The Ultimate Fitness Kickboxing Program was first started in 2004. At the time, my school, Team Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts & Fitness, only had a Muay Thai and Boxing program. Although the Muay Thai and Boxing program was coed, I noticed that a majority of the classes were male. Where did all the women go? I started asking all the women why they were not returning to class and what had scared them away so to speak. Well, the responses and feedback were not out of the ordinary…too intimidating, partnering in the Muay Thai classes too invasive, don’t like sweating in front of a whole bunch of men, etc. The list was starting to give me ideas. You see, I practice Muay Thai myself and love it! I was shocked to see most of the women not at least giving it chance. But, I understand the female mentality. So, I created the Ultimate Fitness Kickboxing program initially to “break the ice” for women getting started with kickboxing. Kickboxing is not a new thing. It has been around for a long time and we’ve all heard of Billy Blanks and “Tae Bo.” Well, the idea was to get them comfortable with the school (accepting their environment), comfortable with their fitness level (Muay Thai too hard), and comfortable with what they were doing (being confident of what they were doing in general). After a year of instructing classes, I realized that women liked doing the cardio kickboxing-type classes and were not interested in switching to Muay Thai. Some do end up mixing it up but the majority continues to stay with my program. They like the self-defense aspects of the martial arts but overall, they are interested in a taking care of their bodies, looking and feeling good. The Ultimate Fitness Kickboxing program really does kick butt. I am proud of that. I don’t want to water down the workouts. My standards of keeping it alive, exciting, fun, and very challenging will always be my goal.
I teach all my classes with very high standards because I know that people want to pay for a good workout! I, myself, have gone to gyms and done aerobics classes of all kinds. It was rare to find a great instructor that taught a kick butt workout. I am not a big fan of choreography in my workouts. I am old school and like doing reps, little dance moves and boot camp style fitness. For kickboxing, it is hard enough trying to learn the techniques, so, I try not to make it too “creative.” Don’t get me wrong…these classes can kick a man’s butt. Just because it’s an all women’s class, does not mean it is not difficult. Men hate cardio and since it is mostly cardio driven, it is hard to keep up with the high reps and constant moving for 50 minutes to an hour. The best part of this program is that it does not leave a body part un-worked. It is a full body workout which is why most women love it!
So, here I am now, trying to share my knowledge and learning experience with everyone. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Giving back to others who have given me so much pleasure to kick their butt!! Kidding aside, I think kickboxing will never die. It is such a great full body workout and it beats the boredom of the treadmill and riding a bike. In fact, it is a good complement to other activities. Women who participate in my program are regular practitioners of running, biking, yoga, dancing, ballet, tennis, etc.
The Kickboxing Instructor Certification & Training Program is designed to help schools and/or gyms interested in implementing a women’s kickboxing program into their overall system, in addition to helping guide the Instructors to teach awesome kickboxing classes. These classes are designed to keep the female patron in mind by providing a workout that is challenging and fun. The techniques and exercises taught are taken from traditional boxing, muay thai, weight room basics, traditional body weight workouts from beginning of time. However, let me warn you that some of the combinations have been slightly altered to cater towards fitness and not so much someone learning traditional styles of the martial arts although we do our best to preserve the traditional techniques in case they want to transition. Ultimate Fitness Kickboxing combines all types of exercises to give women the complete workout.
Best to you in health & happiness,
Chau Bui
Owner
NovaMMA Arlington, Virginia
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