STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
My name is Lorena Chisolm. My family and I started Krav Maga in September of 2018. I have always been interested in martial arts, and for years, I had wanted to try something. I didn't want anything formal, I wanted something more practical where anything and everything could be used as a weapon. I just didn't know what at that point. Years ago, watching TV, I saw this show that demonstrated something called Krav Maga. I had never heard of it, but I was very impressed, and immediately knew that was what I wanted to try. At that moment, our daughter was a baby, so I really didn't have the time, nor energy, to join. Fast forward 10 years, my mother-in-law gave us a card for a free class at Kingdom Krav Maga. With the increasing violence in this world, we thought it would be a good time for our daughter to know how to protect herself.
When we arrived to the class, our daughter went to join the kids' class. My husband and I were invited to join the adult's class, and we loved it! We were so impressed, that we all decided to sign up for a membership that night. As a person that has always practiced sports, I love the fact that you also get a great work out!
The environment is so family oriented, that is easy to make new friends, who soon become like family. Our daughter has even said that her favorite days are the days when she goes to Krav Maga! We have never seen her enjoy a physical activity as much as this!
Hi, my name is Stephanie. My family and I were looking for a good form of self-defense and had tried several different options. No one ever thinks that something bad could happen at any given moment. In reality it can and it’s very important to know how to protect yourself. I found out the hard way when I was jumped by a drunk with a knife at the grocery store (God was with me). We learned about Krav Maga and decided to give it a try. After one class we were in love with it. It offers so much! My oldest child Brooklyn who is 15 years old attends the adult class with me and we learn and grow stronger together. She shows more confidence now in herself than she ever has. She has, and continues to learn so much. She absolutely loves it.
My two youngest children attend the Kids Krav Maga class. The kid’s class is at the same time as the adult class, so we go as a family and train as a family, which is a huge plus! My son, Hoss is years 13 old and my daughter Jessica is 9 years old. They are making new friends and have so much fun learning life saving techniques. The kids also learn how to handle bullies in the correct manner. They have learned how to fight someone off if they are grabbed and how to get away. They also learn self-control and receive great physical conditioning. Another plus after class is that they sleep better at night after using all that energy kids seem to have.
I am so happy we joined the Krav Maga family and I know it has changed our lives for the better!
My name is Steven Dietze
I started my Martial Arts adventure in 1979 doing Tai Chi . Then I signed up for Pasaryu Taekwondo with Master Kang. Before long I had earned my 3rd degree Black Belt . I also began training with Robert Blackstone who introduced me to a no non-sense street self-defense, and the art of Martial Arts Weapons and I then becoming a weapons instructor for Blann's Martial Arts. I also studied Judo and Aikido. After reaching my 4th Dan, I ran my own Taekwondo School for many years after which I took a short break from Martial Arts. Later, I ran into a friend of mine Garry Welch. He was telling me about Krav Maga. I had never heard of it. He invited me to come and work out. WOW! Krav Maga is a self-defense system that is second to none. I love it! So, I now have been working out in Krav Maga for over 3 years and it's great . It's been great learning the best self-defense techniques out there. Come and join us, learn a great skill and get an awesome workout for you and the whole family.
I started Krav Maga back in January 2018. I have never been in any kind of marital arts system and have always thought that some kind of self-defense would be good to know, especially now as an adult where I find myself moving further away from home and running errands solo. Because of this, I have always tried to be aware of my surrounding and the potential to become a target; ultimately I began wondering “ok, you can see it coming, but what are you REALLY going to do if…?” Now that I have taken Krav, I have learned skills and techniques that can be applied in a variety of situations. Although infrequent, I have had some experiences in my own life that could have turned out much differently. I have dealt with angry people in customer service roles, I have been catcalled, I have been a customer where another guest made a scene. You don’t always think of these everyday scenarios being particularly hazardous. As someone who works in Downtown Memphis, I have a greater peace-of-mind knowing that wherever I am, I can rely on myself to stay safe. The Krav Maga system is about targeting weak points and inflicting the most damage possible. It makes for a really efficient system with surprisingly simple skills. I encourage everyone to take some classes and build an understanding of what will work if they ever find themselves in a precarious situation. Consider it a ‘life hack’.
