Five Reasons to Consider GIC1

Have you thought about becoming a certified Krav Maga instructor?

On Sunday I completed part one of the KMG General Instructor Course. I took the course at First Defense Krav Maga in Herndon, VA with five other students. Our instructor was Nick Masi.

GIC1 is the first of a multi-part process for becoming a fully certified KMG instructor. In the United States, we divide the curriculum into three parts. GIC1 is 5 days while GIC2 and 3 are each 9 days. In some parts of the world, like Australia, the GIC is divided into two 12-day courses. Elsewhere, GIC1 and 2 are each 9 days, while GIC3 is 5 days. In any event, the material taught within a given country is the same as other countries, and the entirety of the training is 23 days.

In this post I will provide five reasons that KMG students may consider taking the 5-day GIC1 in the US.

1. Concentrated training. A five-day class is a commitment to training, and the chance to improve your skills on a daily basis is tough to beat. Our instructors had mentioned this phenomenon before, and I felt it in action during the course. While it is possible to begin feeling overwhelmed by the details, overall familiarity with the material prior to the class will help you benefit from the opportunity.

Nick demonstrating the effect of foot rotation on striking

2. Curriculum review. Our class focused on P-level techniques, as well as some G-level techniques for knife defense. Reviewing this material within weeks of your next grading is priceless. If you are a Practitioner level, you are getting additional repetitions of your core techniques. If you are a Graduate level, you are practicing material you may not have performed for months or perhaps longer. In either case, covering so much of the curriculum in a relatively short period of time was extremely valuable.

3. Learning the system. When you learn KMG through weekly classes, you can lose sight of the forest due to the trees. It can be tough to recognize that you are learning a system, not a collection of isolated techniques. During the curriculum review, you work the material in clusters according to the problem at hand or the principle at work. Suddenly all of the choke releases or other techniques seem to make more sense because you recognize how they are related.

4. Introduction to teaching. Our GIC1 offered several opportunities to learn how to teach a KMG class. We started by taking turns leading various elements of the warm-up process, such as elevating the heart rate, beginning mobility, stretching, and power drills. Next we took turns teaching a mini-class of 10-20 minutes. On the last day we each taught a complete but short class of 20-30 minutes. This process encouraged us to deliver clear information, to follow the KMG teaching process, and to be creative so as not to bore our fellow students. I really enjoyed this part of the class!

I still need to work on multiple aspects of striking!

5. Finding and fixing problems. Because we had five days of training, and a small group of six students, we had many opportunities to find and fix problems in our technique. For example, my training partner took videos of me striking the bag. Nick had already told me of several problems, but it was much easier to recognize them when seen on video. For example, I need to work on keeping contact with my right foot, to keep my right hand raised when jabbing with the left, and to recoil the right faster. Collectively these problems weaken my striking technique. Thanks to GIC1 I will be able to work on them, as well as dozens of other items!

Have you taken or considering taking GIC1? What was your experience? Let me know here or via Twitter!

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