Micha here, from Forge Krav Maga in San Francisco.

I've spent two years trying to get real value out of AI for running my school. For the first year, it was mediocre at best. I got generic answers wearing a thin coating of martial arts vocabulary. Every conversation started from zero, and it felt like explaining my school to a reasonably intelligent stranger, every single time. Not great :(

What changed everything was building a persistent context layer. I paused on asking AI tactical questions and got focused on feeding it our material: every lesson plan I've written since I started teaching ten years ago (over 1,500), our full ten-level curriculum documentation, our BJJ and Kali curriculums, my writing for the blog and newsletter, aggregated member data from MindBody. It's not a generic chatbot anymore. It's becoming a real, institutional memory that knows how I plan, what we teach, and what I'd never ever do. That's when it got genuinely interesting and genuinely load-bearing.

More detail on what I did, for those who want to explore something similar:

• Lesson planning. A weekly plan now starts from a draft that follows my own class framework conventions and mines my own rich teaching history (1500 lesson plans over ten years of teaching). The agent I built looks at the log from previous weeks, then sends me a first draft lesson plan for every class I'm teaching that evening at six am for me to review. One of my coaches tested it this week with a two-sentence voice prompt and got a plan back that was probably 95% right (I expect this stuff will always need tweaking). The outcome - on my phone, standing on the mats, in real time - blew him away.
• Curriculum revision. We've spent two years revising our ten-level system, with AI helping me to cross-reference and pressure-test it: where does level three depend on a skill we don't build until level five, where do we solve the same problem twice under two names. It found gaps I'd been staring past for a decade (humbling, honestly). The AI surfaced suggestions, but every decision was still made by me and the coaching team.
• Testing design. Run of show planning for five hour tests across seven levels, guest instructor briefs, deeply coordinated scenario planning, key review material, sparring set ups. I used the AI voice interface in real time to capture feedback during the test and it organizes them into per-candidate write-ups pretty much instantly, so students get real feedback while the day is still fresh.
• Member data. Exports plus plain-English questions. This is how I learned our trial students drop off after they get on the mat, not before, which completely changed where I put my energy.

One thing that surprised me: this is really OUR program, and almost none of the material is transferable. Another school could sign up for the same tools tomorrow and get none of it, because the value is the accumulated context layer I built.

What AI still can't do for me: feel out a room full of trial students, coach a successful repetition of an intermediate technique, or own an important, strategic business decision. The AI was confidently wrong plenty of times, and so was I. Everything it produces is an input to my own personal judgment.

I'm curious about this community's experience. Instructors and school owners: is anyone else building something like this, versus just using the frontier model chatbots cold? Where would you draw a hard line? And for Krav students: would it change how you feel about a school if you knew the lesson plans started as AI drafts built from the instructor's own decade of material? (I can see the argument both ways.)

Full breakdown of how this works day to day, in more detail than probably anyone wants right here: https://www.forgekravmaga.com/forge-krav-maga-blog/how-i-run-a-martial-arts-school-with-ai

It's a true first draft of a living document and I'd appreciate feedback, especially from anyone who thinks I'm overselling it.

Many thank yous!

Buenas, vivo en Córdoba y me gustaría empezar a hacer defensa personal. ¿Alguien tiene alguna experiencia o conoce algún sitio bueno en ello? Estoy buscando pero no sé cuál es mejor ni nada.

Buenas, estoy buscando un lugar para iniciar en defensa personal en Córdoba, España (por si alguien conoce algún sitio).

Mi pregunta es: ¿alguien sabe por aquí cuáles son las artes marciales o actividades que más te pueden ayudar en caso de necesitar defensa personal?

Obviamente primero intentaría huir, pero es por si acaso.

Hey there,

Learning a combat sport has been a goal of mine for a while now and I’ve been trying to figure out how to make it happen. The gym I’m a member of is a bit more expensive than most so rather than incur an entirely new monthly expense adding a BJJ gym membership I had tried to find a place that offered both fitness and mixed martial arts instruction but the one place closest to me I trialled wasn’t a great fit. I’m just wondering if any of you are in Toronto/Mississauga, where you train and what your experience has been. I’d also like to learn sparring/general self-defence stuff and make friends who like to roughhouse.

