Danger in Comfort

ahh, finally. a quiet house. quiet mind. time to blog. But as I sit down and prepare to review today's Body Combat class, I realize that I don't have much new material to write about. We did some of the same tracks we've done before, the same moves I've been working on for the past 8 months or so. For example, one track we did, according to Robb, had moves from 7 different MMA's (mixed martial arts) in it. Some of these that I recognize were: from Capoeira- the ginga and esquiva, from Muay Thai- ascending/descending elbows, streetbrawler punches, jump knee, from boxing- double hooks, double uppers, power hook, speed jabs, etc., and karate's snap kicks, roundhouse kicks, cross guard and more. Nothing new. oh but here's one new thing, I learned a new word in the Portuguese language , the word for "circle", which was used when we did our ginga moves in a circle. What was that Portugese word? (sigh.) for the life of me I cannot think of it now. oh well.

Nevertheless, it was a good workout. Here's Robb's take on it, as he put it out on Facebook and I quote: "Well done, Mad Cary Moms! For those who missed it, we did 3 no-punches leg tracks. Turbulence, Warrior's Dance, Ring the Alarm. All 3 are just kicks, knees, squats, lunges & Capoeira goodness! It was brutal!"

yes, he's right, it was brutal, and here are some youtube clips to give you a better visual idea of how brutal: (copy-paste if these links don't work, sorry!)

Turbulence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XFp3FIOiA0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Warrior's Dance: (check out the girl in the blonde ponytail, man, she is wicked!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuHHUYgXKJM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Ring the Alarm: (woman-athlete's-body-envy!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qDOKgIVYB8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Tommy Damani, Body Combat Tips & Tricks (a very good instructional, though I didn't watch all of it, just got the gist of it, he's like the body combat guru..)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66YogNh5Lpk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

So there it is. A good tough work-out, I'm feeling it already, but mentally it felt a bit too comfortable. It's like pulling an old favorite sweatshirt over my head, I know what the moves will feel like on my body, I can jump into the rhythm pretty easily now, developing better muscle efficiency as I go. Comfort. That's all fine and good.

But therein the problem lies. If I'm not being challenged by new things, I'm not growing. I need to be learning new things, thrown into new situations where I feel totally awkward and newbie-ish again, even embarrassed by ocassional instructor critiques and my own wonkiness. So maybe I need to spend more time at the boxing gym, try out that sparring class, maybe even something cool like a place that only teaches capoeira, which I love for its dance-like fluidity and gymnastic moves.

It's the same in life. Whether it's in physical progress, creative pursuits, occupational goals or spiritual areas, I'm learning the danger of just remaining in a place that's "comfortable", but stagnant and unfulfilling. We all need to be stretched, to feel those growing pains and to risk the consequences of some new changes/improvements in our lives. Push past the boundaries. No dream is too big. Not a pride thing, just need to move towards the highest possible goals that I can reach. Don't fear change, don't get comfortable, or the evils of complacency, pride and laziness will set in. I'm preaching to myself here. Be open. Pray, seek God, humble myself...and then MOVE!! Whatever it is. A new workout. An art class. Learn a new language. Never stop learning. That's my inspiration for today. Just do it. (thanks, Nike)

 

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