The core of my martial arts training these days centers on Krav Maga, an amazing system that I have come to love due to the no-nonsense approach it embraces. Everything resonates with a vibe of practicality, and the workouts are very intensive.
It is not a system that involves memorization of long katas, but instead focuses on an array of core building blocks that are under constant scrutiny and evolution based on outcomes in real-life encounters and situations. I've found it to suit my own mindset very well and look forward to my daily workouts.
Martial arts offers a path that brings together a focus of mind, body and spirit in a disciplined manner, and I often find myself making observations and recognizing areas where martial arts ideas and principles can be applied to many other areas of life.
Within the heart of Krav Maga is the principle of retzev, which is a Hebrew term that essentially means "continuous motion". Retzev is seen all throughout the practice of Krav Maga in a seamless integration of defensive and offensive techniques. In a nutshell, it results in eliminating "dead space", in reacting to an attack, counterattacking and continuing (appropriate levels) of physical combat techniques to subdue the threat.
With retzev, you find yourself entering a flow of movement, where you aren't "thinking" about the next move as much as you are executing a continuum that is honed from a foundation of hard training and drilling in an array of combatives.
I have given a lot of thought to the idea of retzev and what it means on deeper levels. Life has dealt me quite a few trials along the way, and I find myself in a few at the moment.
The questions facing all of us in times of trial is how to react. When bad things happen, I like the idea that retzev brings to mind. One must "defend", "counterattack" and continue on the offensive, and keep in a mode of continuous motion. Staying inert is the only sure way to be overcome in life. Reaction and forward action gives you the fighting chance to overcome life's hurdles.
To overcome personal hardships, one must go into a mode of positive action in a flow gleaned from one's personal foundation and values. This, in many ways, reflects the idea of retzev, only applied to the combat of life, an arena that is not fair, often is filled with ambushes and things that come at you, and must be reacted to and dealt with.
When life comes at you, you must act in response and keep moving forward, which gets at the idea of continuous motion as understood in retzev. Martial arts truly does offer a mindset that can be applied across all spheres and I am very grateful for the practice of Krav Maga for keeping the idea of retzev forefront in my own mind when navigating the rougher patches of life.
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