05 Mar A Window of Opportunity To Take Control

“Krav Maga has not just given me back control over my physical existence, it has given me newfound control over my emotional existence as well.”

Hailing from Brazil, Ana A. came to Precision Krav Maga in October 2018 after moving to the United States with her family, searching for something to help her better adjust to an entirely new culture.

“Moving to a new country is tough,” Ana states, “and between the complete cultural change and language barrier, I needed something to help strengthen me emotionally and physically, and so I found Precision Krav Maga.”

Ana practiced Krav Maga for two years before the pandemic of 2020 arrived in the United States, hitting her family hard.

“The first stressful result of COVID-19 was having to cancel our trip to Brazil to see my family,” Ana says, “So I had to sit and wonder when the next time I could see my family would be.”

“Work changed as well; suddenly, my husband is working in the family room at the same time I am homeschooling my five and seven year-old kids. And if those changes weren’t enough, I had torn my ACL and meniscus, so having to reschedule that surgery just added to the chaos.”

But as we know, Ana is no stranger to adversaries. The second Precision Krav Maga was able to launch online classes, Ana picked up right where she left off.

“Having access to the material through the worst of the pandemic put structure and a routine back into my life that was much needed. When we are all confined to our homes, the lines of work, family time, and personal time get blurred and often even disappear. Classes resuming gave me a window of opportunity to take back control of who I am outside of being a mom, a wife, and a worker.”

Eventually, we were able to open back up to in-person classes, and with that same fervor, Ana was back like she was never gone.

“We were assigned our own specific equipment, making sure there was minimal exchange of anything that could spread COVID-19. Everything was sanitized constantly, we wore masks; it felt like I didn’t have to worry one bit about being in danger.”

Moving her family to a new country while surviving and thriving through a global pandemic, Ana credits much of this to her learned skills in class at Precision Krav Maga.

“We are always taught to never give up, and I see it as a metaphor for life, before and now after the pandemic. We all try to address the immediate danger of the situation, and do what we can to get home safe. But I promise you, this is something you feel, not something you can be told. All it takes is one class, and you will already feel a change.”