Simon Dix is an Instructor with the Institute of Krav Maga in Scotland
Name: Simon Dix
Age: 32
Married: to Leonna
Other Interests: Walking my dog Ghillie and Rugby
Occupation: Community Mental Health Nurse and Krav Maga Instructor
How did you first become interested in Krav Maga?
I first heard about Krav Maga through another IKMF instructor Charles Shanks. I know Charles through my full time job and I got talking too him about Krav one day. My background is as a Community Mental Health Nurse and before moving into the community I worked as a staff nurse in a Medium Secure Forensic Unit. While there I also trained as a safe management of violence and aggression work based instructor. It was at this time that I began to get interested in the management of violence and aggression and not only the theory and psychology of violence but also the practical side too it. After hearing about Krav Maga I did as most people do and went home and scoured the internet for as much information as possible. I found a local class in Edinburgh and signed up for a 10 week course. From day one, like a lot of people I've spoken too, I was hooked, and the rest as they say is History.
What were your first impressions when you went along for your first class?
I have to admit I was pretty nervous when I went along. I had no experience in any form of martial arts and my only experience was from a fairly sheltered and protected hospital environment doing my violence and aggression training. I had also never been to anything like this on my own before, I had always gone along with mates. When I arrived at the class the first thing that struck me was the mix of people there. I don't know what I was expecting but the class varied from a 6'7" monster to a 68 year old retired school teacher, a huge mix of ages, size and experience. Everyone was really friendly, including the instructors and I felt as though I was not only learning something new and useful but I was having fun at the same time. I had the obligatory 360 bruises on my arms but in a strange way I was quite proud of them. For the next few weeks I would stand in front of the mirror at home and practice my body movement for the 360 and my wife would walk past shaking her head. I think she also knew from that point that this was something i would really get hooked on. After I had been training for about a year I heard the instructor ask one of the other students what she felt the hardest thing about Krav Maga was and her response was "the hardest part was getting the courage to come along to the first class". looking back this is exactly how I felt.
How Does Krav Maga differ from the other self defense training you have done?
The only self defense training I have done is though my full time job as a nurse. I have never trained in Martial arts or any other fighting system and I guess the closest I have ever come to a real fight has been playing rugby. Working in some of the environments that I have you are caring for very unwell and disturbed individuals who often display aggression and violence for a number of reasons. The benefits of dealing with these situations in these environments are that you are working with a team of colleagues who are all highly trained and experienced. The system and techniques that I learned and later taught were adopted by the NHS and developed by the GSA (General Services Association) as the safest way of dealing with patients in an in-patient setting. These included verbal de-escalation techniques, awareness and assessment of potentially dangerous situations, physical breakaway techniques and control and restraint techniques. This system is effective when working in these environments and I still teach them because I know they work in these environments, but I felt I needed something else that would work on the streets. This is where Krav Maga is supremely effective and efficient in my opinion, because it works in any situation, environment or setting. The other big difference is in a hospital environment you strive not to inflict any pain on individuals when defending yourself or restraining them, with Krav Maga and on the street we think a little differently!
What made you decide to become a Krav Maga Instructor?
I had been training for about 2 years and became quite passionate about Krav. I had progressed through the grades and reached P4 and for me it seemed like the natural progression to attempt to become an instructor. I also found that during training I learned an awful lot about my own skill level and technique when helping other students and this helped me become a better and more confident practitioner. The instructors course is unlike anything I have ever done in my life. Before this I thought my GSA instructors training was demanding, being 3 weeks long and having to learn and teach over 100 different physical techniques. The big difference with the Krav Maga Instructors course is not only the physically demanding nature of it, but also the mental demand needed to get through it. Despite this it is one of the best things I have ever done in my life! I will never forget facing a 9 on 1 situation with the other students on the course chasing you around a room with knives, sticks and pads all baying for blood, and the exhaustion and exhilaration at coming out the other end intact. I also had the privilege and pleasure of sharing blood sweat and tears with some fantastic people and training under the expert eye of Eyal Yanilov, Amnon Darsa, Tamir Gilad and Shimon Harpez. It was truly an experience I will never forget.
What has Krav Maga done for you?
The main thing training in Krav Maga has done for me is increase my confidence. I'm not saying I now feel I could take on anybody in a fight, because this is not what Krav Maga is about and this is false confidence that other systems profess to give you. I think the confidence I have has come from knowing my own abilities and increasing my awareness and understanding of how an aggressor operates. Thinking the Krav way is just as important as being able to execute a technique with some efficiency and I view Krav Maga as being a life skill that has changed the way I think. I'm not the biggest guy in the world and in the past would have been extremely intimidated if faced with a bigger and stronger aggressor, now I know a few things which would allow me to deal with the situation as quickly as possible if I had to.
Another thing Krav Maga has done for me is introduce me to a whole group of people from all different walks of life who each bring there own thing to the classes and the system. I've also made some good friends who I know will be friends for life. There is nothing like being punched by someone to get to like them!
How do you see Krav Maga developing in Scotland?
When I started training there were 3 classes being heldheld in Scotland. Now we have over 9 classes in our club alone. This shows you how popular Krav Maga is becoming and how people are realising this is a system that really works. I'm pretty passionate about Krav Maga and would like to see as many people as possible coming along to a class too see what it's all about. . I'm delighted that I can be part of a team to take this forward and I think we will only see Krav Maga becoming more popular.