krav maga near me Archives - Krav Maga Illinois

Krav Maga Illinois Intro Course

Posted on February 2, 2024 | by Krav Maga Illinois

Krav Maga Love — Krav Maga Illinois Love

Krav Maga Illinois is offering a Valentine’s Special for anyone who is interested in experiencing Krav Maga Self Defense Training. Our instructors will teach you how to protect yourself and your family, gain confidence and find strength that you never thought you had.

From now until March 15 you can purchase 6 weeks of Krav Maga Illinois self defense training for only $199. This pricing is for unlimited Krav Maga classes on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5:30pm – Thursdays at 6:30pm – Saturdays at 8am – Sundays at 9am. The classes are one hour long. You can come to all of the classes if you like, or a few of the classes, it’s up to your schedule. During the class you will be learning combatives and self defense techniques while practicing awareness, reaction and response to threats. The class is hands-on and very structured. Everything we do is related to self defense. You will be punching and kicking, defending chokes and grabs, doing stress drills, multiple attacker drills and more. We recreate real scenarios. Don’t worry though, this is aggressive training in a safe environment. We have an awesome community of students and a zero intimidation factor. No experience is necessary for these classes. To purchase your 6 weeks of training please give us a call at 773/775-5201, and we can get you started right away. The perfect time to start self defense training is NOW! Don’t let self defense be an after thought.

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Krav Maga Illinois has been selected as Best Self Defense training by Chicago Magazine.

Founded in 2009 by Sue Garstki, a lifetime martial artist with over 40 years of martial arts and teaching experience. Krav Maga Illinois has served thousands of students looking for realistic self defense and awareness training, confidence, empowerment, physical fitness, and mental toughness. Our Krav Maga Training practitioners include moms, dads, students, professionals, military personnel, law enforcement, anyone interested in protecting and improving their quality of life. Krav Maga Illinois is a proud licensee of Krav Maga Worldwide, and is on a nationwide curriculum with over 150 KMW training facilities all over the world.

Krav Maga Illinois Krav Maga Kid’s Program is for children 10 and up. This is a program that focuses on reality self defense, anti-bullying, strength and confidence building. It is a hands on program in a safe and supportive environment.

All of our instructors are officially certified through Krav Maga Worldwide and USA Boxing. They are knowledgeable and recognized in their field of expertise. What we do is self defense, and that is clear through the information and level of instruction given by our talented instructors. Instructors can answer questions you may have by calling directly at 773/775-5201. You can also visit our website at KravMagaIllinois.com

About Sue Garstki: Sue Garstki is a certified Expert Level Krav Maga Worldwide Instructor, 2nd Degree Black Belt in Okinawan Shorei Goju Karate, and official USA Boxing Coach. She has been certified in Commando Krav Maga and the Haganah/F.I.G.H.T. system. She is also a Level 4 instructor in the Raven Method Close Quarter Defensive Tactics System, having had the honor of working with the Chicago Guardian Angels. Sue was nominated Female Reality Self Defense Instructor of the Year by the Global Network of Reality Based Self Defense Systems, and Civilian Close Quarter Combat Instructor of the Year. Sue has worked with the Chicago Police Department as well as schools and other organizations spreading awareness in Self Defense, Women’s Self Defense and Domestic Violence issues. In June 2013 Sue was inducted into the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and again in 2015, and 2017, where she was named Krav Maga Expert of the Year. In 2021 and 2022, she was again inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. She is a certified personal trainer under NDEITA and was one of the first instructors be be certified to teach the National Association of Professional Martial Artist’s (NAPMA) Kardio Karate program. She is the founder of the Women’s Martial Arts Alliance, member of the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation, and the American Women’s Self-Defense Association. Sue can be reached at any time for more information or to answer any questions by calling 773/775-5201

Self Defense – Health – Fitness – Friends

Posted on September 29, 2023 | by Krav Maga Illinois

Our goal at Krav Maga Illinois is to offer students peace of mind through self defense training, to improve their health and fitness, and to provide a safe and friendly training environment. We wanted to create a camaraderie with and between our students to make everyone feel a sense of community. We are all fighting for the ability to survive. No matter who you are, you deserve quality self defense training, whether you are a beginner, advanced, athletic, non-athletic, short, tall, overweight, underweight. There are no rules when it comes to being attacked. This is why we need to train as if we are in the moment. We need to push ourselves when we think we can’t possibly do another thing. It is only through this pushing that we can become stronger. Through this pushing, rising above our comfort level, we become stronger, healthier. We enter an area that we have not been before, because aside from a real attack, how can we know? How can we know how strong we are if we quit as soon as it gets to hard.

