I’ve been kickboxing since about last October, so for about 10 months now. It is my new obsession. You get that cardio/boot camp stuff – we run and do jumping jacks, push up , burpies (if you don’t know what burpies are call me – everyone should have to endure this kind of pain) and you also get out some aggression with hitting and kicking and punching and yelling – it’s pretty awesome! I mean not that I’m going through anything stressful right now that I would need to get aggression out (like planning a wedding, or being on 28 projects so far this year).
I go to a martial art’s studio for kickboxing. To me the benefit to this is you are surrounded by trained martial artists who know about form and technique. I feel like kickboxing at a lot of gyms isn’t a whole lot different than a boot camp or aerobics class. I also love that we have the actual bags to train on. Master Lanre at my school thinks of it as more of a pre-Tae Kwon Do class (with burpies).
A couple of months ago, one of my instructors told me I should teach class and I jokingly said let me know when you have an open position. He brought me up to Master Lanre after class and said “talk to him”. Since then I’ve been working with Master Lanre to train and improve my instructing skills. This started off with teaching portions of the kickboxing class to the Black Belt class. Talk about INTIMIDATING! The first class I had a little mouse voice and was shaking like a leaf, come to find out they don’t do these basic steps much anymore and by the end of 15 minutes, they were sweating all over the place and absolutely exhausted (Monica – 1, Black Belts - 0).
In addition to the instructor training sessions, I’ve also been taking some Tae Kwon Do classes. It is an interesting experience to go from practicing being in front of the class and the “expert” to going to the back of the class where I know NOTHING. It is much more difficult than I anticipated. I love the fact that I’m learning the “right” way to do the kicks and punches but the forms are SO CONFUSING – I feel like I’m just flailing my arms and legs hoping that I’m faced the same direction as the rest of the class. As dumb as it may sound – the hardest part for me is the “yes sir” aspect. Now, my mother raised me right, I say Mr. and Mrs., even a sir or ma’am every now and again. But having to say “yes sir” after every command makes me feel weird. It makes me feel like it is years ago before women’s rights and when men ruled the world or something. I believe in respect and understand that you show respect to those higher than you so I’ll go with it, still feels weird.
So far I’ve taught about 20 minutes of the Black Belt class 4 times and about 3/4 of the kickboxing class that I take. I’m really excited about this opportunity and can’t wait to grow my skills, so much to learn and practice. I also hope I can help people achieve their fitness goals – the part I’m most excited about is to start with a new class and watch them transform over time, giving them motivation and support. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
A few months ago, we had a class outside on the street. Bart came and snapped some shots, thanks to Crystal for coming and trying it out with me!
These bags are my favorite and kicking is my favorite
This is a front block. The man in front in all white is Master Lanre.
This is a front jab. Make sure you are hitting with your first two knuckles, keep you arm straight out but don't lock your elbows.
Keep your arms up to protect your face :-)
