Krav Maga Training on Israel's Legendary Masada

Jennifer & Vanda learn how to escape from a rear choke using Israeli Krav Maga

We got an early start to drive to Israel's legendary Masada. Once there we prepared to hike up the side of the rock plateau to see the ancient structures and hear the legend of how a few hundred brave Jewish Rebels went head to head against the strongest empire of the day, Rome. The ancient palace and fortification on top of the natural rock plateau were originally built by King Herod in the Southern District of Israel on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. In the first century CE during the final push of the First Jewish–Roman War, the Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels. Until recently new IDF soldiers were sworn in on top of Masada by torch light. To put things into an American perspective, Masada is to the Israeli's, what the Alamo is to Texans. of the

The sun was hot, but not unbearable. Once in the shadow of the rock face it was actually pretty nice. The climb was a nice workout that felt good after being in the tour van for so long this week. Elliott stopped our accent a few times to fill us in on how the Romans would lay siege on to the Jewish Rebels of Masada. He showed us the ruins of the 7 foot siege wall, the outpost and command center that the Roman soldiers built around the entire rock plateau. Elliott explained how it only took the soldiers about one week to do this. It was amazing that their was still remnants of the structures left after two thousand years of erosion. Elliott went on to explain that the command building was positioned in such a way that the commander could actually talk to the people on top of Masada. I'm sure what was said between them was less than friendly. 

We continued to climb the steep stairs until we finally reached the summit. Looking down we could see the remains of the ramp that the Roman soldiers built that went from the ground below all the way up to the top of the plateau. The Romans used Jewish slaves to build the ramp to stop the rebels from attempting to harm the workers as they built the ramp. You can read about the rest of the story by clicking here. 






Vanda escapes her husband James hold on her Krav style!


As an intermission between Elliott's commentary, Mike Benson and I rounded the crew up for some Krav Maga training. I had the honor of introducing six Americans to authentic Israeli Krav Maga on the top of legendary Masada! Not a bad day at all! How many people can say that their first Krav Maga lesson was on Masada in Israel!? 

One of the main things that I wanted to get across regarding Krav Maga went beyond technique. It was about the attitude, so what better place to get that point across than on top of Masada!? That's the true essence of Krav Maga! Those people who stood up against the Roman's chose between really bad and and a whole lot worse. They believed it was better to chose to die in a manner that they controlled, a more dignified way than succumb to the fate that they would have at the hands of the Roman Army. A tough decision would be an understatement. 

Keep going,
~Craig



Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 27, 2014 at 10:50 AM

    craig is there a email we can talk on please

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Craig GrayFebruary 27, 2014 at 8:02 PM

      Steve- I can be reached at roninkravmaga@gmail.com

      Delete
  2. kravmagafithitMarch 12, 2021 at 9:15 PM

    Great Article. Thank you for providing such a unique and valuable information to your readers. I really appreciate your work. krav maga academy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shaan Saar Krav MagaDecember 22, 2021 at 1:53 PM

    I generally check this kind of article and I found your article which is related to my interest.Krav Maga Orlando.Genuinely it is good and instructive information. Thankful to you for sharing an article like this.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Uncomfortable Situation

Image
  Funny pic (and movie) about a not so funny situation… In training as in Life, it’s better to treat people with dignity and respect. However… What does that look like in the moment? Being that I’m teaching a Women’s Assault Prevention and Response Workshop this weekend - it’s probably a good time to talk about… Uncomfortable Situations Let’s talk about training at the academy for a minute… We run open co-ed classes at the local academy. What does that mean? Men and women train together, but we don’t stop there. People of different skill levels, backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, careers, religious beliefs, political affiliations, ages, injuries, pre-existing conditions, life experience, training expectations etc. etc. train together! We ALL work together! Overall, I think it’s better this way. Of course sometimes there’s static, you know, conflicts, and misunderstanding. When something happens, most of the time it’s just that, a misunderstanding… Sometimes people simply do
Read more

The Shot Heard Around the World

Image
Even though many could see where all of this division and hatred in our country was leading to, when we witness the actual violence, realty once again floods in and has a way of shattering the comfort of our complacency, if only until the next headline. Some may find all of this shocking, others may see it simply validating their own fears. Regardless, of your political views, we have to take into account what this level of violence can do not only to the former President and his family, but what does to the state of our entire Nation. Yesterday as news broke of former President Donald Trump being shot, I can’t say that I was entirely surprised. Saddened, but not surprised. Regardless of your political stance, this act of violence is a dark reminder of the dangerous consequences of a society steeped in hate and division. Our collective heartbreak should not be about politics, but about the division and hatred that fuels this erosion of our humanity. We live in a time where traditional
Read more

Cutting Through the Static

Image
  Me and the crew at Venue 3 Two after a PeaceWalker Conflict Communication Workshop Remember in the old days when you used to listen to the radio on a road trip? No, not digital or streaming. I’m talking about old school FM radio. When you’re putting some miles on and crossing state lines. The radio stations you listen to don’t broadcast far enough for your entire trip, so you have to channel surf to find new channels as you move on down the road. You continue to push the search button until you hear a song in the genre that you want so you can lock in a desirable station for a spell. Sometimes you’re listening to a song you really like but the station is fading… The static starts feint, almost imperceptible, than grows in intensity to the degree that you can no longer ignore it. If you really like the song, you try to hang on as long as you can, listening to the tune through the white noise and times it cuts out completely, hoping to hear as much of the song as you can before the sta
Read more