Krav Maga Yashir Boston

This school literally offers more then most martial arts schools around. The school also has a large separate area that offers a a large variety of weights and gym equipment. In addition to krav classes the school also teaches ground work… And offers fitness classes in the morning during the week and in Saturday’s. The training is great combination of physically exerting and technical… The school offers a great opportunity to get in shape in a fun and diverse way… While learning technical aspects of Krav Maga along the way.

I never had a fight in my life, but always want to learn some marital arts!
I found this place online, they provide first week free, you can come as much as you want!
There is gym that you can use, a lot of parking, and people who train there are very nice that gives you good advices and trying to make you feel welcome!
The owner of the place is a big time professional, the one that you want to stand next to you in A bar fight for a monthly fee you can come as much as you want, and use all equipment they have!
So if you looking for a place to learn self defense, give them a try, its free 1 week anyway, but believe me it will be hard refuse to sign in!

Friend: «I’m gonna take Krav Maga!»
Me: «…Hey! That sounds awesome! I’ll take it too!»
Friend: «Awesome! Look up some places!»
Me: «Huh? I thought you already had a place in mind.»
Friend: «No. I just thought it would be cool to learn Krav Maga.»
Me: «Ummm… How about this place. It’s right around the corner from work.»
Friend: «Nice! Try it out and tell me how it goes.»
Me: «Errrm… Kaaaay…»
…And so I set out on my journey into the world of Krav Maga… Alone!
Most martial arts/​self defense classes are very physical, but I think what makes Krav Maga Yashir different is that time is spent explaining and understanding the psychology of violence. Understanding that violence happens on a time line and the situations that allow it to happen has opened up my view of the world around me. Gershon Ben Keren and his instructor team do an amazing job of explaining real world applications of Krav Maga. Fights in a bar, muggings on the street, company Christmas parties, they go over many everyday situations/​settings to make you feel safe and confident in a very mixed up world.

I hired Gershon Ben Keren and his partner to come to our office in Newton and teach their Seps Women’s self-​defense class after the South Boston kidnapping incident. This is not your average self-​defense class. You won’t be hearing the obvious, don’t be on your cell phone, don’t walk down a dark alley etc. You will learn how not to be chosen as the victim. Gershon has a background in psychology, military training and personal protection. You will feel like you are watching the Mentalist or an episode of CSI. Our group session was an hour long and people stayed almost an hour and a half asking questions. It was intense, stories were shared, and no one wanted to leave. Bring your wife, daughter, your nanny or your niece. I know it’s a heavy topic, but it will leave you feeling empowered and more prepared in a dangerous situation, it could save your life one day.

I’ve never done any sort of class activity before, but I signed up for the free women’s self-​defense class because hey, free self-​defense.
Gershon, the instructor, is awesome! He gives super practical advice, firmly grounded in extensive study of psychology and human behavior. I really appreciated the background in why people might attack you, what sorts of scenarios (planned/​spontaneous), how to analyze the causes, etc. I’d go as far as to say this was the most valuable part of the class for me.
The physical aspect was great too– we worked with partners and two additional male instructors. Today we did the infamous red-​man suit drill, where you actually get «attacked» and use full force to fend him off. My heart rate went way up and I could feel the adrenaline pumping; it was scary and empowering at the same time.
The space itself is gritty and bare-​bones, in keeping with the aesthetic of this type of training. If you’re fond of those South End yoga places you’d probably hate this. There are no coffee shops or anything else in the area, the stairs and elevator are pretty sketchy, there’s a crate that has hours and classes written on it in lieu of a sign, and you have to kind of trespass through a shipyard parking lot if you take the T. But I am beyond happy at having found this place and think it’s fabulous that they’re providing this service for free.

I’ve been training here for a few years and I can honestly say that making the decision to start was one of the most important moments in my life. The level of instruction here is such that one will quickly gain a sense of confidence and knowledge about potentially violent situations that will give them an edge over those may wish to do them harm. The information presented in the classes is done with a sense of realism that gives the student the ability to not only understand typical violent encounters, but to also approach them with a level of respect that will help to keep them out of harm’s way.
The atmosphere created at the school is warm and inviting, with respect being shown to everyone who steps onto the mats. I, like most people, was nervous before my first class, but this nervousness was put at ease rather quickly, as everyone seemed to go out of their way to make me feel comfortable. There is a close, friendly environment amongst the students here, without any sense of exclusion. The school offers Krav Maga classes five days a week. There is also a great gym area, which includes traditional gym fare, like dumbbells, Olympic bar bells, and exercise bikes, as well as more exotic (i.e. awesome) equipment, like Atlas stones, kettlebells, sandbags, viking press, etc. There are plenty of open gym hours, which allows students a great opportunity to get in some extra training time .
If you’re on the fence about trying out a class, I’d urge you to do so. The school offers a week of free Krav Maga classes, which will give you time to get a feel for the classes and the vibe of the school. If you’re nervous about getting on the mats, don’t worry, everyone is at first. What you won’t find here is any kind of elitist attitude or judgement. Give it a shot.

