BODYCOMBAT 62 Sizzler

G'day, mates! (sorry, i'm being influenced by these Body Combat head honchos down under in Auckland!!)

You wanna know what makes me reeeeeaaally exhausted, tired, out of breath, aching in every muscle and molecule of this ol' body?  Sitting here in this comfy chair, sipping my Casi Cielo dark roast, curled up in fuzzy slippers and blanky....watching THIS:

It's a 3-minute "sizzler" or trailer for the Body Combat 62, the new release that we just did in class yesterday.  What's so amazing to me, watching these, is how people all over the world, starting from these guys in New Zealand, are doing these exact same moves to the same tracks, with the same teaching tips, exact choreography.  this is worldwide!  worldwide aches and pains and nicely rounded buns, too, i might add, for those that have been doing it as long as they have!  I just watch these 3 minutes of action and i have nothing left to say in this blog to review the pain and torture, yet glorifyingly amazing energy and spiritual fervor that goes on in each of these classes.  Yesterday was a perfect example. We really had the room sizzling with energy, music pounding, Rob's encouragement to pull out all the stops, give it all we've got, and there was no lack of enthusiasm in the resounding cheer of Rob's: "MAD CARY MOMS!!!" and our response, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!!!" over and over again.  Powerful.  Wonderful.  Loved it.  till i hated it, with a passion, hours later, as the muscles broke down and the mild headache from lack of sufficient oxygen or water seeped in, and i had to go to bed super early to recover.  

So to recap...this video reminded me...

Importance of FORM:  these guys are the pros.  Rob's great, but watching these guys is really impressive, the sharpness, the accuracy of their kicks.  the fury of their punches.  no flabby, flailing arms like the car-washing chick or the hammy the squirrel characters i sometimes see in my class.

Their description of the roundhouse kick, spot-on.  just like Rob's, so i'm glad about that. 

I remember those new "guard" moves that i'm still trying to figure out.  Doing karate moves when i've never actually donned the white bathrobe thingy can throw me off sometimes. feels foreign but that's ok. i like it.

combine those guards with the side kicks, smacking out both opponents: POW!!

new boxing combo, mixin it up, fast, "maintain rotation for the hook". 

Dark Horse remix.  liked it. but ouch, 56 continuous strikes: first knees, then side, front and back kicks. never ending. 

 grab some water if there's time.  or at least try to breathe between tracks.

Then the killer Capoeira, lower-body work-out.  ouch ouch ouch.  standing on one leg for 2 whole minutes, doing killer S-L-O-WWWW kicks and lunges till the fire in your legs is about to erupt and explode you.   Rob's comment, "you can do anything for 2 minutes. God knows i have..."  (translation cue,  Rob in 3 words: gay. 2 kids.  biological. ok moving on..)

Muay Thai. perfect mix of all my favorites, including the brawler blow, ascending and descending elbow strikes mixed with jab-crosses, every beat, nonstop, no rest for the weary. "arms above the head" keeps the heart rate up, up, up.  Recovery time? a short stint of running in place, Keep those knees up!!!

Finished with some new ab work, things called Quarter Crunches.  

Cool-down and goodbye.

For someone else's review of Body Combat 62, check out this link:

https://nzglen.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/bodycombat-62-filming/

This has been exhausting. just thinking about it makes me tired.  Need to keep it up, stay in better fighting shape.  Fitness goal: (i know, i keep trying to stay on track and keep renewing my vows to 

fitness, but here goes again:)  Body Combat once a week, Boxing once a week, run a few times in-between.  i'm getting there...

till next time...keep your guard up, mates!!

WCF?

Feeling a good burn from my boxing class today, ready to jump in a hot bath with epsom salts...i'll be feeling this tomorrow.  But first just a few words..

Almost didn't go today when i found out who was instructing.  he may be a nationally top ranked kick boxer, but as a teacher? no thanks.  Teachers need to really teach, give clear instructions, several times for some of us newbies or non-regulars at the gym.  This guy just tells us once, whether it's 3 minutes of lunges with weights or a combo of 10 upper cuts and then 3 burpies, or a sequence of "5,6, 1,4" or "1,2,2,3"... which is not much guidance if we've forgotten which numbers are right jab, or left hook, or upper cut or whatever.  he lacks the charisma of the other instructors, too, but oh well.  i still got a good work-out.

