Most disciplines whether it be a martial art, a sport or an intellectual activity, have the great advantage of being applicable to other aspects of life. Krav Maga can teach the clever practitioner many things. Find out three ways in which it can help you improve not just your martial arts, but also your personal and professional life.

Learning and Applying Skills

A good Krav Maga practitioner will go through three vital phases in learning a technique. I like to call these the understanding, practice and drilling phases. In the first phase an instructor teaches the technique to the practitioner. In the second, the practitioner carries out the technique over and over again until it is part of his “muscle memory.” The final phase is testing the practitioner’s ability to use the technique in a simulated scenario.

This is an extremely useful approach to learn anything. In fact, flight schools adopt a similar study structure for their students. First the student is briefed about his flight, he then practices it with his instructor before finally applying his skills when flying alone.

This is a surefire way to learn something, and most importantly, to make sure that what you are learning is of practical use. If you’re unsure about whether a technique your instructor showed you is suitable for you remember understand, practice and drill.

Always be prepared

This one sounds very cliché but bear with me. One thing Krav teaches you is that fighting is physically and emotionally draining. If you’re not quick thinking then things can go south very fast. To prevent this spiral of disaster Krav teaches you to be prepared in three vital ways. Let’s apply these to the real world, in this case, a job interview.

First you must be physically prepared. In Krav this means you must be fit and strong. For an interview you must be well rested, well fed, and hydrated. You must also be presentable, this means being suitably dressed for the type of job you’re applying for.

Next you must be emotionally prepared. In Krav we do stress drills to get accustomed to high adrenaline situations so that we can still fight effectively. In the case of an interview you must learn how to deal with the stress of being scrutinized by complete strangers. This can mean being well prepared to answer questions, using meditation techniques to calm your nerves, or simply hyping yourself up with self-talk and imagery.

Finally you must be mentally prepared. In Krav, this means learning how to adapt to a situation and knowing how and when you will fight. In an interview this simply means being well prepared to answer questions. Know ahead of time what are your strengths and weaknesses. Know everything about the company you might be interviewing for and be prepared to adapt your prepared answers to a curveball the interviewer might throw at you.

Always push forwards

This last one is short and sweet but just as important. In Krav you never retreat, you’re always moving forwards. In life you must do the same. Things might be painful at times and they might seem dark. But when they are, the best thing you can do is push right ahead, because at the end of it, the reward will always be worth it. As Churchill once said, “if you’re going through hell, keep going.”

I like to say that it’s vital to learn at least one new thing a day. Try learning these three for today. Your life will be much better for it. If you want to learn more about Krav Maga and other martial arts, don’t forget to check out other martial arts blogs such as Martial Arts Lab or Black Belt Mag.