Salsa Vs Capoeira

Oh gees, it’s been a really long time since my last post!! I was just thinking of whether totally abandoning this blog for good since I’m still totally addicted to Facebook! Nope, I doubt there’s a cure for me. I even have a Facebook application which tracks how addicted I am to Facebook to prevent me from being in denial mode!! If it’s any consolation, some of the other bloggers are also sucked into the Facebook wormhole!! Muahahahahaa…..it is like an epidemic!!

Seeing that I have short-term plus selective memory, I shall just write the gist of my trivial pursuits over the past few weeks or whatever that I can recall. *Snigger* Let’s see, I attempted a salsa and capoeira session. The verdict? Capoeira wins over salsa of course! For those who knew me well, I’ve got 2 left feet when it comes to dancing! Or at my best, am probably dancing like some robot…well, just imagine Transformer dancing and you’ll get the picture! Not sure why…I mean I do have a sense of rhythm and used to check out the latest clubs during my younger days! But I guess it’s more of a curiosity rather than the urge to actually dance….tho’ I can head-bang in rock concerts or Hard Rock Café… *Wink*

Anyways, I dragged along 2 chums to the Salsa Social Party over at Havana Estudio in TTDI to mask my humiliation when the need arise. The salsa teacher taught some basic moves in the first half hour and thereafter, we were all left to our own devices. The dance studio offers a monthly salsa social party on the last sat of every month for their students or public to enjoy. A RM10 entrance fee includes free flow of drinks (soft drinks) and pizza and dancing! The class started off with only a handful of newbies who guffawed (esp. me!) while trying to attempt the basic salsa steps. After the initial ‘fear of humiliation’ wears off, we were kinda enjoying ourselves twirling around. Of course, being the fairer sex has its perks when it comes to dancing cos the male are the ones who have to lead their partner thru the steps.

Now, I have tried ballroom dancing, line dancing, belly dancing and whatnots but have never really appreciated the arts. Ballroom dancing…nah, too slow…! I tried cha cha and was yawning continuously throughout the class which was somewhat embarrassing! Line dancing….I don’t have a good memory so I can only remember part of the steps and get lost midway! No, no, no…..and I thought over in the States, it was supposed to help the elderly to help improve their memory! Err….all I can say is…I’m unique! LOL…..

Ok, belly dancing…hmmm…..I was enthralled with the way the instructor was able to gyrate effortlessly to the middle east rhythm with swaying hips and midriff…..Hah! I thought…this looks kinda easy….so I went to a couple of classes….OMG….I had abs and butt pain thereafter!!! No, it’s not as easy as it looks…and there are variations to just simply gyrating and moving your hips up, down, left, right and center whatnots!!!

As for Capoeira, they have classes over at my new gym. I tried the class once when I went for a trial in Celebrity Fitness and the teacher was a Brazilian. It was tough!!! The class was quite advance and the instructor didn’t really bother whether the students could follow! Midway through, he started doing cartwheels to the right and left!!!1 I just stood there gawking and finally decided to just sit down and watch!

This time, the instructor was much more patient and went thru the basic moves with all. Mostly comprise gingas and the pace is according the background music beats! We were taught to do kicks in between the gingas, mostly in counts of 3. In between, we were made to do floor exercise to strengthen our upper body muscles!! Oh gees, nearly want to pengsan! We were supposed to do the ‘wheel pose’ (upside down table on all fours) and walked backwards across the studio!! Since we were beginners, we had the option to walk backwards on the ‘triceps dips’ position! We did this floor exercise TWICE during the entire class….boy, was my arms tired!!

The last floor exercise involved doing the cartwheels! Again?? Yeah, apparently, capoeira has a lot of cartwheels incorporated in it. But we were given the option of just ‘crawling’ sideways across the studio back and forth…..muahahahaha….sori unable to give an apt description of what we did! However, it was really hilarious and I laughed my head off….! Since I took my shoes off while attempting capoeira, I got a sore foot for the next few days! But still game to try it again….after all, BC has now incorporated basic gingas in it….will undoubtedly be of help when I do my BC.  

 

BC 33 & BS 69

Nope, unfortunately, I still haven’t got over my Face book addiction (tho’ my deadline is over…phew!)…not helped by the fact that each time I managed to clamber out, new friends joined in and I get sucked into the black hole all over again!!! Have a throat infection right now so not much talking can be done, which is somewhat ‘uncommon’ for me seeing what a chatterbox I can be…the throat hurts like hell…I can’t even swallow my saliva without wincing in pain…thus, I’m continuously sucking on lozenges to soothe the pain. Arrggghhhhh…..

I have tons of stuff to write about but yet too lazy to…perhaps the writing trait has left me? Okie, I’ll just do a brief review on the latest LM launch, having just did it last weekend thus, is still fresh in the head (I hope). I went for BP and BS launch last sat and BC last sun. I will review BP later, when I’ve done it for the 2^nd time. Right now, it’s too vague to recall much. BS 69 sucks! Period. Ohhh, those who loathe squats will hate Track 5, Fergalicious cos the entire track consists of non-stop squats.  

Now, BC, which happens to be my fave LM program. This release rocks! I lurve it. It’s been awhile since I fancy any of the newer BC releases, being trained and fed on old-school BC releases previously so naturally, I’m not very keen on the new releases. But this one, BC 33…it’s fast and furious and minus a few turkeys straddling in between the gems…on the whole, is a much better release than the previous one hands down.

