Krav Maga Training Center

I was in SF visiting for a month with a job — I managed to guest train here while I was in town and I have to say, you don’t get the kind of knowledge and experience that you’ll find from Barney (owner) and other instructors here at many other schools in the US.
Train here and listen, be patient, and apply; this is a quality — no frills — gym with classes that will get you sweating. They also really know what they’re doing and aren’t going to jerk you around; in a good class, their old-​school vibe will let you peer into how Krav Maga was originally taught to civilians (in SF even since 1999), and you may feel like you too were a part of it.

I’m glad I got to meet and train with the folks here and I will come back if I’m ever in town again.

KMSF is family owned and operated. A lot of love, personal service, and deep sense of community here. They’re always offering different seminars too once a month, on top of the normal multitude of classes they already run.
Cross Fit, Conditioning (which I think is just a cute word for Boot Camp, ha), TRX, Yoga, Ju Jitsu and of course, KRAV.
I heard that Veterans are having their own classes too, coming up– taught by the founder (and former Marine) Barny himself. This really hits my heart since I have a lot of men in my life and family that are War Veterans.
Gail and Barny are caring, active members of the community and it shows through the awesome, supportive, hands-​on staff and the specialized classes and services they offer.
DON’T get me wrong: you WILL have your ass kicked! But in a great way. All they ask is to be on time, it’s respectful to the others who showed up on time to class, and it’s respectful to the instructor.
I’m pretty new to the gym and I’m doing their Women’s Krav Maga Intro Seminar last weekend and I’m blown away at how much more I’m learning that what I expected. Thank you so much for having this.
Support Local and also train at the ONLY KM certified gym in SF? Don’t mind if I do.

Been going here for a few weeks thanks to class pass. Great workout with committed instructors. They don’t tend to mess around at krav places. It’s higher intensity and requires more focus than some of the other martial arts studios I’ve been to. Class definitely gets the adrenaline pumping.

I was a member here for years. Some of the instructors are solid; others are not. The owner is a mean dude, pretty rude, and shouldn’t be teaching. He just talks the entire class and is pretty disorganized. Some classes get scary as the instructors let things slip out of control and people start getting hurt. I switched to the Krav Maga Institute on Gough and it’s a night-​and-​day difference. Incredible classes, every instructor is excellent, very intense workouts, friendly and very supportive group of members. Trust me, check KMI and you’ll instantly see the difference.

Started going here now that the IOMSDA Dojo closed. The instructors are great, good empithisis on safety and conditioning. Very friendly and welcoming, they accept the fact I’ve trained in other arts, but just want to «empty my cup» and learn their discipline. If you are interested in strong defense, without Kata or form, this is the right path.

Attended open house. Great staff, generous with the food and really fun, intense Krav 1 intro class. Learned some useful basic self-​defense. Thanks!

I came here on a trial period attending 2x a week for a couple months. I can’t deny I got some great workouts, but the martial art aspect was disappointing. Don’t expect anything other than common sense like how to punch, get up quick, don’t stop attacking, never give up.
Classes can be really crammed with too many people. Class is run like an intense cardio workout and not much practice on proper technique or emphasis on safety.
The real problem I had was with one of the staff named Gabe. Parking is non existent so I try taking a bus from the Castro which takes about 30 min normally. One day, Muni wasn’t running on time and I end up being 10 min late. As I pass the lobby to enter into the class room, Gabe asks me” what are you doing”? I reply that the bus was late and I was going to class. He adopts this douchiest attitude and tells me I can’t enter because I’m late. He says I can stand outside and watch the class.
Give me a break… I understand the whole show up on time to show respect to your teacher, but I couldnt help running late ONCE due to Muni. I’ve seen people jump into class late before no problem. How about that… I had 10 years of Judo prior to this where the teacher understood sometimes we come late due to unforeseeable circumstances.
Don’t come here if you want to avoid people like Gabe running the show or anything other than cardio workouts.

They lied to me. When i first sign up, the lady at the front desk nudged me to sign up yearly and indicated that you can easily pay $ 100 and cancel at any time. Now that I want to cancel, I get a really mean email saying that the only way to cancel is PERMANENT disability or PERMANENT relocation.
This is extremely frustrating, since they have clearly cheated me.
I used to be a loyal member of their morning bootcamp, but they start the bootcamp so late, and they are so unprofessional about it, that I really do NOT want to come here anymore

Went for the first time last night to get my booty kicked in the conditioning class. This is a no-​frills kind of space that seems to concentrate on sweat more than décor. The conditioning class was a full-​body, non-​stop work-​out, complete with punching bags, rotating stations and burpees galore. I liked the friendly vibe and working out with both guys and girls (many classes I take are almost all women). But this is not for the faint of heart — if it bothers you to get a little dirty or drop right where you stop running to do 40 sit-​ups where someone else just left their sweat on the mat, this isn’t the place for you. If you can handle that (all to a heavy metal soundtrack), then get ready for some hard fun.