My name is Jonathan Chisolm and before training in Krav Maga, my background was in traditional martial arts (Shotokan Karate) for approximately 15 years. During that time, I was fortunate to gain experience and discipline in kata (forms), sparring (controlled point fighting), and self-defense (my favorite of them all). At the end of my time training, I earned the rank of 4th degree black belt and believed I could defend my family and myself in most attack situations
One day my wife and I decided that it might be a good idea for our daughter to get involved in an extracurricular activity, preferably one that she could use for the rest of her life. We mutually agreed that the skill of self-defense was ultimately the most beneficial, so we decided to try Kingdom Krav Maga which we had heard great things about and it was located nearby in Horn Lake.
The night we took our daughter to her first class, my wife and I did not intend to work out as we were expecting to simply watch. But Garry Welch and his staff invited us to participate and we found it too interesting to pass up. Afterwards we all agreed that Krav Maga was impressive and signed up for a family membership. Garry and his staff have been great and we feel our training has been outstanding preparation for the unfortunate eventualities that you read about all too often in the news. Another bonus is that we found that the other students who attend were very friendly and quick to bond—it’s clear that everyone there has similar motivations for joining.
In our time at Kingdom Krav Maga, I can honestly say that each workout is an opportunity to train for real life attack scenarios (and not just those from a single attacker). You might ask why would someone who has a 4th degree black belt be interested in Krav Maga? I think the same question should be asked by anyone with a martial arts background or is interested in self-defense. For me, it’s to improve my self-defense skills so that my response to an attack will be more forceful than the “violence and aggression” brought my way, ultimately allowing me to protect my family and loved ones. Garry and his staff are excellent, as you will soon learn, and I cannot recommend them more highly. I encourage anyone interested in Krav Maga to come and try a class and then decide if it was beneficial for their self-defense and cardio fitness (a skill used for multiple attackers). You will be glad you did!
“While dealing with a potentially dangerous stalker situation, I found myself too scared to be home alone. I eventually began staying with my parents until I finally decided it was time to stop living in fear. I signed up for Krav Maga and within weeks I gained the confidence to move back home. Krav is more than a self-defense class . . . it’s a mentality. I’m excited to keep learning and getting to know my new Krav family.”
My name is Robert McNeel. I have been training with Train Fight Survive for around five years. Looking back at my journey I remember I was so out of shape, it took almost a month before I could even make it through a one hour session without bending over gasping for more air. I weighed around 260 pounds in the beginning, but after a year or two I was down to 200. I was already what you might call a street fighter. In other words I could handle myself, or I thought I could. After being there for just a couple of lessons, I found that I wasn’t as tough as I thought. During this journey I have done more than just advance to level five working and am working on level six. I have found a family of people who are genuine and willing to give of themselves for you and the betterment of your life. I know not only make it through an hour of Krav Maga, but also an additional hour in the advanced class. Krav Maga has made this 60 year old man more confident and I’m in the best shape of my life. I would highly recommend this class to anyone who is looking to better their health, and learn a system of self defense that is far more superior to anything out there today.
My name is Amber and I have a background in Shoalin Kung Fu and Tang Soo Do traditional arts. I had trained mostly through high school and college - and when life “happened” my training stopped. Fast forward a few years that landed me here in the DeSoto County area for my career after leaving Franklin, TN. Knowing the stigma that comes along with the Memphis area, I felt the need to plug-in somewhere that taught real-life self-defense. Over the years I heard about Krav Maga and it was always presented as a simple, yet effective real-world training defense system. While I enjoyed the traditional arts, I found it more worthwhile to learn real-life scenarios, which solidified my decision to join Kingdom Krav Maga. Upon joining it was immediately like being accepted into a family where we all want each other to succeed plus some cool friendships as well! I’ve been training since October 2018 and want to continue as long as I’m here. Let us help you help yourself should you ever need to deploy life-preserving techniques for you or your loved ones. It is worth it.