He gave us a very creative bunch of push-ups, i can say that much.. Variations included: frog-legs, swing one leg thru like a hip escape, oblique mountain-climbers, crawl to the left or right, tap the bag and down, shoulder taps, and more.  He also gave us a long, long, long round of ab exercises, which I might not have finished if not for a sudden glimpse of entertainment from the other side of the room that kept me going...

by the way, is this wcw? aw shucks, it's Friday, but this woman crush was on this young boxer chick who was with her trainer over by the boxing ring, beating the crap out of this bag with such amazing technique and form...i was very impressed, and yes, jealous.   After class i snuck in a couple vines of this fighting and training action i was observing, first of the 2 guys in the ring, (one of them an instructor who also fights at least semi-professionally) and then of the girl.  

My observations of her technique:  i know i don't know much yet about the sport, but i could tell she did a few very important things: she kept her guard up really well, she totally used her core muscles in slamming that bag around, she was super FAST at it, she made funny little noises with each strike, and then she'd suddenly back away, like she was ducking from her opponent.  She also spent a few minutes just practicing her footwork off to the side.  girl be nimble!   wow. 

so i'll upload those vines here.  enjoy!

More boxing (wcf)

Check out jennifer nelson's post on Vine! https://vine.co/v/OjbEdXmWVq2

Boxing gym action

Check out jennifer nelson's post on Vine! https://vine.co/v/OjbEnA9O0QK

Women's Kickboxing

 I WANT TO DO THIS!!!

This video really inspires me.  makes me wanna jump out of this chair and get to the gym and pour my energy, my sweat, my blood, my emotions, into getting into the toughest shape i can possibly obtain and to fight towards the goal of becoming a blackbelt...in something.  I didn't know there was a such thing as a blackbelt in kickboxing in general, but i will look into this more.  I may not have a lot of time to train for this now,  but a fire has been kindling inside me, growing slowly but steadily, that i want to achieve some level of greatness in this area of fitness and fighting.  There's just something very metaphorical about becoming great in the sport of fighting.  more than winning a trophy or a belt or a silver cup or a gold ring.  It's about mastering your own physical capabilities, empowering yourself and defeating another person, eye to eye, blow by blow.   i may be a bit emotional and hyped about this at the moment, while my reality says i need to balance it with a lot of other things that are going on in my life, and that's true.  but i will not let this fire go out.  i want to be this girl.  i may be much older, and frailer, but i'm inspired.  enjoy the video.  i'll be watching more like it.  see ya!!

First Fight of 2015

Happy New Year!!

Time to get back to the gym, fight the herds of New Year Resolutionists, fight for  my spot among the other Mad Cary Moms in Body Combat class, with just the right view of the instructor in one direction, and the front and side mirrors in the other directions.  time to Fight!!  I'm coming up to two years of attending this class, so instead of boring you with too many details of the play-by-play action, I thought I'd write you a little poem instead.  here goes...

(remember, this is a class choreographed to music, so be sure to keep a steady beat while reading this poem, like the beat just dropped in the pounding rock music-filled room)

Body Combat, here we go
get in place now don't be slow
guard up, fighter's stance
imaginary opponents don't stand a chance

warm-up track, boxing beat
a little stretch, move those feet
jab-cross-jab, i'm getting warm,
off with layers, work on form

Spit Fire's the name of the next little ditty
Thighs on fire, it ain't pretty
Capoeira cobra,  ginga, esquiva,
them lunges make me wanna heave-uh!!



Taekwondo next, What's Love Got to Do With it?
Decoy-switch, strike, and a fast back kick
Feelin my ninja  rising within
Dare ya to fight me, i'll kick your shin!



(i know, i know, my rhythm's off, my poetry sounds like it comes from a sloth!!)

my other favorite, Muay Thai
relentless knee strikes, hands go high
grab that opponent around the neck
smash his head to the knee like heck!