With Krav Maga training your coach pushes you not to quit….to do just one more push up. One leads to two and three and so on. Now you are doing things you thought you could never do. You are doing it for your life! To be able to survive a violent encounter. To be strong enough to fight back and get home safe. We do it for this! The added benefit is that our health, strength, stamina all improves, simply because you did not quit.

It’s not enough to watch videos and talk about techniques. Of course you have to have that knowledge, but also the ability to know that you can defend yourself because you have been proving it to yourself in class. Though it is not a real situation, you continue to get stronger and stronger because you are trained now, and you know that if it gets easy, then you are no longer taking it up. There is no point in life when you can say that you know enough, or you have trained enough and you can sit back an not worry. Violence is chasing us everyday and we can choose to keep fighting it or give up and hope for a lucky break. But in the meantime, just look at what you have done in your training. You have become stronger, more aware, healthier and have made a few friends along the way. The techniques are only the framework, it is what is inside and what you put inside that makes them work.

I am copying a recent review that speaks to the above. This is why we do, what we do. Thank you so much!

“To say that KMI changed my life while dramatic would be a gross understatement. I initially started taking Krav Maga to learn how to defend myself and my family, and to get in shape. However, when I transitioned from another school to KMI about two months into training, I got so much more out of it than I could have ever imagined. When I began my journey, I weighed about 294 lbs (I’m 5’5″ by the way) and was a habitual smoker. So far, I lost almost 80 lbs from the intense classes and discipline that I gained from the amazing trainers. I also quit using tobacco thanks to the life confidence that I gained from the classes. In class, Sue encouraged me to dig deep and push way beyond where I felt my limits were and helped me discover just how much further I could push myself and my true potential. In addition, I’ve gained so many wonderful friends that I get to see a few times a week because my fellow students in the KMI community are amazing individuals. They along with the no-nonsense trainers push me to become a better athlete and better person each time I go. For anyone even questioning whether to start self-defense training or where to go for training, I would say that KMI will not only help you get in shape but will change and very possibly save your life in more ways that you might think.”

Tour of Krav Maga Illinois Self Defense Class

Posted on April 23, 2022 | by Krav Maga Illinois

KRAV MAGA ILLINOIS CLASS STRUCTURE

If you’ve been thinking about coming in for a Krav Maga reality self defense class, but not sure what to expect, keep reading. Here is a brief breakdown of a typical Krav Maga self defense beginner class at Krav Maga Illinois. No experience is necessary. Krav Maga is simplistic and practical self defense. Techniques, drills, exercises can be modified based on your strength level. You do not need to be in shape first to take a class. Whether you are a seasoned athlete or a non-athlete/couch potato, this class is for you. Krav Maga classes at Krav Maga Illinois are held on Monday and Wednesday at 5:30pm, Thursday at 6:30pm, Saturday at 8am and Sunday at 9am. You can choose any one of these classes as your “FREE TRIAL”

This one hour long reality self defense class consists of adults of all genders, backgrounds and professions, ages 15 to 70+. Students are paired with someone the same size and Krav Maga experience level. (no experience is necessary to start training). The structure of the class is as follows…

WARM UP

Our Warm up lasts for about 15 minutes and features different exercises such as medicine ball tosses, push ups, burpees, distancing drills etc. In our Krav Maga self defense class we will strengthen your entire body in order to survive a violent attack. The stronger you get, the less vulnerable and more confident you will become.

STRETCH

Stretching from head to toe, preparing for our training while at the same time increasing our flexibility. Stretching is vital for improving posture, balance, muscle coordination and reducing the risk of injury.

FATIGUE DRILLS

We will do at least two fatigue drills consisting of continuous punching, kicking, etc., moving from one area to another. Your partner is holding a pad and you are punching or kicking into it. The drills last 30 to 45 seconds long and may be repeated. A self defense encounter will not last very long, so we must train in appropriate timing. The purpose of the fatigue drill is to get you tired, in order to start the self defense training. We try to recreate a real situation. In a real attack you will not be fresh, there will be an adrenaline drop, you may have tunnel vision, you may be dizzy, you may have gotten hit. We start our combatives and self defense training from here, from this point of being already tired. We are making you work while being uncomfortable.

