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Frequently Asked Questions About Martial Arts Training In Woburn

This page contains answers to some of the frequently asked questions that we receive about our martial arts training in Woburn. If you can't find an answer to your specific question please feel free to contact us by clicking here.

Martial Arts Woburn FAQ's

Our martial arts school in Woburn charges $185 per month for unlimited classes, or $155 for first responders, serving military, veterans, and full-time students. We have no long-term contracts and simply require a one-month notice period for cancellation. We do not do day rates or books of classes. This price includes gradings, belts, special internal seminars, and access to our online platform. Students of the school also get discounted rates on external instructor seminars e.g., we have a history of bringing experienced martial arts instructors to our school, to conduct specialist seminars.

We require everybody to initially attend one of our beginners Krav Maga classes. In these classes participants are taught some of the common drills that we use, along with how to hold correctly and safely some of the different pads and focus mitts that we use to develop striking skills and power. The class also introduces prospective students to some of the fundamental concepts and principles of the system/approach. To get an idea as to why the Israeli martial art of Krav Maga is so effective, you can watch a few short videos by clicking here. If you are ready to take one of our beginner classes please use the button below to see upcoming dates and book.


Beginner Classes

Self-defense is really a legal term, that refers to the use of physical force against an attacker, where it is legally justified. This involves the level of force used to nullify an attack, whether an individual was in imminent danger when they used physical force, did they not disengage when they had an opportunity to safely do so etc. These are important considerations, because if somebody is required to respond physically when their safety is compromised or threatened, they may potentially face criminal charges based on how they acted. Even if they manage to clear these, they may face civil charges brought against them by the person they had to engage with e.g., if in the course of disengaging they knocked a tooth out or broke the other person’s nose, that individual may seek financial compensation for the injuries they sustained by bringing civil charges against them, The burden of proof in a civil claim is a lot less than in a criminal case, and so it may not take a lot to prove that an individual used excessive force etc. This could see somebody who initiated the confrontation be awarded damages and legal costs, even though they were the one who started the fight.

This is why when learning a martial art or fighting system, that legal considerations are part of any techniques and solutions that an instructor presents or martial arts school trains as part of their self-defense program(s) i.e., solutions and techniques need to be demonstrated in context, rather than things which are universal and absolute e.g., there are times when applying a choke hold may be appropriate and times where it is not etc. If a martial art instructor neglects to explain these different contexts from a legal perspective, a student of a school/system might find themselves operating outside of the law, and potentially facing both criminal and civil charges. If you are looking to use a particular martial art for the purposes of self-defense, you need to know if its approach can be legally justified.

Many martial arts specialize in certain areas of combat e.g., boxing focuses on punching, Tae Kwon Do focuses on Kicking, Judo focuses on grappling, and BJJ (Brazilian Ju-Jitsu) focuses on fighting on the ground (primarily wrestling on the ground) etc. None of these approaches are wrong, and each one will help you gain techniques and skills in these individual dimensions. However, taking the approach that the way to becoming a “complete” fighter is to specialize in each dimension is incorrect, and only somebody who can dedicate their life to just training all of these different martial arts would be able to do so.

The Israeli Martial Art of Krav Maga recognizes that this approach is a time consuming one, which only professional fighters will be able to undertake e.g., training Muay Thai, Boxing and BJJ etc. Krav Maga was designed as a martial art, whereby reusing movements, using standing solutions when on the ground etc., it wasn’t necessary to become a master in all domains etc. Because most violence doesn’t involve assaults by trained individuals it isn’t necessary to beat a specialist in their area of expertise. From a tactical point of view if a martial artist who is skilled in fighting on the ground, the Krav Maga approach is to prevent them from taking you there, and if they do to get back to your feet as quickly as possible etc. It is often easier- when fighting – to deny people opportunities, than solve problems that they have created and are in control of.

The Israeli martial art of Krav Maga doesn’t try and argue that it is the best striking system, and/or the best grappling system, and/or the best ground-fighting system etc., rather it makes the case that it can deal with ordinary attackers – who constitute the most likely reality - in all of these scenarios and that these are the most likely scenarios that anyone will have to face. If you have the time to become the best boxer, kicker, grappler and ground fighter in existence, study each of these martial arts, however if you want to quickly learn how to deal with the most likely scenarios facing the most likely assailants then you may want to think about studying/training the Israeli martial art of Krav Maga.

Yes, we spar, and we practice “ground-fighting”. Although our approach to violence is non-competitive, and we are not training students to fight in competitions we do use sparring as a training method. Krav Maga training splits drills and training methods into types: closed and open. A closed drill is where each participant knows the outcome e.g., if they practice how to escape from a rear-strangle, after they have done so the drill is finished etc., however as students progress drills start to “open” up and the outcome is not necessarily pre-defined e.g., after the student has escaped from a rear-strangle, sometimes but not always, a third student would attack them with a practice knife etc., At this point the student knows that after they have escaped the strangulation, there are two potential outcomes: they either get attacked with a knife or they don’t etc. Sparring and “rolling” (sparring on the ground) are two training methods that are completely “open” i.e., participants have no idea what each other is going to do – one participant may start with a kick, then throw a punch, whilst the other blocks and counters with their own kick etc. These training methods don’t follow a set pattern, and it is this that has a value to a student’s training.

Our sparring classes vary week by week e.g., sometimes they may be on a Monday another week on a Thursday etc., (Students know when they are through our class booking system that we use to monitor each students progress). This means that they should be accessible to all students at some point. If they were always on a Tuesday at 6:00 pm, this might mean that somebody’s schedule wouldn’t allow them the opportunity to spar. By moving the day/time around everybody should be able to make it to a sparring class. Classes are split into two parts, the first part being practicing sparring drills, combinations, and techniques etc., as closed drills. The second part is free sparring. There is no obligation to take part in this part of the class, and new students are not permitted to till they have developed the necessary skills to do so and have shown that they understand the rules and the necessary safety considerations, to make it a productive experience for all involved.