Kickboxing and Rock II

Katie D.

February 2, 2012 - 4:07 PM

In addition to the other craziness of this term, I am enrolled in two awesome PE courses: kickboxing and Rock II. I knew I was going to get out of control with classes, work, interning, and thesis writing... so I signed up for extra work. While writing this made me raise an eyebrow, I also know that what I've done is signed up for some mandatory stress relief every week. For at least four hours a week I'm fully focused on my body and on learning to do these fun and absorbing physical activities. So for that time, I'm out of my head and into the rock wall, or the sparring drills. I'm into a new kind of headspace that has nothing to do with books and writing and academic analysis. It's pure fun.

Although it also means that some weeks, like this one, I arrive at Friday afternoon and am so sore I can hardly walk or hold a fork. I guess that's just the price I'll be paying.

I'm finding kickboxing to be a great release and stress-reducer. I was in karate for all of middle school, and used to love the body dynamics and skills involved with martial arts. I'm enjoying kickboxing even more, and am learning these great new skills to build on the body memory I still have from karate. The only real drawback to my class is that it's at 8:00 in the morning, twice a week. But by halfway through the class I'm fully engaged with the process of the class: the shadow boxing or in hitting and kicking pads held by my partner. I'm getting pretty good, too.

This also involves some hilarious homework: namely to watch boxing and Mixed Martial Arts clips on YouTube. People can be so intensely brutal with this stuff. So, for the record, the goal is to push myself and learn these new skills, but not to knock out anyone's teeth or ever go for a KO. Just for the record.

Rock climbing is also proving to be a joy. It was a bit discouraging at first, since the last time I was climbing with any regularity was before my undergraduate graduation. But this class is great and has really pushed me to improve, and the class is a mix from near-beginners to folks with some really well-honed skills. Rock II is all about developing technique and building strength. We do lots of odd drills, including climbing blind, climbing without bending your arms (I dare you to try it-you look ridiculous but pay a lot of attention to where you're putting your feet), and doing combinations of short, timed climbs and push-ups. I've developed some really exciting new callouses and some distracting soreness in odd places. Hopefully I'll get to do some real outdoor rock climbing sometime this spring.

So that's the deal: my PE distractions to my crazy life. It's making a huge difference, and bringing a lot of joy to my days. So when I'm writing about my thesis progress (almost 14 pages as of this afternoon) or describing my internship work just remember that I'm also kickboxing my heart out and trying to scale walls without raising my hands above shoulder-height.

Never a dull moment in the life of Katie D.