I’ve been training in martial arts and fighting sports for a number of years now and have probably been to a half dozen different gyms and programs. I came to Krav Maga Yashir after trying a couple other schools in the area and not being happy with them. The training that you get at Yashir is pretty awesome. Sometimes it is more technical while other times it is an intense workout. They do offer several special classes (like grappling and striking), but their best class is their Krav self-​defense class by far. You learn to deal with all sorts of threats from knife to gun to multiple assailant, etc. It’s a ton of fun and the instruction is really good. The price is reasonable for what it is. My biggest complaint (and the reason I decided to stop going) is that it’s in the middle of nowhere. It’s over in Charlestown by the bay past Sullivan Square. Sometimes the traffic on 93 would mean that it would take me an hour to get there. My favorite classes were held at 6 and 7, but I usually worked till 6, so it wasn’t practical for me. I hope to find another gym like it outside of the city.

I signed up for the free Women’s self-​defense class for last Saturday, and unfortunately did not know that the class had been cancelled. I did find an email from them later (unfortunately buried in Gmail’s new, inconvenient auto-​sorted folders) calling the cancellation.
So I showed up at the big, empty industrial-​type building at the scheduled time, and found nobody in the little room– which a Krav Maga representative later informed me via email was not the actual training room, but rather a «common space» that leads to the training room. Either way, I was very confused with the lack of information and was not impressed with the half-​finished sign for the classes learning on the wall next to cans of paints.
Knowing that the absence of staff that day was due to a cancelled class, I’d say that I’m willing to go back and try a free class again. The other reviews make it sound amazing, so if I do make it back, I’ll be sure to update this with a more informed review.

I just came back from my first 2 hour class. WOW, it’s a real workout. What I really liked was that everyone is friendly. They welcome you in & help you to get involved. They don’t push or ever talk down to you. They have a nice way they present Krav Maga. They start slow & build you up from basics. Today’s class I found on LivingSocial and I’m really glad to have found it. We started basically with 1 on 1 hand to hand blocking & how to move. Then advanced to knife blocking & evasion then with a pistol. The instructors took the time to walk you through each motion so you really got to understand what to do. The end of the class featured 1 student in the middle of 7 fellow students where they came at you with hands, knives and pistols along with knee blow pad for a minute, each taking turns in the middle. Very intense but alot of fun.
The class I took was mixed men & women, the women do just as well as the men. I still feel like jello after the workout. The location isn’t super easy if you’re taking public transportation but you can get the #93 MBTA bus right near the Charlestown Police Station and walk about ¼ mile down the street. Just look for the HUGE 200 on the building at the end of the street. Dress comfortable with comfortable workout clothes. Nothing fancy needed. It’s was a bit chilly but I fealt fine in a hoodie. By the end I was dripping sweat in a good way. They have a water cooler & I’m soo glad for it. Next time I’ll bring my own water bottle for the walk home.
They have womens classes, classes for kids as well as the mixed classes. Another part that was really nice was it didn’t ever feel like a sales pitch. Of course they’d like you to join but there wasn’t pressure. «Come to the next class & see if you like it» was the reply. I think I’d like to continue with this.