Raise your hand if you are a single lady who might be interested in the following:
–learning self-​defense
–getting amazingly toned arms
–sweating and burning off all of those extra calories
–meeting awesomely fit people
–having fun while KICKING ASS
–bar-​brawling
–HOT GUYS… *drool*
As you can see there are MANY valid reasons to give Krav Maga a try. Barney & Gail are super nice and this spot has many fitness classes, not just Krav Maga, offered throughout the week. Yet, I highly suggest Krav Maga just for the fun of it!
Oh…and guys, if you want to meet some fit girls who can kick your ass… well…need I say more?

I joined KM when they were still in a small garage in the Marina. People were friendly and the instructors were great. I noticed as the studio got bigger, it became less welcoming and friendly. I can’t comment too much on the current batch of instructors but they definitely seem more green than the instructors that taught at KM in the early days. Some of the current instructors were beginner students when I joined and I’m glad that they promote from within. The really good instructors with Israeli combat training, like Danny Zelig, left to start their own studios.
What I am disappointed in is their billing practice and their unprofessional (rude) way of handling inquiries. When I left KM in 2004, I was expressly told by Barny that I could have my last month deposit refunded. (I had given 30 days notice and paid the last month’s fees via direct billing so I was owed the deposit). However, if I agreed to the refund, I would need to pay the registration fee again if I decided to rejoin.
Since I wasn’t 100% certain I wasn’t going to rejoin after my work settled down, I declined the refund. Flash forward 10 years, I just moved and was clearing away my old papers and I saw my KM contract.
Now that I am 100% certain I would not rejoin so I asked in a (friendly way) if it was possible to get my refund back. I got back a fairly rude answer saying something to the effect of «look at your contract, no refunds, no exceptions». I looked at my contract and nowhere does it have this clause.
When I tried to explain to them that the new contract may have these terms but the contract that I signed over 10 years ago did not, they said that I signed a contract with a Roger D’Ofrio who has gone bankrupt. At his point, I have to say WTF? It’s no longer about the money, but about how ethical the business is to respond in this fashion.
Is it my fault they put a contract in front of my under false pretense? I thought I signed with Krav Maga studio and they certainly had no issues taking my money for over 2 years. Now they say I signed with a different entity and therefore am not owed a refund as that entity went bankrupt?
I was very loyal to this school and recommended other students as well. I am extremely disappointed in their handling of the situation. They are nice to you until you have billing issues. BUYER BEWARE.

I’ve only attended their conditioning classes for a month. But I honestly felt like I was back in to the shape I was in during college playing a D1 sport. Uh-​mazing.
All the coaches were great. The other students are friendly and I didn’t find the environment intimidating at all.
I just wish they had more class times for conditioning!

Stumbled upon a groupon and let it expire. i showed up one afternoon and asked if i could try it. got a free 3 day pass and the rest is history. love it, breath it dream it. The best work out ever, They also have TRX, crossfit and conditioning for those who don’t want to learn the best self defense skills.
very wide range of levels and all trainers bring their own spin to training.
I love it.

So far, I took three introductory classes there.
This is not a fancy place, but clean enough. It has clean showers, and a few training rooms. I’ve been in much smaller, dirtier, crowded and less equipped boxing gym before. People are very friendly. I liked Emily’s training style. She often adds elements of chaotic movement before striking, which makes it closer to a real combat situation.
The classes I’ve attended were not crowded — up to 10 people. I would reccomend this place if you are interested in KravMaga.

The Lady was so RUDE when she answered the phone. She would not even let me get out why I was calling.