  

then elbow strikes, descending first
close that gap, make that poor guy hurt!
ascending strikes, whip him good
elbows piercing like a fighter should

boxing again, tighten fists
helps me strengthen these creaky wrists
helps me when i play guitar
music or madness, these fists go far.



push-ups, ab-work, then cool-down song:
There Goes a Fighter. can't go wrong.
here's the lyrics of that great combat ender,
and that only rhymes with fender bender.

here goes:  There Goes a Fighter (by Gym Class Heroes)

Just wakin up in the morning
And to be well,
Quite honest with ya,
I ain't really sleep well
Ya ever feel like your train a thoughts been derailed?
That's when you press on- Lee nails
Half the population's just waitin to see me fail
Yeah right, you're better off tryina freeze hell
Some of us do it for the females
And others do it for the retails
But I do it for the kids, life threw the towel in on
Everytime you fall its only making your chin strong
And I'll be in your corner like Mick baby, til the end
Or when you hear the song from that big lady
Pre-chorus:
Until the referee rings the bell
Until both your eyes start to swell
Until the crowd goes home
What we gonna do ya'll?
Chorus (Ryan Tedder):
Give em hell, turn their heads
Gonna live-life-til-we're-dead.
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me
There goes a fighter, there goes a fighter
Here comes a fighter
That's what they'll say to me, say to me
Say to me, this one's a fighter
Verse 2:
And if I can last thirty rounds
There's no reason you should ever have your head down
Six foot five, two hundred and twenty pounds
Hailing from rock bottom, loserville, nothing town
Text book version of the kid going nowhere fast
And now im yelling kiss my ass,
it's gonna take a couple right hooks a few left jabs
for you to recognize that you really aint got it bad
Pre-chorus:
Until the referee rings the bell
Until both your eyes start to swell
Until the crowd goes home
What we gonna do ya'll?
Chorus (Ryan Tedder):
Give em hell, turn their heads
Gonna live- life- til- we're- dead.
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me
There goes a fighter, there goes a fighter
Here comes a fighter
That's what they'll say to me, say to me
Say to me, this one's a fighter

Bridge:
Everybody put yo hands up
What we gonna do? (x7) ya'll
If you fall pick yourself up off the floor (get up)
And when your bones can't take no more (c'mon)
Just remember what you're here for
Cuz I know imma damn sure
Chorus:
Give em hell, turn their heads
Gonna live- life- til- we're- dead.
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me
There goes a fighter, there goes a fighter
Here comes a fighter
That's what they'll say to me, say to me
Say to me, this one's a fighter
Till the referee rings the bell
Till both ya eyes start to swell
Till the crowd goes home,
What we gonna do kid?

(Songwriters
MCCOY, TRAVIS / LUMUMBA-KASONGO, DISASHI / MCGINLEY, MATTHEW / ROBERTS, ERIC / TEDDER, RYAN / ZANCANELLA, NOEL)

 

ok, so i guess you had to be there...lyrics always sound best in the music, not on the page.
but anyway...

I summarize by saying that was a great first Body Combat work-out of 2015.  My only regret, my only unsatisfied desire, that slight hunger, a gnawing for more...is that i wish i could've been smashing some heavy bags for part of it.  yeah, i guess i'll need to hit up my boxing gym soon to satisfy that urge.  they do good interval training workouts, and i like mixing things up like that, keep the body guessing.  But for us crazy musical lunatics who just THRIVE on having music in my brain and ears constantly...i came up with an idea.  i'm sure it's already been done out there on youtube someplace, but.... i need to make my own body combat video, though i'd call it something else, of course, where i incorporate both choreographed mixed martial arts moves with NO equipment or gloves, interspersed with tracks of hitting the bags with boxing gloves, also choreographed to music.  Only problem is, when i hit the bags, i hit them so hard that they swing a lot (not bragging here, just sayin) and that makes it hard to hit them to a constant beat, so i'm always having to work my way around the bag, hitting the opposite side, hitting real hard and fast and then stopping to retrieve the bag or hold it still again. ok i'm thinking out loud here, i'll also need to buy a serious bag and find a place to hang it in the house for filming .. and i'll call it...i'll call it...ummm, i'll figure out something.  

till next time, find the sport that fuels your fury and make this your best year of fitness ever!!!


  

Return to Body Combat!!!!!! (continued)

Sitting here in the gym parking lot. It's been over 2.5 months since I've been at this class. Fearful? Just a bit.  Muscles feeling flabby, lungs, are you ready for this? Reaching down deep..deeper..for that fighter within. Hello? Anyone in there?  Ok no more procrastinating.. Open that car door, grab your mat, water bottle, here goes. Time to smash some opponents. (More later, if I survive this!)

