During an interview, he explained that his favourite past time was kickboxing. That has been lodged in my brain ever since, in the compartment for crazy dreams that will never come true. The adventure of working my way through the alphabet of sports has given me the perfect excuse of realising this long held dream of imitating my idol.
My heart dropped slightly when I saw Kes, who had kindly agreed to come with me, was waiting by the roadside, shrugging his shoulders. Turns out the gym was very well hidden - more like a shed behind a house.
Unlike with any of the other classes I've ever attended, no-one came to greet us at the door or to reassure us. After a couple of awkward seconds of searchingly trying to catch someone's eye, a stern looking man came over to explain that the jumping ropes were hanging on the hook, near the peeling posters of Mohammed Ali. We assumed it was an instruction and got jumping.
After a minute of jumping I thought I was doing pretty well, until I realised that this was not a short & sweet kind of warm up. 9 Minutes later I was gasping for air and glad that the torture was over... or so I thought. The many breaks I had to take had allowed me to glance around the posters on the brick walls and the other participants. I'd guess the ages ranged from about 8 to 48, with the coach being nearer the later. Surprisingly, to me anyway, the small group of about 10 consisted largely of women, and not a single show off muscle guy or gal in sight. Just people working hard.
My inexperience must have been written across my forehead, because I was ushered to the ring for 1:1 boxing training whilst everyone else punched furiously at the innocent bags. 2 minutes on, 1 Minute break, and punch. Look where you're hitting, don't move your shoulders and keep your hands up. Back leg stays back, and keep your hands up and move your hips, but keep your hands up. Harder, watch what you're doing, hands up and back straight. Left. No, LEFT! And keep your hands up, otherwise...
And the soft glove of the instructor made contact with me chubby cheek. I guess I'll remember to keep my hands up.
Half way through the session we changed to practising kicks, and I was glad to step out of the focus and being paired up with a woman about my age. Jeanette explained that she started kickboxing 10 years ago to combat her anxiety and to improve confidence through being able to defend herself if necessary. She recently gained her black belt and is delighted about the improvement to her fitness levels since she first started.
As the session neared the end, there was a change in atmosphere. I just caught a whisper of "oh no, it's workout time". I thought we had 10 minutes left, how hard could it be... you know me by now. The instructions rained down: 25 push ups, 30 sit ups, and another 10 mountain climbers... The bright side? No squats!
So would kickboxing be a way of kicking the Netflix habit?
1. We attended a free taster session, and the gym we attended works on the basis of a monthly pass which allows you to attend as many classes as you want.
2. No special equipment was required - clean socks, gym clothes & a bottle of water will do you just fine.
3. If you would like to receive emotional support and a soft start, I don't think this would work. But for me this was perfect - straight in. Mistakes were constantly pointed out and suggestions on improvement made, as if it was the basic assumption that I was able to be really good at this. And that made me feel really good.
4. For all it's "hidden and downtrodden" appearance at first, it turned out to be a well equipped & thought trough space.
5. Everyone was incredibly friendly. Not necessarily the "lets go out and have coffee" kind of friendly but the "I see you are here to work and improve yourself, let me help you."
6. Even though I was constantly pushed to work hard and try my best, it was also made clear that I could stop at any time to take a break. I guess if it has been a very long time since you've last exercised, it might be worth mentioning that at the beginning.
7. The warm up & cool down sessions were physically hard and I was watching the clock for those. But the actual boxing & kicking was such fun that I didn't really notice that my arms had started to ache and that I was out of breath.
8. There was something really empowering about putting those gloves on - I felt I walked out with my back a little straighter. I punch like a girl, in a way that kicks ass. Or sandbags, as the case may be.
I guess this means heels off & gloves on! What's next, Kes?
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