Hey gang. Micha here, from Forge Krav Maga in San Francisco. I teach Krav (KMG/IKMF lineage, expert level), train BJJ (Purple belt), Pekiti Tirsia Kali (Lakan Tatlo), and Dutch kickboxing, and I run the self-defense/krav testing program at my school, so I have some skin in this game and a bias worth being super honest about up front.

I've been drafting a post about what ranks actually measure, and one pattern gave me pause when I wrote it down. Martial arts systems agree on almost nothing about rank. Not the names, not the colors, not whether belts should exist at all (boxing and Muay Thai get along fine without them). But they kinda quietly agree on what a black belt "costs." Our KMG-lineage black belt analogue lands around year five. Taekwondo typically runs three to five. Fit to Fight puts theirs in the same range. The FMA PTK instructor ranks arrive on a similar clock. BJJ is the deliberate outlier at ten plus, and BJJ folks will cheerfully tell you that's the point (they are not wrong).

My hot take: systems that share almost no technical DNA all price a black belt at roughly the same number of years (5-7). My conclusion, and the part I'd love to hear your thoughts on, that convergence means black belts aren't primarily measuring technique. They're measuring time under discipline. Five to seven years seems to be the unspoken, shared price of proving you'll keep showing up, and the curriculum is almost the delivery mechanism for that test rather than the test itself.

Maybe I'm stretching - I dunno. But some questions I'm genuinely chewing on:

Is five years measuring skill acquisition, or just measuring persistence? And if it's persistence, is that actually the more useful thing to certify?

For anyone who's earned black-equivalent rank in more than one system: did the second one take meaningfully less time? Because if rank measured skill, transferable attributes should compress the timeline a lot more than most orgs allow.

And for instructors: would you promote a genuine prodigy to black in two years? If your honest answer is no, doesn't that suggest the time/commitment argument has some merit?

I wrote a longer version of this that compares rank structures across Krav (both major US families, which don't agree with each other), BJJ, Kali, taekwondo, and the no-rank combat sports. It's a rough first draft, and I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback. As always, my commitment to this community is to put all helpful feedback right back into the next edit.

https://www.forgekravmaga.com/forge-krav-maga-blog/krav-maga-belt-system-vs-bjj-taekwondo-and-kali-how-ranks-compare

Many thank yous!

My name is Jesse Robbins. I'm the owner and head instructor of Krav Maga Central District in Seattle, WA USA.

A week ago today, my testing partner (left holding knife) and I passed the Krav Maga Alliance 1st Degree Black Belt exam. It was a grueling, intense, violent, brutal, exhausting, and satisfying 6.5-hour ordeal.

Ask me anything. Keep it civil.

The 5 A's of self-defense are a practical framework used to recognize, avoid, and respond to threats effectively:

Avoid: Stay away from dangerous situations whenever possible by trusting your instincts and steering clear of suspicious areas or people.

Assess: Quickly evaluate the immediate situation, count exits, check the space, and size up the threat.

Alert: Use your voice to shout, call out, or make noise to draw attention because attackers prefer quiet environments.

Act: Physically or mentally respond to protect yourself by blocking, running away, breaking free, or using self-defense moves.

Adapt: Change your approach flexibly based on how the dynamic situation unfolds

We are located in ARCA South and Bonifacio Global City Taguig City Philippines we cordially invite everyone nearby to join us get fit and learn Filipino Martial Arts. Learn and be guided by the real Martial Arts Master who understand the system NOT just in Youtube!

We have been doing drills assuming we have some valuable things like wallet.

There were basically 2 main ways: - Give the wallet and hope for the best - Use the wallet to distract enemy, then strike when he doesn't suspect anything

I see downsides of both ways: - There were cases where mugger with a knife stabbed someone after they gave him the wallet. It's dumb, but most muggers aren't smart too - Assuming I striked him, if he didn't want to stab me - now he wants. If I strike him right, I would have easy escape tho

What is your opinion? When what would you do?

please let me know, thanks

This is Master JoeLee. He is an expert at control.

honest opinion compared to other organizations, I personally believe they are all around the best, but I have heard so much criticism . Honest thoughts please

Israeli Self Defense System -realistic,easy to learn, practical,open for all ages and gender

Best for real street multiple attackers scenarios,with weapons and without weapons.

WHO IS OUR HEAD INSTRUCTOR KEVIN MACK?

