Well, I attended my fist class at Fusion Health & Performance and I must say I was pretty impressed. Now I admit I have no experience when it comes to martial arts/self defense classes but this is how the class was structured (from what I remember:
1. Jump rope warm up
2. Instructor went over jab punch and had me practice without resistance
3. Instructor went over cross punch and had me practice without resistance
4. Instructor had me practice combinations of these two punches while punching his hands
5. Instructor went over hook punch and had me practice without resistance
6. Instructor had me practice combinations of these three punches while punching his hands. I think he could tell I was having issues with the hook and didn't incorporate it for the rest of the class.
7. Instructor had me work on my foot work. He had me move with him back and forward protecting my chest and weak side.
8. Instructor had me practice punch combinations on the heavy bag.
9. Instructor had me practice punch combinations while shadow boxing.
10. Instructor had me practice punch combinations while hitting his padded hands.
11. Instructor had me do ab work (crunches, leg lifts, etc).
Class lasted 45 minutes (normal length) and he did say he normally has students do kettle ball and medicine ball work but didn't want to overdue it on my first day (he knew I was winded).
Some observations from the class:
1. The instructor was very friendly, seemed very knowledgeable and always corrected me when he saw I was doing something incorrectly.
2. I was the only person in the class so I basically got a private lesson for $10 (regular drop in price). The facility has only been open a week and half so not many people know about it yet. I asked him how many people he has had in previous classes and he said he has been averaging a couple. He also mentioned that he is training a boxer.
3. He really stressed protecting body/face with hand placement, using hips and legs when punching, rotating shoulders when punching, breathing, relaxing etc. I don't know much about boxing but this seems consistent with other sports I've played.
4. He also showed me a video of him sparring (to show how he was relaxed when he sparred). He did show me some of the kickboxing moves on a heavy bag (kicks, using elbows, using knees etc) but did not have me try them. I think he was just trying to give me an idea how boxing works with kickboxing.
5. He also mentioned that he will eventually be incorporating some BJJ into the training.
6. I felt he pushed me a good amount. Considering it was my first class I was pretty tired and sweaty. He seemed to know how to push me but not go overboard.
7. He was open about his past when I asked him. I asked him why he moved here from California and he said he is recently married and his wife is from here. He also said he is still training at another local gym. I didn't ask too many questions about his past but he answered whatever I asked.
Overall I was very impressed with the class and instructor and will definitely be going back. Let me know if my observations seem on point or if I should be concerned about anything. Thanks!
