Greetings all, my name is Ian and i am from central Iowa.  I am brand new to Krav Maga. So brand new, in fact, that i dont even know where to look for a training facility.  The closest place i have found so far, i believe is in Ohmaha, Nebraska, 2 hours from where i live.  Would any of you know where of anywhere closer, maybe some crazy underground gym that doesnt advertise but is still affiliated with Krav Maga Alliance?

A little back ground on myself. 
Im 26 years old, married for 3 years with an 18 month old and another one do any day now.  I am a former professional MMA fighter.  I used to train with UFC veterans like Josh Neer, Jeremy Stephens and Kevin Burns.  I got out of MMA because it just didnt appeal to me anymore, i wasnt having fun in training like i used to and my family started to take a back seat to my training which to me is unacceptable.

I know that training in Krav Maga will take a substantial amount of time as well but i feel its more valuable than knowing how to fight in a cage, its also something i can pass on to my family.  My goal with Krav Maga is to become a certified instructor some day and teach at one of the gyms i used to train in MMA at.

But the first step is learning the art myself and right now i dont really know where to begin.
Any tips??

Thanks guys,
Ian

One thing to do would be to buy the “Complete Krav Maga” book by John Whitman.  It’s a very detailed book that shows you all of the Krav Maga techniques and it has a lot of photographs.  There’s another good book called “How to Defend Yourself against Armed Assault” written by Eyal Yanilov (chief instructor of the IKMF) and Imi Lichtenfeld (founder of the system of Krav Maga).  And then there is “Ultimate Krav Maga”, a DVD that looks good, but has not yet been released.

While reading books can’t really replace actual instruction, at least it will give you an overview of the system.  It would also help you weed out possible schools that pretend to teach Krav Maga when they are really teaching something else.  You could watch some classes and see if what they are teaching is the same as what is shown in those books.  If not, it probably isn’t genuine Krav Maga.  There is another system called “Commando Krav Maga” that has several schools in the United States, but it is NOT actual Krav Maga, rather a completely different system put together by its founder, Moni Aizik.

If you do find a school, I’d ask a lot of questions as to where the instructor trained or if he is certified by any organization.  The main KM organizations here in the US are: KM Alliance, KMWW, IKMF and IKMA.  There is also a smaller federation mostly operating in New York, the KMF.

If you can’t find a school, maybe you can attend a seminar once in a while, just to experience real instruction.  There are also KM certification courses offered by various organizations.  They may not be near you, but maybe you could fly in to attend one of these courses.

Good luck!