Steppin' in to do Combat

TUESDAY
I went and did Bettina's Pump and Sharon's Flow down at McCaul tonight. It felt really good to get back into it. I had really missed these classes. Sharon asked me at dinner why I was down there now that I've moved to Yonge and Eg, and I told her that I liked doing those classes, and I realized to a degree, there is the social componant and comraderie involved I was probably not consciously aware of. It seems really unique to the atmosphere of the McCaul club. Perhaps the age and demographic of the Queen Street crowd? IIt had been weeks since I've come down to McCaul for a workout (other than the Combat launch I taught a couple of weeks ago) and I was really glad to see the regulars, and go out to dinner with Sharon and her brother-in-law Dai.

Just as we were heading out to grab dinner immediately following Flow however, it turned out that the Jam instructor didn't show up, so I stepped up to the plate to do a kickboxing class. Having just done weights and then Yoga/Taichi/Pilates, I was pretty beat and constantly trying to catch my breath and speak at the same time! I hope my non-verbal cueing was evident.

It turned out to be a fun class for me though. I really like teaching kickboxing at McCaul. I just like the vibe there. Kickass stereo system and nice sized space. Afterwards I chatted with a nice woman who was a black belt in Tai Kwan Do, who told me how much she liked my class. In fact she had previously taken Nathalie's Combat class (Goodlife's Instructor of the Year!) and said she liked mine better! That felt really good given the fact that I didn't feel entirely on my game tonight since it was an emergency sub and I was pretty beat. Took me a while to "get into character", since I had just finished Flow and was all mellowed out from the breathing and stretching and ten minute relaxation.

With a small class of people, I was amazed that I was able to get the to do Keeyahs and all the other ridiculous yells I throw in just to mess with people. Although was was reminded from the self defense coures that we Keeyah in order to make sure we are breathing properly on our strikes and kicks, so if I can make it fun and entertaining for them at the same time it's not a bad thing. I know I've always had the problem that I instinctively hold my breath on a physical exersion, particularly in climbing... you don't flow when you hold your breath. I used to do it was well when I was first doing weights and really had to consciously make sure I was breathing throughout the movement. I wonder if I have that tendancy when I inline skate? Particularly on the cornering?

WHAT I ATE TODAY
Flax Bagel with Cream Cheese, Orange Juice, Carrots, pickle, Korean BBQ beef, chicken, salmon, ribs, whitefish, pork, rice, kimchi. tofu. beans. ice tea.