 

And I survived!  just waiting for the headache to descend upon my skull now...that always happens after this class.  I drink tons of water, so it's not dehydration, i don't think, but just the constant intensity.  I can go to my boxing gym and I'm fine afterwards, but it's because they do interval training so the heart rate gets a break.  We'll do like 3 minutes of high-intensity boxing into the heavy bags, then a few minutes of strength training exercises, so the body keeps guessing and adapting to the changes, but at least the heart rate can recover in-between.  But not in Body Combat at my regular gym.  and it just keeps getting harder, with each new release of choreography.  Instructor Rob explains the change over the months & years, as eliminating more of the "pulse" counts and inserting more and more punches.  For example, while previous tracks might include sets of "jab-cross-jab, then pulse, pulse" where you just rock in place for a couple counts, now it's more straight-up jab-cross-jab, round-house kick, repeat, repeat, repeat. no rest for the weary.  i guess i'm just getting old.  oh well.  Took my pain reliever BEFORE going to the class, like my doctor suggested, so hoping for the best here.

So today i was happy to hear some of these old tracks in the mix, more time to recover, for someone who hasn't been in class for awhile.  Starting out with some familiar Pit Bull, this song i remember from my very first class. 

My favorite karate track to Pink's "Your Hand" song, got me singing along, as usual.  karate chops, back snap kick, and the squats with the hand blocks, where you do a side elbow jab, then a sideways push of the wrist, so it's to the throat, then the chin. take that!!

A strictly boxing track, set to a dance remix of Police's Every Breath You Take, with a new combo that feels strange: it's an upper cut-cross jab.   i'm so used to doing an upper combined with an alternate hook, that this feels weird.  i keep getting mixed up.  but it's a good thing. you gotta fool your enemy.  make them keep guessing what you're gonna do, can't let them predict your next move.  takes mental flexibility, confuse that muscle memory, keep it open to new moves.  liking it. 

Then another favorite oldie, that fun track of constant kicks to Alesha Dixon's "Drummer Boy":

she goes something like: "hoooooo----- i think i need a better drumm--mmer!!!" (band responds: "Say What???!!") she says, "I THINK I NEED A BETTER DRUM-MMER!!!"  During which time we are all balancing on one leg, other leg extended in a forever side-kick pose...then the beat drops and it's non-stop side kicks, front and back kicks for the whole song.  Good for the Boot-AY!!!

  

here's a pretty cool video of a class doing this kick track: (select, copy, paste in new tab?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WaBbYZWV-U

 <iframe width="

640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_WaBbYZWV-U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

anyhoo....

Move along to the muay thai track, set to the song Phat Bass by Aquagen vs. Warp Brothers (??). 

Here's the song, to set you in the mood for some killer ascending and descending elbow strikes, knee strikes and various other Muay Thai moves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIrUWqLiJVo

A couple notes from Robb: if you look like you're fixing your hair on the ascending elbow strikes, you're doing it wrong.  Gotta twist the body, lift the opposite heel, and pull the energy from the ground.  "Power comes from the Earth" says guru Robb.   hmm, sounds a bit New Agey, i'm thinking, yet dismiss it as just a good metaphor for balancing your physical energy with the solid ground beneath you, a kind of leveraging.  If i get too spiritual thinking about it, i might think about summoning evil fighting demons from the earth or from myself, don't wanna go there. keep it light.

not that this song is light, no, it's a pretty good thrashing fast track, great for this Muay Thai work-out.

Finished the class on our mats, doing push-ups, planks, and komodo dragons.

For a little sneak peek at the new BC63 release, here's a blog post by an instructor who was there at the reveal, when they filmed the work-out for the DVD's they sell. It's mostly a bunch of vague hype, no song titles mentioned, just keeping us guessing and piquing our interest in what's to come. sounds very intense. I'm sure we'll get it live from Robb sometime in the new year. 

http://nzglen.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/bodycombat-63-filming/

Hope you enjoyed it. Till next time, keep your guard up, your fighter in control.

As for me, time for a nap!