i’ve been going here for a little over 2 years, and i’ve enjoyed my time here mostly. i started with krav, tried out the fight class, did a ton of the conditioning and then finally ended up doing trx mostly.
this place is good, but it’s not for everyone. it’s not a super pristine gym intended for delicate folks. if you want a pristine gym, feminist-​friendly workout music, towels, and a gym that could be featured in dwell, this place isn’t for you (try the dailey method, if that’s what you’re looking for). this place give great training at a very competitive price, which is why i was here for so long. i would not call this a soviet-​era gym (i did peace corps in ukraine and worked out at such a gym, so i know), but it’s not disney land either.
so, generally the instruction was excellent, but here are my gripes:
(1) some of the conditioning classes i’ve been to were way too crowded and not properly supervised. i got hurt once because this jackass was using a fucking gynormous kettle ball (i don’t know where this ass clown found this comically large kettle ball) and it slipped out of his hands and flew into my shin. i collapsed and ended up with a huge bruise, but luckily, he missed my knees.
(2) once, i bit a guy’s forehead and drew blood at a krav maga class. it was gross. the instructor had us do this activity where we hold pads while another dude tries to break through, kind of like football practice. the guy broke through, but he hit my teeth. i cut his forehead, but luckily he didn’t break my teeth.
(3) one of the trx instructors openly griped about having to teach the class. not cool. and another guy was frequently off on his counting (this is important in trx).
despite all this, i don’t regret my time here, and i would recommend the gym.

Hi Gail,
Wow, thanks so much for actually posting a response! I rated it three stars out of five for three reasons:
1) Having trained krav in Israel and at IKMA affiliates in the States, I’m displeased with KMWW’s lack of focus on basic krav principles like continuous combative flow, combat in close quarters (elevators, aisles, with obstacles), and actual *combat* drills that really pressure the combatants, not just punching/​kicking/​hitting-​with-​the-​pad-​with-​your-​eyes-​closed drills. It should be fun, yes, but not complete fun, in my opinion. Every training session should make the kravists uncomfortable, pressured, and occasionally realize what it feels like to take a hit.
2) I don’t feel like there’s enough emphasis in KMWW curriculum on restraint. Granted, the focus of most students in the class is defense, but what if, god forbid, they’re the only line of defense between a crazy person like that naked dude at the 16^th/​Mission BART and a woman who was assaulted by him? Sure, a rear naked or forearm choke or neck crank works to take someone down, but what if they won’t stay down? I think an essential part of krav is training restraint as well as attack/​defend/​escape. We trained restraints a lot; they’re not just for police and military. :-)
3) No KMWW instructor I have ever spoken (save for one in LA) goes to Israel for continued training. That’s where the system is still living, breathing, and being developed day in and day out. True that most of the defenses, counters, and disarms are still valid in KMWW curriculum, but there are more effective teaching methods, disarms, and counters that are constantly being developed and disseminated from the source.
These aren’t issues endemic to KMSF, I enjoy training there. These are more pervasive KMWW issues, I feel. I didn’t want to type all this in my initial review, but you asked for my opinion, and that’s an invitation for the firehose to let loose! And again, this is no reflection on the quality of KMSF, I really like it there, and your instructors are great!

The classes are really fun and useful here. The instructors and people are nice. You get a good workout.
But man, that place is dirty. It smells like a sweaty men’s locker room (although in fairness, the women’s bathroom is pretty pristine). The floor mats are sticky, and they leave black marks on my shoes. The padding equipment smells.
They really need to hire a regular cleaning staff.
But again, the classes and instructors are great!

Solid 4 stars because:
–large workout facility (there’s a basement and tons of side rooms)
–has everything you need for a great workout in the main room
–people working hard makes you work hard
–TRX class is a solid 5 stars!!! I couldn’t walk for a week after doing the TRX workout
But
–class hours aren’t the most convenient
–studio is sorta grungy looking
–the conditioning/​krav maga class wasn’t easy per se, but the intensity wasn’t quite like the intensity at my beloved Tactix. But that’s why you’re also paying less
That’s it. If I lived in the area i’d work out at this gym… schedule pending

These guys are just great. I’ve been training in martial arts now for over 20 years where I trained mostly in jiu-​jitsu, some muay thai, and some vale tudo fighting. Jiu-​Jitsu is great when you’re at a party and need to calm down the hot shot wrestler who ‘s trying to show off, but not the best for fighting in the streets. Nothing like a good stomp to the face by a third party to stop your arm bar or getting stabbed in the gut to slow down your take down. Krav teaches you to be more aware of your surroundings and builds on simple techniques designed specifically for self defense in real life situations. Kick’em in the nuts (there’s actually a technique to it!), gouge their eyes out, and run kind of fighting.
The yoga, TRX, conditioning, and crossfit classes will turn you into Spiderman if you ramp up correctly. Don’t start with crossfit. One time I jumped too quickly back into Crossfit after fighting off a stomach bug and I got a hemorrhoid the size of a grape that made my doctor go «woah.» Build up to it with the other exercise classes.
And I love the trainers. Despite being able to kicka$$, none of them have a chip on their shoulder. They push you and they push you hard, but they make all of of it a lot of fun. They’re all extremely knowledgeable about body mechanics and care immensely about your health. Yeah sometimes you get injured, but every time that I have it has been my own doing. If you listen to them, the chances of getting hurt are pretty low.

