Kickboxing . . . "Where'd all the rage come from?"

I have a friend in New Orleans whose daughter thinks I should be a boxer.  I'm not sure where she got this idea from, but whenever she hears that her mom and I have spoken, she says, "Oh, Rachel, the boxer?"  So it was with great anticipation that I signed up for a pack of 5 kickboxing classes with Bowie MMA Training Center.

Today was class #1 for me.  If you want to skip-out on reading my full review, I'll sum up the experience with this:

I had the pleasure of meeting the instructor, Quenton King, before class began.  He gave Abbie and me a good run-through of what we'd need to know, without being overwhelming, and asked if we had any concerns or physical limitations that would need modifications.  Once everyone arrived and we were ready to go, the music started and we got to work.

In some ways, kickboxing is pretty simple.  And that was something I really appreciated.  Punch the bag.  Punch the bag some more.  Punch the bag harder.  But there was also a lot of variety, which I wasn't expecting.  We would punch or kick for maybe a minute and then Quenton had us do jumping jacks, planks, crunches, or some other cardio.  Every part of it was a challenge!  There were frequent breaks to get water, which is also something I wasn't expecting.

After a while, we were told to grab a heavy bag and lay it on the ground.  Quenton proceeded to demonstrate "ground and pound."  Now, I've watched several UFC fights, so I'm not unfamiliar with the term, but never have I taken part.  To give you a visual, it looked a little like this:

And I repeat . . . it was totally wicked!  I unleashed a fury on that bag.  A fury that I didn't know was inside me.  At the ensuing break, I turned to Abbie and with a look of surprised joy said, "Where'd all the rage come from?!?"  I didn't realize I needed an outlet for my aggression.  But it felt great!

I've got four more classes, but I'll go ahead and offer my initial impressions:

1.  I liked the vibe of the class.  It didn't feel fake or forced.  I didn't feel out of place even though it was my first time there.  Everyone was working their hardest and going at their own pace.  And there was no shame in that.

2.  I really loved the kicking!  As a former soccer player, I'm proud of my ability to kick with power.  But it's been quite some time since I've used that motion.  It was great to reconnect with that part of my life.

3.  In general, the class made me feel strong and powerful.  Whether I was punching with a lot of force or barely getting my arms moving, I felt confident.  Why wouldn't I want more of that??  Without analyzing this too much, I would dare to say that, as a woman, my strength and power is often overlooked.  Even when I am competent and capable, that goes completely ignored.  But with a set of gloves, some loud music, and a punching bag, I didn't feel like I was small or weak or incompetent.

4.  It was a great workout!  My average heart rate was 139 bpm for the hour-long class and I hit a maximum of 176 bpm.  According to my Garmin vivofit band (connected to my heart rate monitor), I burned a total of 485 calories.  Yes, please!  I'll take that.

I've got four more classes and am very much looking forward to them.  But possibly the thing I'm most looking forward to is tomorrow . . . will I be sore?  Or won't I?  The one problem I see at this point is that I already have a gym membership which I need to make use of (otherwise I'm just wasting money) and I need to carve out time for biking and running . . . but now there's this kickboxing thing that I might really love.  More Groupons, please!