Krav Maga Trainer Teaches Fearlessness

“As a woman, I walk home at night with a hyper-awareness, but I'm less afraid because in the event that something happens, I know how to disable my attacker.”

It’s only 30 minutes into her session, and Krav Maga trainer, Coni Benitez has put her students through the wringer with three combat drills.  She calls up a student who is a good 10 inches taller than her at 5'1", and asks him to grab her wrist, tight. He obliges, and Benitez escapes in about half a second and shouts, “Back off!”

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She has escaped and disarmed the situation, thus avoiding a confrontation. She then raises the stakes, and again asks her imaginary attacker to grab her arm and pull her, as if he were trying to drag her someplace. He does, but instead of pulling away, she lets her momentum carry her, and feigns a punch that if connected, would leave any mugger out cold. 

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 “No one wants to get into a fight, and you should always try to disarm the situation first,” says Benitez. "But if it gets bad, we have one rule in Krav Maga: Don’t get hurt.”

Written by Nick Kuhlman, Edited & Photographed by Kate Lavin

Benitez is a student and trainer of Krav Maga, a conventionally male-dominated self-defense system, at Tier One Training Center in Evanston.  At Tier One, she not only learns the dangerous skills of Krav Maga, but she also works as an instructor for the entry-level classes, which cover defense against an array of common chokes, strikes and attacks. 

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Krav Maga is a hand-to-hand combat system, developed by the Israeli Defense Force, that relies on practical defense techniques that capitalize on damage in order to defeat attackers.  Unlike other martial arts, such as Karate or Jiu Jitsu, Krav Maga doesn’t have any governing traditions or uniforms, and it absolutely doesn’t have any showcases or competitions—just a no-holds-barred approach to keeping one’s self safe and in the fight at all costs. 

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In 2014, Coni Benitez returned from a teaching stint in Mexico with a burning desire that many share: to get in shape fast.  Her answer came through a six-week “get back in shape” challenge, but with a twist. 

“After a couple of weeks, the instructors started asking us is we wanted to incorporate some Krav Maga into the sessions.”

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 While Benitez admits that some of her classmates were skeptical about the possibility of getting punched in the face, she didn’t seem to mind. 

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“Looking back now, I’ve been punched in the face and kicked in the groin more times than I can count,” Benitez says with a laugh. ­“After the six weeks, the instructors offered me a complimentary class in Krav Maga, and I think I was signed up before the session even ended.”

Not content with simply being a student, Benitez took her newfound love of the martial art a step further and tested herself to become a trainer. The training course was six hours long, and tested Benitez on every aspect she learned.

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Teaching comes naturally to Benitez, and aside from teaching in Mexico, Benitez works as a school therapist for students ranging in grade school and high school. She does not keep the dangerous skills she possesses a secret.

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“In the beginning of the year I played the game 'Two truths and a lie' with some of my students. Well, one of my truths was I know Krav Maga, and everybody thought it was a lie. I told them I was a professional street fighter.” 

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Benitez encourages her students to be prepared for any dangerous threats that may occur on the street by making her training sessions extra-realistic with equipment that her gym provides.

But Tier One Training Center is not your traditional gym--or even martial arts training studio, for that matter. Plastic AK-47 assault rifles and handguns adorn the walls for the most advanced forms of Krav Maga training, and shields and medicine balls, which complement a variety of techniques, border the gym walls. Punching bags are not an unlikely sight either, considering the clientele who frequent the gym. 

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Diana Escarzaga is one of the many committed students who attends Coni’s weekly level one sessions, which cover the basic tactics of Krav Maga, such as knee strikes, punches and grip/lock breaks. 

“Coni is awesome, and she really brings the situations into context, like how, where and when you should implement a technique,” said Escarzaga.

When asked how rigorous a typical session with Benitez could be, Escarzaga answers with no hesitation. “She pushes quite a bit, and really works to get your heart rate up.”

Benitez’s end-of-class stress drills push her students to physical exertion, while still challenging them to perform the drills under the acute stress of a real-life situation.

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“Coni really kicks ass,” says Tier One manager Chris Greenhill. “She takes her training very seriously, and teaches it with a lot of passion. It really resonates with her students.” 

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The intense training that Krav Maga requires isn’t the only challenge that the sport has presented to Benitez. According to the United States Krav Maga Federation, men who practice Krav Maga outnumber women 12-1.

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 “It is a very male-dominated arena.  When I went to take my level two, it was me and six other women in a class of maybe 20.”

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While Benitez notes that all the guys, both students and instructors, at Tier One are more than accepting, she says that she has encountered other female trainers who were not so lucky when training male students. 

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“When I was taking the level two test, some of the women asked an expert trainer if she has different experiences when working with men. She said that she had encountered that problem before and that she had had male students who seemed to give her less credit, or who didn’t respond well compared to the male instructors,” Benitez explains.

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With such a strong team behind her at Tier One, Benitez feels far from an outsider in the sport, and even sees it as part of her lifestyle. “It’s a great way to stay in shape, and it has a purpose.  What you learn could save your life.”

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From Benitez’s perspective, Krav Maga is growing more than most know, especially in the number of female participants.  Beyond the techniques, though, Benitez says that one of the best skills she has derived from Krav Maga is confidence. 

“As a woman I walk home at night with a hyper-awareness, and now I’m still aware, but I’m less afraid, because in the event that something happens, I know how to disable my attacker.”

Benitez encourages more people to get out and try new activities, as she did with Krav Maga. 

“If a young woman asked me if she should try Krav Maga or really any not-so-traditional sport, I would say go for it.”