Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Self Defense (Bengaluru, India) Dandeli Boot Camp 2016 – Part 2

Every year, we conduct Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Self Defense (Bengaluru, India) Dandeli Boot Camp. The concept of the camp is to get together all Krav Maga Self Defense Bangalore practitioners, train together and have fun too. Here are some Franklin Joseph Krav Maga warrior’s testimonials of the Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Self Defense (Bengaluru, India) Dandeli boot camp as well as a photo gallery of the second days of the camp.

Jai Hind. The twenty-first of may started with lots of excitement. It was finally the day I was going for the boot camp. The clock struck six. It was time to leave for Majestic railway station. When we got to the station it took us a little time to find everyone but eventually, we did. It was pretty awkward at fit but then I got adjusted to everyone. After settling down on our berths, we began talking. The night was spent that way and we all slowly drifted off to sleep. We woke up the next morning and got off at Dharwad at 6 o’clock. From the railway station, we got onto a bus and drive to Dandeli. After getting freshened up, we were driven to the river. There we did kayaking and swimming. But we weren’t done there. We were told to train while we were all muddy and dirty and wet. Then we went back to the homestay feeling all sticky. After lunch, we trained a little more and left for the jungle. It was beautiful. We did a little light trekking and trained on the banks of the Dandeli backwater. We went back to the homestay in a Jeep in the night. The air was whipping our face. It was really thrilling. Of course, it wasn’t just fun. We got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and were told to run after the bus in order to get back to the homestay. We ran for what felt like forever and finally reached the bus. After getting on, we drove back to the homestay. When we reached the homestay, we were treated with a delicious dinner. All the children and families were asked to go and sleep in their rooms (including me, because I was whining that I was sleepy). I almost obliged, but then I thought about how much I would be missing out. So, being the big girl I am, I declined the offer and went back to train. In the night. At 11 o’clock. We practised how to get out of hostage situations. We were tied up with tape on our wrists, ankles and mouth. Then we were put under a bed sheet and were lightly beaten up by other participants. We had to get out of that situation under that fear and stress. I had to prove to myself more than anyone else that I was capable and could do it. I got out within a few minutes. I was very proud of myself. After everyone had their round of being held “hostage” we were excused and were told to sleep. The boys/men went back to their dorms. What happens when you leave 7 fearless girls/ladies in a dorm room? You get ghost stories. That’s exactly what happened. We told each other ghost stories. When we felt freaked out enough and got shouted at by our seniors, we went to sleep at 2 o’clock. I woke up to someone shouting that the time was four-forty five already. Then I remembered. We were supposed to start training at five. I must have broken the world record because I got ready in about ten minutes. We jogged until we reached an old school. We did the fireman drills. I carried one peon. Then we were asked to rub coconut oil on ourselves. I was puzzled at fit. But when I saw our seniors ground fighting, I got the idea and chose a partner. After that, we were taught a few ground fighting techniques. After that, we went to the river to clean ourselves. We came back to the homestay, had our breakfast and left for kayaking and swimming. After that, we came back and had lunch. Then we packed up and left for Dharwad. We went to Guruji Franklin Joseph house in Dharwad and trained with dummy guns. It was not easy. There was always a peon behind us yelling instructions. My throat felt sore after all that shouting, but it was compensated with ice cream. We danced and played a little game with a red marker where we simulated knife fighting. I died in that game!!! But it was super fun… The game was to dance and mark a people with red a marker. The number of marks showed how many times I got scraped by a knife (aka marker). Judging by the number of marks, I was dead. After this little game, we were given feedback about our performance by our senior. I was really anxious. After that, we got into the bus and left for the railway station. We said our goodbyes, had a little photo session and boarded the train to Bangalore. I will never forget this experience. I had a lot of “first-times”. I made new friends. Even though we had never met and had only been together for two days, these people have grown on me. They are like family. I feel very close to these people. They have accepted me for who I am. I am glad I joined Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Military Self Defense.

Just before the week of ‘Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Self Defense (Bengaluru, India) Dandeli Boot Camp’ I was in indecision whether to go to the camp or not as most of the members were strange. Then I decided let’s go along with the plan and see what it is all about. This decision turned out to be one of the best decision I have ever made in my life. If I would have not gone, I would have missed all the fun I had in Dandeli Kali River, meeting these awesome people and new Franklin Joseph lessons in Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Military Self Defense. There was not a minute on the trip where I didn’t have fun. The train journey from Bangalore to Dharwad where few us along with Guruji Franklin Joseph were awake till 2:00 in the night sharing ghost stories and trying really hard to keep our voice and laughter low. In the Kali River, we spent almost 2 hours, both the days swimming, Kayaking and just enjoying being inside the water. The best part of this is team members including Guruji Franklin Joseph, who was scared of water, who were never been inside the water, who doesn’t know swimming had shed their fear, inhibitions and with so much courage they joined us in the river. We started the journey by cutting the cakes in Dharwad Guruji Franklin Joseph home on Saturday early morning and ended the journey by dancing away like crazy people in the same place on Sunday evening before leaving to the Bangalore. Franklin Joseph Krav-Maga training, the heart of this camp, was very unique and intense because of the rough and jungle natural terrain. The new lessons not only taught us how to use our body as a tool in any assault and hostage situations but also the importance of using our mind to come up with our own tricks to get out any difficult situations. But the most important lesson and take away from this camp are the three powerful words shared by Guruji Franklin Joseph, which are not only important in Franklin Joseph Krav-Maga but any area in our life, “HUNGER to learn more, DISCIPLINE to achieve it and RESPECT to the teacher, seniors and others who have been working very hard for many years to master it, sharing their knowledge and time with us to help us through the journey of becoming a warrior”. In short, food was delicious, the place was beautiful, team members were amazing, Krav Maga was Franklin Joseph and as usual Guruji Franklin Joseph pushed all of us beyond our limits. Special thanks to Guruji Franklin Joseph for arranging the trip and allowing us to be part of it.