COMBATIVES

Students will now learn a combative, such as a punch, kick, elbow, knee etc. The technique will be broken down dry (in the mirror). Once you have a good grasp of the technique, you will begin working drills on the pads with your partner. For instance, your partner holding a pad and you are doing a kick followed by punches.

SPIRIT DRILL

A spirit drill is a tool to increase your fighting spirit. In this multiple attacker scenario, students are working in groups of 4. 3 people are holding pads, one person in the middle. The person in the middle is attacking one pad while another person is pushing them, as soon as they feel the push they respond by attacking, until they feel another push then they attack that person. It is continuous defending. During the drill you will get tired, but you are encouraged to keep fighting, keep pushing through. In a real situation there is no stopping, so you must get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

SELF DEFENSE TECHNIQUE

Students will now learn a self defense technique. This technique could be a choke from the front, back, with a push, on the ground etc. (anything that is within the curriculum level we are working on) The technique is broken down and done without a partner. Once the students understand the technique they will begin to work with a partner. We start at a slower pace and then bring up the aggressiveness and intensity going back and forth. This is aggressive training in a safe environment.

SELF DEFENSE/STRESS DRILL

The final drill is the culmination of all you have learned for the day. Lights are out, loud music playing, your eyes are closed and your partner or another student will attack you. You will defend as quickly and correctly as possible according to the drill as the instructor describes. The more stressors we can put in, like spinning, doing push ups, closing eyes etc. the better prepared the student will be for a situation we hope never happens. Anyone can defend themselves when they are calm and prepared and they know it will happen. However that is not reality. In reality you will not see it coming, it will be a struggle, it will be a fight from your life, so we must train for the fight of our lives.

Visualization is such an important tool in our self defense training. We are not working against our partner, we are working against someone who is now desperate because we are foiling their attempt at hurting us. They are still fighting, we must be able to pull off our techniques in movement, when something goes wrong, when we are so tired we want to quit, knowing the only way to survive is to keep fighting. We must train realistically for the fight of our lives. Krav Maga training is more that just the technique, it is awareness, reaction, response, timing, the ability to adapt, to work out of our comfort zone, to work from a disadvantage. Only when we consider all of these components can we truly start training reality self defense.

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Krav Maga Illinois has been selected as Best Self Defense training by Chicago Magazine.

Krav Maga Illinois Krav Maga Kid’s Program is for children 10 and up. This is a program that focuses on reality self defense, anti-bullying, strength and confidence building. It is a hands on program in a safe and supportive environment.

All of our instructors are officially certified through Krav Maga Worldwide and USA Boxing. They are knowledgeable and recognized in their field of expertise. What we do is self defense, and that is clear through the level of instruction given by our talented instructors. Instructors can answer questions you may have by calling directly at 773/775-5201. You can also visit our website at KravMagaIllinois.com

About Sue Garstki: Sue Garstki is a certified Expert Level Kravmaga Worldwide Instructor, 2nd Degree Black Belt in Okinawan Shorei Goju Karate, and official USA Boxing Coach. She has been certified in Commando Krav Maga and the Haganah/F.I.G.H.T. system. She is also a Level 4 instructor in the Raven Method Close Quarter Defensive Tactics System, having had the honor of working with the Chicago Guardian Angels. Sue was nominated Female Reality Self Defense Instructor of the Year by the Global Network of Reality Based Self Defense Systems, and Civilian Close Quarter Combat Instructor of the Year. Sue has worked with the Chicago Police Department as well as schools and other organizations spreading awareness in Self Defense, Women’s Self Defense and Domestic Violence issues. In June 2013 Sue was inducted into the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and again in 2015, 2017 and 2020 where she was named Krav Maga Expert of the Year. She is a certified personal trainer under NDEITA and was one of the first instructors be be certified to teach the National Association of Professional Martial Artist’s (NAPMA) Kardio Karate program. She is the founder of the Women’s Martial Arts Alliance, member of the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation, and the American Women’s Self-Defense Association. Sue can be reached at any time for more information or to answer any questions by calling 773/775-5201.

The Krav Maga Illinois headquarters is at 5201 North Oketo, Chicago, Illinois 60656 773/775-5201