I have been training under Gershon ben Keren at Krav Maga Yashir since February 2012. In my opinion there are four reasons why Krav Maga Yashir Boston should receive serious consideration from anyone in the Boston area seeking to learn self-​defense, learn a martial art, or simply vastly improve their physical fitness.
Number 1 = Quality of instruction. This is the sine qua non of any martial arts school. Mr. ben Keren and his assistant instructors are professional, competent, and dedicated. Techniques are expertly demonstrated, remediated, and reinforced in a variety of partner-​based and group-​based drills. Students are always shown the «context» of a technique: what happens leading up to it, the purpose of each movement, and what happens afterwards. My belief is that when new students are able to perform a technique effectively on their first try, it actually reflects far more credit on the teacher than the learner. I see this happen all the time on the mats, and it speaks volumes for the knowledge and competency of the instructors.
Number 2 = Krav Maga Yashir teaches the entire spectrum of violence, an area where other martial arts have major limitations. A striking art (boxing, muay thai, karate) may teach you to fight an imaginary assailant. A grappling art such as BJJ may teach you to escape from said assailant on the ground. Neither addresses the more important questions grounded in reality, such as: How did you get there? What if a knife or gun is involved? What if I accidentally trip and fall? Get taken by surprise? Get backed against a wall? Have a significant other I need to protect? Krav Maga Yashir teaches simple, direct, pragmatic solutions to all of the above, and more. Nobody needs to be Donnie Yen or Ronda Rousey to effectively defend themselves, and this school gives you the tools to do that.
Number 3 = Value for your $$. Monthly membership rate is comparable to market rate for other area martial arts schools, and much lower than Crossfit gyms and other functional-​fitness type places. The membership also gives free access to 5x-​weekly cardio bootcamp classes, special outdoor training, and use of the gym at the studio. New workout equipment is constantly added and incorporated into the bootcamps, which themselves are a hell of a workout. Members also get first access to guest seminars with top outside Krav Maga instructors.
Number 4 = Great social atmosphere. I’m always impressed by the respect, humility, and maturity of other students. It’s very rare to have anyone beating on others in an attempt to be the tough guy, and such behavior is *never* tolerated. Students are all ages from 20s to 60s, all body types and fitness levels. Since all of class is partner or group based, you quickly pick up names and personalities of fellow students. Sometimes when you’re on the brink of absolute physical exhaustion, you just can’t help but look at each other and laugh at the insanity of it all. That’s the kind of esprit that can’t be faked, and a major reason I spend 10 hrs a week here without hesitation.
Overall, Krav Maga Yashir gets my highest possible recommendation. I am constantly being that annoying guy urging my female friends to try it, and it’s what I look forward to every day at work (when I’m not wasting time on Unilocal reviews that will end up getting filtered anyway).
You can try classes free for a week through the school website as well.

If getting your ass kicked if your version of five stars, then this place is definitely five stars. I worked out really hard and didn’t feel too awkward going to my first class here today. The boot camp classes are 45 minutes, and you work HARD during those 45 minutes, but at the same time, we were split into groups so it was fun and a group effort in getting our butts handed to us. I rarely get the sensation that I am going to barf from working out and I briefly felt that way today because we were working out hard.
Before class, Elizabeth checked me in and was really friendly and helpful. She gave me some positive reinforcement that walking is one of the best things to do for my body, so that was nice to hear.
The space is in a big warehouse type building, and is pretty no frills. I definitely feel like I am going to hurt for a few days, and if you’re looking results, I am sure going here regularly will give them to you. I am not sure if it’ll end up be convenient enough for me to go regularly based on the location and their schedule, but I did get a really good workout!

Just started going to the boot camp classes and they’re amazing. I do work out regularly and consider myself in pretty good shape but there are people of all fitness levels in the class. The work out is designed for you to go at your own pace and everyone is very encouraging and friendly.
The circuits switch up the exercises so you’re never bored.
The instructors definitely push you, so if you’re looking for a class that will leave you in agony for days this one is great!

I decided that I needed to find a self defense course when a friend of mine had a date go badly. I googled self defense and found Krav Maga Yashir and loved the idea of Krav as my mom is from Israel and I have a number of friends that have done it and loved it. The class is amazing, the teacher is so easy to talk to, I bring him different scenarios every week and he always gives me answers on the best way to protect myself, and always has a sense of humor about some of my more ridiculous out there scenarios (I watch a lot of law and order). I have now been going every saturday now for almost 6 months and am so much more confident in my ability to protect myself and in my physical fitness.
As a Social Worker I must disagree with Liz’s post. Griffin has never once victim blamed in the entire time I have been there. The point of karv maga is to help women to feel empowered and to help them to understand that they are not just victims in an attack that they have the power ability and confidence because of their training to fight back. In no way is he blaming the victims, he is helping young women to be able to NOT BECOME VICTIMS IN THE FIRST PLACE. I work with young children, adolescents and adults that have been sexually assaulted. One teen girl told me that when she was raped she felt physically powerless during her assault. What I have gathered from my work with trauma survivors is that even if they are assaulted the knowledge that they fought as hard as they could helps them through the healing process. As a a trained social worker, I recommend this class to ALL of my colleagues and ALL of my female friends.

