Editors Letter – Welcome to Kravology

Welcome to the first online installment of Kravology.  This process has been a labor of love.   It simply had to be, and, I don’t mind admitting that this undertaking far surpassed the effort I believed was necessary to develop an online magazine of sorts.  How hard could it be, right?

What started out as an idea my wife incubated, and an idea my students and instructors encouraged, has morphed into something special – at least to me (and eventually to you I hope).  These articles and pages are filled with what I believe will be valuable tools and methods that will support you in your self defense training and in your life.

I’ve made an effort to bring you ONLY the things that have substantially increased performance in my own students and instructors over time. The phrase “repeatable success” defines the standard with which all content herein is measured and assessed.

I often look at self defense training as a microcosm of life: much is required of us, and in the work, we find meaning, self discipline, self assuredness, grit, and a comradery few others likely know.  In the end, the effort is well worth it, and the payoff is as much about enriching your life as it is defending it.  I hope you will keep that in mind and approach every training session with a fresh and positive attitude.

I’ve always marveled at the ability of others to organize information and develop methods for learning and categorizing complex and/or compound sets of information.  During my years as a market strategy consultant, I slowly improved with these concepts and began to apply my new-found and growing skills to my Krav Maga training.  Over the past 15+ years, I’ve worked with thousands of students in open classes and in private training sessions.  Ironically, they were all training me to be a better instructor certainly as much as I was training each of them in self defense.

I’ve learned I never want to stop learning.  I love being a student, and my curiosity leads me in some interesting directions.  Kravology has allowed me to combine several of my obsessions, passions, and curiosities – including self defense, instruction, creativity, design, and writing.  I’ve learned quickly “not to quit my day job.”  This process has been enlightening and humbling.  Through it all, my aim has been to do something worthwhile and to add something of value to your training and your life.  I am your advocate.

As you read the articles and watch the videos we create, understand I’ve purposely avoided using terminology that claims my way is the greatest and/or only way to approach self defense, technical understanding, and/or training.  There are a myriad of ways to the same end, this is one of the reasons why Imi ultimately developed Krav Maga as a principle-based system.

The truth is, your goal should be to make each technique and movement your own.  The drills and exercises you perform must ultimately lead you to your own deep understanding of each technique.  Your specific expressions, metaphors, and descriptions of effective and proper technique is what personalizes and ultimately forms your understanding into a concrete ownership.  Once you own a technique for yourself, no one can take it away from you.  It’s part of you.  I hope I can help with that process.

You will also notice that the videos are captured in a simple, straight-forward style – after several attempts at concepts to provide “entertainment value” ultimately diminished the message and importance each topic holds.  In short, we’ve done away with jokes and gimmicks and brought you thoughtful ideas that need no dressing up (or so we hope).

This first installment will invariably lack the highest levels of professionalism that I hope to one day achieve.   The staff, writers, instructors, and I are simply on a learning curve, absorbing as much as we can, as fast as we can.  I am loving every minute if it.  I hope you do too.

Thank you for spending your time within the virtual pages of the Kravology publication.  I will continue to labor with the goal of earning your time and consideration, and I look forward to meeting you in the near future.

Train Hard and Walk in Peace,

CJ Kirk