My body is capable of working effectively after all the workout with only 4 hours of sleep each day continuously three days !!!! I can be more than what I am now unless I keep pushing myself I will never realize the extent of my strength and weakness. I love being part of the Franklin Joseph Krav-Maga family, want to work hard and see how far I can travel.

All the girls in our Franklin Joseph Krav Maga! Each one of them was inspiring and motivating. Being a girl Its not an easy thing to be kicked, punched and getting very very dirty. None of them hesitated to tackle the guys, get dirty and all of them gave their best. Franklin Joseph Krav Maga girls are Kickass warriors :).

One of the most interesting events was when we ran in the middle of the jungle at night 7:00 PM with only moonlight and fireflies for company. It was damn exciting and exhilarating at the same time the darkness and the sounds from the jungle with my added imagination made it very scary. I kept thinking if I get stuck in a place like this am I really capable of surviving even a night? Hope we can have a night camp in future. The Captive release and sparring on the field ground was an amazing experience. Most of the tactics we learned were new. When we were practising we were struggling to remove the duct tape… but the moment we put into a life-threatening scenario, each of us got rid of the tape within a minute. That was a really interesting experience.

Jai Hind. Last 3 years in Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Military Self Defense, have been amazing, and one of the highlights of this wonderful journey, is our recent ‘Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Self Defense (Bengaluru, India) Dandeli Boot Camp. Headed by our respected Guruji Franklin Joseph, we were guided through this boot camp which not only exposed us to the most modern techniques of self-defence and grappling but also taught us how to conduct our self in front of our senior and the fairer sex. The trip was wonderful as it exposed us to unknown and new surroundings. Our Guruji Franklin Joseph and his lovely family ensured that all the members were comfortable in all aspects. Guruji also made sure that after our intense training, we also had fun. He had arranged for water activities including swimming in the river and kayaking, where many members of the group overcame their fear of water. Another important aspect of the trip was how welcoming our host, Mr Milind was. He and his family ensured that we got the best of food and comforts and personally guided us through Dandeli. All in all, I can proudly say that I am a Franklin Joseph Krav Maga warrior.

Even though, I trained hard for the ‘Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Self Defense (Bengaluru, India) Dandeli Boot Camp’ by running uphill and doing strength workouts, it was a pleasant surprise to see how I did fairly well in most of the training drills, which demanded a moderate to a high level of fitness.

The thing that amazed me the most was my fellow Krav Maga Warrior. Even though we had never met before, there was a sense of knowing and warmth that prevailed due to which we had gelled very well.

The most interesting event for me was the ground fighting drills. It taught me two things. Fitly, hardworking is everything. If you are determined to learn the tactics and are willing to sacrifice your time to train hard, it surely shows. Secondly, as we had rubbed oil over our bodies to reduce grip, it taught me that strength is nothing, it’s all about your technique and prior knowledge of grappling.

Jai Hind. ‘Franklin Joseph Krav Maga Self Defense (Bengaluru, India) Dandeli Boot Camp’ is one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The bonding that we had among the teammates was amazing. We lived like a family for two days with the same wavelength and same thought s. A big thank you to Guruji Franklin Joseph for organising such a wonderful trip which was so well planned. We did kayaking, swimming, trekking and running in the dark amidst the jungle. Most of all my favourite was grappling at the school ground with girls and men. The tactics that I learned from guru Frank, Swanand sir and Arvind sir was extraordinary. Also to add on the homestay at Milind si home and the home food was fabulous. The dance party that we had at Guruji Franklin Joseph house after all the training was mind-blowing. Thank you Guruji Franklin Joseph for not only bringing the beauty in us through your photography skills but also through your amazing and unique training to make us a better peon.

Surprise: I could do the fireman drill when usually I would skip it due to back pain. I was surprised when I could carry someone on me and walk. (I carried Sathya)…. Also when I was able to be calm in the water, and swim (thanks to Archana who coaxed me and helped me when I was panicking). Never did I ever imagine that I could float and swim for such a long time.

2. The girls as a team amazed me by coming to the camp, their willingness to learn, their bonding and ability to understand each other and most importantly taking on the guys at each task. Hats off to you Girls.

3. The most interesting event was when I got to train with a dummy gun. I had never trained this way before. I learnt from my mistakes, and could feel the adrenaline in every part of my body when Guruji was commanding me… oh what a feeling that was!!! I realised the aggression in me and also how much practice it requires to master this.