are clean, mouth pieces are sanitized…training clothes, wraps, compression clothes, jock straps, special bras…it all needs to be available to you.
- Pack and/or inspect your bag the night before your training day. Check for all the training tools, equipment, clothing, and protective equipment on your checklist. Ensure your clothes are fresh smelling and pet hair free.
- Block the door leaving the house with your packed bag. If you have sports drinks or post workout concoctions chilling in the refrigerator, leave a note to yourself on the bag to grab the drink before you leave the house for the rest to the day.
- If you cannot make it home very soon after training, develop a process for drying your gloves and sweaty clothes – figure it out. Otherwise you’ll ruin you clothes with a permanent stink that no one appreciates.
- Refine you list and your process until it fits with your schedule and lifestyle. You won’t miss a beat.
This may seem like substantial work. The truth is, once you follow the procedure a few times, it’ll take less than 10 minutes to prepare for training. Make your life easier and be prepared.
Finally, when in doubt, pack it. It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
JamesInCA
I have a bag that is virtually never fully unpacked, except on the odd occasion I use the bag for something else. I reset it in the locker room before leaving the training center, with anything dirty that needs to be replaced on top. Gloves are on the side with the open end up for ventilation. Shin pads/headgear/etc. on the bottom. Training clothes and towels on top. I wash the mouthguard with mouthwash in the locker room as well.
As soon as I get home, the dirty items get dropped in the laundry hamper and I set the replacement clean items (towels, training shirt, clean clothes) next to the open bag. The bag stays open to air out overnight. The next morning, I drop the clean items on top and zip it up.
Re-packing the bag correctly in the training center takes 1-2 minutes. Swapping old items for new at home takes 1-2 minutes. Done.
Whoops
Sorry for the accidental downvote!!!! Great advice thanks!
CJK
Nice…great process. It doesn’t take long to get organized once a process is in place.