fractional flat tires in the jungle

 

 

Back at it again. Body Combat. But first a quick link to a blog much better versed than I am in the technical aspects of this sport... I happened upon this blog of a guy who has a hefty background in martial arts training, I think he's a Body Combat instructor himself, so his critiques of the different tracks are much more technical, if you wanna check it out. He also has a section that lists all the tracks of music for all 58 or so choreographed sets. Now you'll notice in those that many of the songs listed don't give the original artist of the song, like they're recycled tunes, re-done by someone else because of copyright law, perhaps? whatever. But rest assured, when Mr. Robb leads our class, he brings the real mojo- as in Welcome to the Jungle by, who else, Guns'n'Roses! But the lists are interesting, if you're looking for ideas for a new workout playlist to download..

ok, so here's the link. Take a look, I'll meet you back here...

http://nzglen.wordpress.com/about-me/

Now let's fight. Robb starts out by singling out any newbies, as usual, and this time the one newbie is also the only guy in class! Poor guy. Robb assures him that "we" are ALL Mad Cary Moms here, regardless. He also says, "Attention, ladies, there is a boy in the room, and he's a looker!" Of course Robb would notice such things. But lookers aren't always fighters. My 5-second analysis of his fighter form? eh...definitely a newbie, I could easily take him down with one slug. no offense, just sayin.

Brand new set today, and it's a cardio killer. Faking it frequently to avoid fainting. seriously.

My favorite track- the karate kicks to "Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games....watch it bring you to your...knnnnnnnnn-knees, knees!!!" as POW!! we snap-kick our opponent in the knees. hiiiyyyAAHHH!! "I wanna watch you bleed!!!...."Let me hear you SCREAM!!!!!"

I just cannot even imagine doing these brutal moves to any kind of music less vicious than these tunes. Especially the toughest squat track, where the worst set of burning-thigh-and-butt lunges and slow-mo kicks is done to this especially grinding, wailing, off-the-rails crazy dub step mix...yow! pain! burn! bring it on!! Then back into the jenga movement for a bit of relief..

Muay Thai...downward street brawl punch, lovin it... jump kicks...

Some words on technique: on the hook, aim for the side of the head, between the temple and the jaw, keep the elbow up. On the elbow strikes, relax the hand, roll shoulder forward, elbow SLICES brow and nose. Ok, so here's why God gave me such knobby elbows, I could really do some damage with these knives!!!

Cardio-snap kicks, speed jabs, red face, out of breath, costume malfunck-shhhhsugarcrapohnoturnaroundfixitnobodysawthatmovingrightalonghere-jabs for SPEED! hooks-STRENGTH!! cross-jacks-AJILITY!! upper cuts-POWER!!! GO MAD CARY MOMS!!! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!!

Finally to the push-ups. Robb entertains us by teaching us the "twerk" dance move. Funny.

After class, in the transition before my Body Flow, I catch Robb and tell him about my recent venture into the boxing classes, tell him how he inspired me. He tells me that there are a couple punch bags in the back of this gym, that he comes in on his own and does his own boxing work-out here sometimes. Later I peek into the back room, by the basketball court, and there they are, 2 big stationary lumps, just ready to be punched. They're sneering at me. I sneer back. Just wait, you bad boys, just wait..

Transition from house-bangin rockin face-smashin Body Combat...

to serene, calm, dimly-lit, peaceful, zen-ful Body Flow...ohmmmmmmmmm...

This time in class, as I come back inside to reflect on my current mental/emotional/spiritual condition, I am given the "Eureka!" vision of a flat tire divided by fractions. Let me explain...

One-third of me is in a dark place of grief, the second one-third is also a dark place of grief, can't say more, but lately the "third third" has become a dimly lit, yes dimly, but dimly lit place of relief and peace. Not giddy happiness and excitement of what's in my unknown future, but just a tender shoot of peace, a feeling of "it's ok, God's here, it's gonna be alright...somehow." Now it would be great to just stay in that place, hang up some pretty pictures, get real comfy, but that's not how you fix a flat, deflated tire. YOu don't just pump up one third of the tire and expect to get a smooth ride. You'd have a big bump on one section and your ride would go "ba-bump...ba-bump..." No, you have to gradually add air to the other two-thirds, as well. Now at this point those other two-thirds are deep dark vaccums where I feel lost and out of control and unable to really DO anything to help. Just pray. Pray constantly through the dark, and wait for a tiny ember of hope to begin burning. I'm encouraged to feel more comfortable in prayer again. A place to stop and breathe again. Change has to be slow sometimes. Not too slow and stagnant, just staying in balance with the Lord. No cheesy church faces here, just reality and faith. and stepping out in faith, even when it seems there's just empty space beneath my feet.

whew. that was quite an exhausting Body Flow session. at the end, I again wipe my eyes as I get up from the 5 minutes of quiet meditation, but this time, it's only from one eye. that's progress. i think.

So this whole comparmentalizing my thoughts...into these "thirds" kind of thing...that's really my strong-male side taking over. You know, the whole, men think in little boxes and women think more globally, we can juggle a million different thoughts at the same time. I like my artsy, global side but sometimes it's overwhelming. Yes, I have a strong masculine side at times, not in a weird way, I don't think, but just enough to help me sort through my thoughts and find some strength to move on.

more about that masculine side, just to clarify...(I am not a butch!! really!!!!) :) It's just that...I've always enjoyed hanging out with guys, being one of them in a tomboy way, I guess you could say. Like it's just more fun to hang with them and do things like...hiking a mountain in a tropical rainstorm and then body-surfing/mudsliding all the way back down, or mountain-biking through a woods, careening through spider webs and over tree roots that just may or may not send me flying over the handle-bars, oh so much more fun than making small talk about ladies' hair salons or how to get that nasty stain off the carpet. pul-lease!!! Or memories of thundering around a lake-side trail on roller blades, terrorizing small pets and children...or climbing trees in the back woods at camp, creating needless gossip among the other counselors, wondering what we were "really" up to, HA! those idiots. I seriously miss that stuff. But on the flip side, when it comes to talking relationships and what he said and she said and how they said it and what they were wearing....that's where we all need a good set of girlfriends. And I need a refill of this good Tazo tea at my friendly neighborhood Starbucks.

later, y'all!! (OMG, I'm sounding so country, what is happening to this northern chick...y'all??!!)

p.s. no boxing class this week. yesterday killed me. maybe next week. :)

 

 

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