QUICK Q&A
Macho? Nope.
Just guys? No. Often at least ¹⁄₃ to ½ women.
Newbie? Good for beginners, good for advanced.
Clean? Outside shoes are worn on the mat…
Crowded? Sometimes, randomly.
Transit? 38 Geary, ⁴⁷⁄₄₉ Van Ness.
FOREMOST IMPRESSION
More than street smarts, more than self-​defense, I got a big sense of community. Many of the same students showed up across the 8 days I went via an online deal. I also kept running into people I knew from random places. It was like the Facebook of martial arts.
BREAKDOWN
Attitude
Class Makeup
Instructors
Style Specifics
Safety
ATTITUDE: I didn’t notice any. I had some raw, gritty notions going in, but I immediately saw that the teachers and students were down to earth and helpful. Some of the instructors uttered profanities occasionally (FYI); but when I get mugged on the street, my attacker probably won’t be saying the cleanest things to me anyway.
CLASS MAKEUP: I took KM Level 1, KM Ground, KO Bag, and Saturday BJJ. The school is big enough that each Krav level has its own schedule. (So if you level up, be prepared to reassess your weekly calendar.) I kept seeing bunches of the same people show up day after day. Either dedication or addiction makes them return so consistently. It was rare for a class to be less than ½ or ¹⁄₃ women. Attendance sometimes spiked: 20+ students the first day I went, 10 – 15 average afterward. There were usually 2 instructors or a longtime instructor and a trainee. I wish there were more than 1 weekly KM Ground class.
INSTRUCTORS: I took classes from Wade, Mike, Emily, Kai (spelling?), Mark, Barny, Jeannette, Lana, and 4 gentlemen whose names I didn’t catch. The frequent two-​instructor format means more attention and variety for students, not to mention additional angles of insight so you have a greater chance to understand.
MIKE. His music rocks. Who else plays Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, etc. during martial arts? He has a clear breakdown teaching style. He’s also bigger, which is great proof that heavier folks can be fast & versatile too.
EMILY. Her advice unlocked at least an extra 6″ on each of my straight punches. She, like EVERY female here, is deadly, which completely dispels conceptions like this:
LITTLE GUY (I didn’t know his name). As Mike and Emily are extra inspiration for students similar to them, this guy shows that smaller-​built people also have ferocity. Big motivation for shorter students.
LANA. I always feel mentally overwhelmed by the technicality and amount of movements in BJJ. She really made the techniques digestible, and I never felt dumb in her class.
JEANNETTE. Her class isn’t «just» cardio or «just» kickboxing. She still gave me sneaky technique pointers that have full crossover to the self-​defense classes.
WADE. He emphasizes a phrase called «head on a swivel». I don’t remember other teachers saying it, but it helped me start to ingrain the street mentality of this self-​defense style.
STYLE SPECIFICS: True to being a self-​defense school, every Krav class I took had at least one drill with unpredictability, multiple opponents, or some other aspect toward real-​world preparedness. The funkiest /​coolest thing was fending off chokes from different directions with our eyes closed in the dark. This was Level 1 — the higher levels incorporate prop knives, guns, and even machine guns. Some levels or classes have sparring, which I can’t fully imagine since what I learned seemed reactionary as opposed to attacking.
SAFETY: Before deciding to take classes, I’d read the reviews mentioning bruises, bodily collisions, getting roughed up by uncontrolled people, etc. In this context, safety is a 4-​way street:
1) The instructors to varying degrees emphasized for us to be careful, with Mark even chanting «Be safe, be safe, be safe.» in each class I took of his.
2) Your drill partner (s) can and should tell you to go harder /​softer /​faster /​slower /​etc.
3) *You* can and should communicate with your drill partner (s) likewise.
4) You and your drill partner (s) can ask the instructors for clarification on how to do a move or how to hold pads. If the instructors are busy or seem to not be paying attention, it’s safer to wait for their assistance before continuing with the drill.
All that being said, I ultimately had to forego the last 2 days of a 10-​punch card due to injury. My mishap wasn’t from any of the Krav classes but from free rolling at the end of BJJ. I don’t think my partner had malintent — all the way through class, they’d been drilling moves with me to help teach me. I tapped as soon as it happened; it just happened too suddenly for further communication. I do think that, me being a beginner, they could’ve toned down the strength behind their moves, but I also sort of knew what I’d be getting into by choosing to roll with them. I hope to roll with them again more cautiously once I’m healed. Occasional injuries come with the territory. But they don’t need to. Train safely.