I believe a good old fashioned success story is always a great way to talk about the quality of an organization so here goes:
For the past 5 years I have been trying to help my wife overcome her fear of being attacked on the street. Over the years she has tried a variety of different martial arts and traditional women’s self defense classes. None of them seemed to work for her. In fact, I think they all made her feel worse about her ability to protect herself (even more vulnerable than before she showed up). She could learn the techniques perfectly but when they didn’t seem to work just right in a simulated «reality» situation she would panic and freeze.
About six months ago she decided she needed and wanted to take another shot at conquering this fear. She had heard about Krav Maga Yashir Boston from a friend and made a plan to attend their free Saturday women’s self defense classes. I knew something was different when she came back from her first class very fired up about attending the next one the following week. I was very surprised as I was used to her coming home from other self defense «workshops» feeling more disappointed and unprepared than before she went.
For next couple of months she continued to attend the Saturday class with instructor Griffin Coombs. She even brought several friends who all raved about the class as well. I could see her confidence growing with each class and I could see the idea of her being able to protect herself on the street growing in her mind.
About a month ago we decided to do a few private couples classes with Griffin. My wife wanted to learn the techniques but she also wanted me to be there to be her simulated attacker. We worked out for a while working on some basic fighting blocks, stances, punches and kicks. And then we got down to some of the attack specific stuff that she was most afraid of. From the start I could see the panic building in her eyes. I was worried we were headed for another letdown.
At first she froze even though she had learned the techniques (which are incredibly simple and effective). The point of «freezing» is where my wife would typically check out and consider herself a failure. Griffin noticed this right away he saw this as a teaching opportunity. Her told her that she had great technique but that she just needed to get more and more comfortable focusing on surviving the situation and solving the problem. Essentially he discovered that what was paralyzing her was that she was trying too hard to make the technique 100% perfect. He noticed that when she didn’t get the techniques just right she would get flustered, stop her defense and surrender. He asked her instead to focus on using the technique to «solve the problem» and successfully «survive the situation» instead of trying to make the technique look beautiful. He told her to just focus on getting away for now and don’t worry about how it looks. This was a huge breakthrough for her.
The next week we returned for our next session with Griffin. He reminded her of everything we had talked about and then he told me to attack her with a rear choke as if she was getting mugged on the street. She escaped and got away. It wasn’t pretty at first but she got away. Then he continued to have me increase the intensity of the attacks. I tightened up my chokes and even started trying to pull her around. All the while Griffin coached her from the side telling her she had to escape and advising her on the proper technique. Another escape! Then he asked her to walk down the mat with her eyes closed and he told me to surprise her and to try to trick her a bit before I attacked her. He also stopped coaching her. She continued to escape and, sure enough, as the repetitions and her confidence increased so too did the quality of her technique. We ended the class by having her tire herself out by doing push ups, squats, box jumps and spins. She was exhausted and dizzy. He told her to close her eyes and he told me to attack her one more time. Without an ounce of panic she performed her escape and put me in a hammer lock before making her getaway.
Thank you Gershon and Griffin for helping my wife to make a major breakthrough and begin the process of conquering her biggest fears. Thanks also for helping her realize that she can survive if she has to.
I love the location (vintage warehouse environment) and I love that the approach and techniques are focused on «reality based situations». I am not looking for things to be «sugar coated» because I know they are not sugar coated on the street. Nobody that is going to mug, rob or rape you is going to approach you and say: «excuse me, but would you mind if I mugged, robbed or raped you now?» Gershon and Griffin helped her (us) understand how a real street attack might go down and they helped prepare us for a real solution. More importantly, they did it all in a very professional, sensitive and caring way.

You know that feeling you get when you walk into a place and everyone gives you a look that says WARNING – INTERLOPER – WARNING?
You don’t get that here. Ever. At first, I just thought it was neat (and a bit novel), but as I’ve spent more time here, I really think the atmosphere alone deserves five stars.
When I was looking for a women’s self-​defense course, I kept seeing ads for courses that promised to teach me how to save my ass (or kick someone else’s) after five to fifteen classes. That just didn’t fly with my own experience: Would I toss someone in the deep end of the pool after only five swimming lessons? Only if I despised them.
The thing that really clinched my decision to commit to this course was that I just signed up for the year, and I could come to classes and scenario-​testing until I was blue in the face. The ability to attend forty-​something classes seemed like the best chance I had to tackle the prospect of self-​defense. And that prospect always seemed like a mental and physical Gordian knot.
Gershon ben Keren, the course instructor, is informative and down to earth. The women’s classes are usually small, but even when a large number of students show up, everyone gets a lot of attention and help with execution. There are some basics that come up repeatedly, but class #2 in November was definitely not a rehash of class #2 in October. I’ve learned new ideas and details every time I take off my socks and walk onto the mat.
At my first class, we were also invited to try the more rigorous mixed-​gender classes. I found the other students to be consistently friendly, patient, and obviously there to learn, work, and work out together. I really enjoyed those classes too, but the monthly fee for the regular classes was more than I could afford at the time.
If you’re free on Saturday mornings (and you happen to be a woman), sign up for the women’s self-​defense course!

awesome. went once and joined that same day. everyone, the students and the instructors, are really supportive and just fun to be around. the instruction is great (i threw a guy twice my size the second day i went). you’re encouraged to push as hard as you can, but no one is going to make you feel like a jerk if your pace is slower than the pack. the environment makes you want to give it your all. they also offer taekwondo and muy thai. when you join, you can try out different disciplines. i’m a bit of a chicken when it comes to trying new things on my own, but i felt like i fit in the first class.