I was sick on Monday. The kind of sick where you think, "I'm probably not dying, but on the other hand, maybe this is what dying feels like." I was mostly bedridden, but I did drag myself out around midday to go grocery shopping for crackers and jello. And as I was staggering around Harris Teeter - the wretched hive of scum and villainy that it is - I had the thought, "What if I had to defend myself right now?" You might be thinking that's a crazy thing to worry about in Cameron Village, but have you seen the parking situation at that store? It's basically Mad Mad: Fury Road. There's a very real possibility you'll be fighting for your life over who gets to pretend to be a veteran for that sweet reserved spot. So I had to think, "Could I do it? Could I fight right now, even though I'm not even walking upright?"
It's hard to judge without actually being put in the situation, but I felt like the answer was yes. And I'm pretty confident in that assessment, because I've felt that bad hundreds of times in training and been compelled to keep going. Krav Maga isn't for your best day, it's for your worst day; when you're sick, or tired, or hurt, or depressed. And that's why the training has to be so hard. It has to put you in that place where no matter how you feel, you know you can keep fighting. If not, you're just hoping the bad guys catch you on a good day.
