Been thinking about the gym (LA Boxing) lately... the boxing and kickboxing classes. I think... and this sounds bad... I think I might be getting bored with the classes. The instructors seem like they have fun teaching, the owners have been nothing but fair with me, and the folks I talk to there are really nice. But I've noticed that the classes largely seem the same, everytime I go. There's no 'prac app' in those classes (well, BJJ I imagine would be so, due to its nature... you just can't practice it solo AFAIK, but it's rare that I can make it for the class, and I'd feel a little odd being the new guy trying to roll with the 'big boys'... in my last few months there, though, I think I might just swallow my pride and go to the no-gi class on Fridays). Mostly, it's cardio, and hitting the heavy bag. There's no defensive work like I had experienced in the MMA class demo... no sparring (ad hoc Saturday sessions notwithstanding, and when you couple that with no defensive work, there's really not that much to the sparring class except seeing how well you can keep the instructors from tagging you). I don't think there's been anything involving the use of focus mitts in any of the classes I frequent (unless there's just certain days that cover it).
I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining about it... I think I just have different expectations about the classes (boxing/kickboxing), now that I've kind of grown into them. If I had a complaint, it'd be that certain classes just get so large (sometimes to the point of sharing bags), that it's hard to maneuver, or get tips on anything you might be doing wrong (there's generally only one instructor at a time, and that's a lot of people for him to track).
So, it's kinda sad to think about... but I think, having considered my last journal entry, that once my membership lapses at LA Boxing, I'm going to be looking at other schools. It just feels like, I dunno, that I could fill up my Wavemaster, and workout on my own doing largely the same things I do at the school for free. Sure, there's the motivational factor, and the presence of an instructor, but I dunno...
There's a place right here by work, the American Fight Club that teaches the "FIGHT Program" (essentially, krav maga) and BJJ (under the Caique lineage); there's also a place almost literally across the street from my current school, Complete Fitness Concepts, that teaches JKD, FMA (incl. kali stick fighting), and submission wrestling (a la Erik Paulson). I'm thinking about trying out the demo weeks through them sometime soon, to see what they're about. I'm liking the schedule of the CFC school; a bit later in the evening, so that I don't have to fly home if I get held up at work.
Still... this 1-year membership was a gift from my wife, and I hate to feel like I'm being ungrateful by saying all this. I enjoy the classes, but I don't think I'm getting what I want out of them, if that makes any sense at all.
I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining about it... I think I just have different expectations about the classes (boxing/kickboxing), now that I've kind of grown into them. If I had a complaint, it'd be that certain classes just get so large (sometimes to the point of sharing bags), that it's hard to maneuver, or get tips on anything you might be doing wrong (there's generally only one instructor at a time, and that's a lot of people for him to track).
So, it's kinda sad to think about... but I think, having considered my last journal entry, that once my membership lapses at LA Boxing, I'm going to be looking at other schools. It just feels like, I dunno, that I could fill up my Wavemaster, and workout on my own doing largely the same things I do at the school for free. Sure, there's the motivational factor, and the presence of an instructor, but I dunno...
There's a place right here by work, the American Fight Club that teaches the "FIGHT Program" (essentially, krav maga) and BJJ (under the Caique lineage); there's also a place almost literally across the street from my current school, Complete Fitness Concepts, that teaches JKD, FMA (incl. kali stick fighting), and submission wrestling (a la Erik Paulson). I'm thinking about trying out the demo weeks through them sometime soon, to see what they're about. I'm liking the schedule of the CFC school; a bit later in the evening, so that I don't have to fly home if I get held up at work.
Still... this 1-year membership was a gift from my wife, and I hate to feel like I'm being ungrateful by saying all this. I enjoy the classes, but I don't think I'm getting what I want out of them, if that makes any sense at all.
