On a Sunday afternoon, I went to an orientation with five other new adult students at Revolution Martial Fitness, where my children have been taking lessons for four years and I've worked as a Program Director for the last three months. I believe all in the group - five women and one male - were feeling a bit nervous, apprehensive and excited to learn exactly what we had signed up for. Sensei Paul teaches a combination of martial arts styles including Kempo, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu to help develop well-rounded students with strength, flexibility, endurance, focus and confidence. During our orientation we learned some basics to help us join the classes the following week. We practiced slap out and defensive stand up position. We did various strikes and kicks on the punching bags. And, we tried out our kiai - a short yell used before, during or after a technique. Two things surprised me about this introductory work.
I am reasonably fit since I spend some time running, biking, swimming, practicing yoga and teaching Ultimate Bootcamp. Going into this I wasn't sure how much of a workout I would get or if it would be helpful in my other events since martial arts is new territory for me. Sure, I've spent many hours watching my children practice, but things are always different from the outside. I was pleasantly surprised by how easily my heart rate started rising during the bag work. I mentioned this to Sensei Paul after the orientation. He told me that he believes there is an emotional element to bag work that can contribute to increased heart rate. Perhaps. I do believe that there will be more emotional and mental than physical challenges for me to to overcome as I practice the martial arts. For example, the other thing that surprised me was how it felt to yell my first kiai, to find my voice and to become comfortable with it. Sensei Paul talked about this notion of "relaxed control" - trying not to hold our physical selves too tensely but rather to relax and demonstrate control and confidence. I think this applies to our physical bodies, as well as to our voices. We do not often have opportunities to yell in a controlled manner and doing so can be quite liberating, and a little intimidating as well. I think the mental challenge will come when it is time to learn strike combinations and forms that involve memorization and bilateral integration - coordinating opposite sides of the body at the same time. This type of work stimulates communication between the left and right sides of the brain and is important in physical and cognitive function. My memory is less acute these days so I'm hoping that this type of brain activation will be beneficial to my cognitive function.
I almost got bogged down by the larger issues ahead of me and didn't go to the orientation. I'm glad I did. It was helpful to take this small amount of time for myself, to get out of my head for just a bit and discover something new that will take me further outside of my comfort zone and help me grow in new ways. In a way, this is a gift to myself that will help me be a stronger person for my family.
I am grateful for this new, shared connection with my daughter and son who are in their fourth year of martial arts lessons. I am grateful for and looking forward to starting this journey with five other people - Leo, Amy, Heather, Alyssa and Deanna. The next time I write I will share what our first classes were like. I am grateful for another opportunity to learn how to face things head-on with "relaxed control."
"A further sign of health is that we don't become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it's time to stop struggling and look directly at what's threatening us." ~Pema Chodron
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| New RMF adult students | Natick, MA | May 5, 2013 |
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