As a participant in Trail Watch, the community watch/ bike ride that takes place on the Midtown Greenway, I was offered a free self-defense class from Krav Maga Minneapolis, owned by Gail Boxrud and Dante Pastrano. The class that was being offered, “Krav Maga on Bicycles,” is the first of its kind. No other martial arts/ self-defense system is bicycle-specific. Of course I had to give it a try!
Dante and Gail greeted me when I came into their studio, introduced me to Liz, one of their top students, and made me feel very welcome. I was a little intimidated because I don’t have any martial arts background, but they told me that Krav Maga is a style that doesn’t require any experience. (Whew.)
What is Krav Maga? I’m not an expert, but Wikipedia is.
One of the first things we did was talk about why we were taking the class. I wasn’t the only one that had experienced violence while on a bike. Based on what they’ve been hearing in the news, and stories like ours, Dante and Gail wanted to adapt the Krav Maga style and International Police Mountain Bike Association’s training to apply to cyclists like you and me.
What to bring to class:
- A bike with foot-retention (toe cages, clipless pedals) for the falling exercises- bikes are available to borrow
- Water
- Quick snack like a granola bar or trail mix
- Clothes that you normally bike in, that you can move around in- as you can see I wore leggings and a skirt and I was fine
- Positive energy and a good attitude!
What the course was like…
We started out with easy, bite-sized techniques. Punch. Punch. Punch. Techniques were added, and we worked on simple combinations. Punch, punch, kick. Punch, punch, kick. This basic stuff was really good for me, because I don’t have experience with punching, kicking, blocking or any of that jazz.
Pretty soon we were working on bike skills. Yeah! It was hard to re-train my muscles to dismount and mount my bike in a different way, but it was good for me. I hope I never ever get to the point where there is nothing left for me to learn about riding my bike. Because that’s the day that I’ll be bored with it, and I hope that never comes. Was this part of the class challenging? Yes. Was it worth it? You bet.
I want to take a minute to talk about physical fitness and experience levels. Everyone in the class was able to do the drills without panting or passing out, but everyone was a little sweaty by the end. I think if you are physically fit enough to ride a bike 5 miles, you can do this class. Several of the students had just started riding their bikes again recently, so you don’t need to be Danny MacAskill to participate. I think if you can control your bike and ride in a large circle without falling over, you can do this class.
Speaking of falling over, maybe you noticed that I mentioned “falling exercises” really casually in that list up there and didn’t go into detail. That’s because it wasn’t that big of a deal! Gail and Dante hold the bike as you go down on a big foam mat. I didn’t have any bruises or anything. Don’t be afraid! I’m kind of a wimp and I did it. (That said, if you have a medical condition or something, you don’t have to do the falling and there is still plenty for you at this class.)
To recap what I learned…
In four hours I learned how to punch, kick and block with the purpose of driving an attacker far enough away so that I can get to safety. I can dismount my bike without stopping my momentum and can get on my bike for a quick getaway. I can use my bike as a shield, I can use it to claim space. I can fall in a way that will minimize harm to my body, allowing me to get up to ride another day.
Part of the Grease Rag mission is to give people opportunities to empower themselves and feel strong and confident, on the bike and off. If you’ve been to Grease Rag when our friend Luci has helped us practice some self-defense techniques or if you’ve taken a class yourself, I hope you feel that it is a fun, worthwhile, empowering activity. I think that Krav Maga for bicycles is another opportunity to empower yourself.