‘I’M NOT THE SAME PERSON I WAS BEFORE I STARTED TRAINING’

Katherine Barnes, 40, from Bristol, started lessons in Krav Maga to boost her confidence.

‘I’m a practice manager at a dental surgery. Before I started Krav Maga, I was attacked at work by a drunk patient who tried to punch me several times. It shook me up

– I became fearful about something similar happening in the future, and worried how I would cope if an attacker was stronger than me.

I decided that I needed to find a form of exercise that would make me feel more confident and less afraid of confrontation, plus I wanted to get fit.

I discovered Krav Maga through social media. I knew I wanted to learn a form of self-defence that wasn’t just about blocking your opponent, and Krav involves boxing, wrestling, karate and judo.

I started in a women-only class in 2018. Before the first session, I was excited and intrigued. Learning how to move in a fighting stance did initially feel very alien, and a little embarrassing, but everyone being a beginner helped to ease that quickly. I felt very proud of myself after the first lesson, as I was completely out of my comfort zone.

I love that Krav Maga teaches us real-life scenarios – we even use fake knives – and we learn how to read situations, such as a person’s body language if they are about to attack. It’s quite aggressive and the aim is to finish a fight quickly.

I now feel more confident and can hold my own better – even just saying no to people.

After a session, I come out totally bright red and sweating, full of energy and absolutely buzzing. Driving home, I feel like I could run 10K!

I do a mixed class now – it’s very different to a women-only class, a faster tempo and more challenging.

Krav has really increased my fitness. My core is strong from the punching, and my legs and bottom are toned from fighting with my legs.

I’m not the same person I was before I started Krav. There’s another layer to me, something inside I can pull out if I need to.

I’m hooked on it now – it’s given me a spring in my step that I’d lost before I started.’

‘Learning how to move in a fighting stance did feel alien’