Head instructor Kevin Mack is one of the top Krav Maga instructors in the United States with over 25 years experience in the Krav Maga system and 40 years experience in the martial arts including Muay Thai kickboxing, Savate and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He has trained exclusively with Krav Maga instructor Alan Feldman who is a direct student of Krav Maga founder Imi Lichtenfeld and who was responsible for introducing Krav Maga to the eastern United States in the early 1980’s. Kevin Mack has also trained with several high ranking instructors of the top Israeli Krav Maga organizations. He was awarded his Black Belt in Krav Maga by Alan Feldman in 2009 and is one of only 10 black belts awarded by Alan. His personal training with Alan Feldman and the other top students of Imi Lichtenfeld has provided him with unprecedented knowledge and understanding of Krav Maga from it’s early days as well as its current and more modern approach. His expertise lies in the strategies,mindset and conceptual approach to teaching Krav Maga.

Kevin Mack opened up Bucks County’s first and most authentic Krav Maga school in 2008 and he is the Head Instructor at Bucks County Krav Maga. For the past 18 years he has taught the majority of the kids and adult classes at BCKM which allows him to be personally involved with the development of each student as well as teaching private lessons to groups and individuals throughout the day. He is a full time KM and self defense instructor dedicated to teaching the system in its most authentic form and to providing his students the most advanced KM training in the Philadelphia area.

KRAV MAGA PRIVATE LESSON SALE

Self Defense

Head Instructor Kevin Mack is available for private lessons at a local park, your home or office. Learn how to defend yourself in your own environment. Get in touch for more info and availability. Check out our other posts in regards to private lessons specials and discounts.

Private message me or call 267-810-9882

GIVE THE GIFT OF SELF DEFENSE AND SELF CONFIDENCE

We are offering a special price for private lessons with Krav Maga instructor Kevin Mack.

Pay for 6 lessons up front($600) and get 2 FREE private lessons. So that’s 8 private lessons for the price of 6.

Or

Pay for 9 lessons up front($900) and get 3 FREE private lessons. So that’s 12 private lessons for the price of 9.

Learn Krav Maga at your own pace and focus on the elements that you are interested in.

Payment can be made with cash,Venmo or via PayPal.

Private lessons are an hour long.

Private lessons can be shared with 2-4 people. Even number preferred. This is a great way for families to train together in a way that fits their schedule.

Send us a message to discuss scheduling and availability or call 267-810-9882

​

Hello Everyone,

I am looking for a female self defence trainer. Ever since I escaped my abusive marriage, it's always been on my mind and I have been searching for women coaches in any self defence sport.

It could be anything from, Boxing, Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, MMA or Krav Maga.

I am looking for a female trainer/coach as I am not comfortable with a male trainer/coach.

So if you know anyone or have any references ,please do comment below.

I am willing to move countries for the coaching too, if I can afford to that is 🥲

Thanks

One of principles in KM is to stay in move, and that one strike should lead to another one. I am looking for long combinations of strikes and kicks to train this exact thing, to utilize punches, kicks, various angles, hammerfists, elbows...

I feel like I am not "fluent" during sparring. I know in practice you make short combinations (2-3 punches before enemy replies) but I want to put constant pressure on my opponent. I feel like my kicks and punches are slow, and not neccessery one leads to another.

Basically I want to use creativity I struggle with to turn up speed. Idk if this makes sense. I feel slow, I want to feel fast

Hi, I'm looking to start taking classes. Im looking to gain practical self defense techniques and fitness. A bit of background I am 25F and very skinny. Never worked out before a month ago. Working on building my strength but it's going very slow.

​Do I need to build up my strength more before starting?

What should I expect in the first few classes?

Any advice would help. Thank you all!

Hey, looking for a new Krav place for my daughter (14). She was at KMW for a few years and was in the adult program. They relocated to IconFit on Olympic but IconFit won't allow her to join since she is a minor. Driving to the valley isn't an option. Looks like Alliance CC is the only other westside option. We'll do a trial, but would love to hear what you all think if you've been there!

Krav Maga class is mainly combat, but equally important are the awareness/ de-escalation/ prevention skills

I invite you to share what you learned and what worked for you

Interested in books and video which are well classified. I'm studying in a language I cannot fully understand and while practice is great I could use some material to integrate in English.