Let’s start with warm-up…this is really cool. Love the song, love the combo. And during the launch with Renee and Terrence leading the team of 4, with Peggy and Jason rounding up the group, the warm-up started off with a bang! Really, really awesome! Adding to this, the theatrics and consummate presentation skills of the 2 leads made the whole thing looks very slick and smooth. Also, the Curve’s atmos have always been a lively and energetic one so the chemical reaction emanating from the whole thingy is just overwhelming and ‘in your face’ BOOM…..or perhaps I’ve been hibernating too much now! Hmmm…:P

The ginga, which has been present in the last few releases, is intro from the warm-up, matched with an exotic Middle East strain in the 2^nd parter of the warm-up track. First combat track, “Everybody’s Screaming” focused on the roundhouse kick back and forth while the 2^nd track, “Angel Eyes” is reminiscent of the track “I Feel Alive” (BC 24), re-visiting the 360 degrees box turn with 4 uppercuts. The song itself tho’ reminds me of “Shooting Star” with similar sounding beats. I must say, Track 4, “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s An Arms Race” is my fave evasive side-kick track to date. The combo itself is very smooth, with the e-kick matched with a back fist.  

Next is Track 5, tuned to “Girlfriends”, a catchy bubble-gum track which is all about fun, fun, fun…the combo is quite easy but somewhat confusing when it comes to the switch-over. The instructors need to have spot-on cue for this as a lot of members were confused whether it’s still the right foot or the left, esp. during the 2^nd half. Ahhh, track 6…long touted as the ‘recovery track’ is no longer one. Scooter’s track “Behind the Cow” aptly titled, since it involves 2 fast back kicks brings to mind the cow looking back! Hahahahaha…..however, for those who have long legs, like moi’…balance could be a problem….the trick is to bend down lower before executing the kicks. The 2^nd half is numerous gingas again, danced to the pulsating beats with echoes of “Jump, Jump, Jump” in the background…very the disco-ey trance…

Finally, we come to the muay Thai track, “Run to the Hills”…my least fave track in this release…it may be the shortest muay Thai but I reckon it’s the lousiest! The combo does not match the rhythm being super fast so it’s pretty hard to catch the movements. All I know is there are plenty of muay Thai knees involved. Track 8, “U R My Phantasy” is a gorgeous track, with hypnotic beats similar to “My Heartbeatz”. Love the combo, love the song. (2 jabs, 2 crosses, single uppercuts, double hooks)

Conditioning, “I’m a Shine” is an absolutely torture with the intro of the ‘triceps blaster’. Gosh, this is like umpteen times tougher than the usual triceps push-up. And to think we are gonna do this for the next 3 weeks? Gees….I might need to change my limbs by then….After torturing the triceps, it was back to bicycle knees, working the obliques over-run. Cool down, “Vienna” was a breezy short and sweet affair.

 

True Fitness Jaya 33 Review

I went for the True Fitness Grand Launch the other day. The consultant called and invited me to go get my free 1 week trial pass. Now, I had been eyeing this gym to open since I knew about it. The verdict? Well, the built-up area is approx 70,000 sq feet. The difference between this spanking new outlet and the other 2 is the layout. Where the previous 2 outlets were located in shop lots, this new gym was located in an office block.

 

What’s the difference? Well, the difference lies in the building structure and the layout plan. The shop lots that the 2 gyms were located were meant for small shops hence there are a lot of pillars around. So considering that the Taipan gym has a built-up of almost 80,000 sq feet, the place doesn’t feel spacious. When there are 2 to 3 pillars in the studio and every 500 metres away, it automatically makes the studio and around looks and feels smaller even with mirrors all around. And there were just too many levels to go up and down; with the changing rooms straddling in the middle makes it a hassle. I always like those gyms which has just one level so not only does it look more spacious, it’s also more convenient to go to the lockers or to the studios. For FF outlets, by far the one with the best layout are Axis, IOI and Curve.

The decision to make this new outlet their signature club gives it a different look and feel. The club definitely looks classier and more sophisticated. Instead of the usual dodgy darker disco lightings, this one has brighter lights and not so disco-ey feel. Even the flooring uses better polished tiles. Same goes for the showers. They’ve adopted the FF style with the drainage located within the showers instead of outside like their previous 2 outlets, which tends to jammed up the drainage and makes for a puddle of water when you step out of the showers. The showers though, still use shower curtains albeit nicer ones, not those which gets moldy fast. I can see money’s been well spent at least. Lockers were also similar to FF ones with wood panels but still need to bring your own safety lock.

Now the best part; the swimming pool. I have harped on FF to build a pool but was told that pools are not part of the gym facilities offered. The 30 metre pool is located on the 4^th floor and is adorned with cabanas which house the spa offering services like massages, pedicures and manicures. There is also a juice bar beside the pool so if you don’t feel like dipping into the waters, you can just lie on the sundecks and sip some juices and visualize holidaying in Club Med looking up the sky. Hahahahaa…..

A slight disappointment to the pool tho’. I was under the impression that it was gonna be an Olympic size pool but it turned out to be only half Olympic size. But oh well, just beats going to other pools still I guess. All in all, I was rather impressed with the entire gym layout. As for their PT sessions, there are 2 free PT thrown in with the membership similar to FF. The only diff tho’ is that these 2 PT sessions includes drawing up a program for you in line with your fitness goals, a concept use by Clark Hatch. I reckon this is a good move as some members may not want to splurge a whole lot of money on PT without knowing whether the PT trainer is good or whether it’s gonna yield the results that they want.

Last but not least are the yoga studios. There are 2 studios with one catering for hot yoga. It’s located right at the back with the rooms being sound-proofed. Now, for those who have been to the Mind & Body studio over at the Curve, the loud music generated from the Laundry bar is clearly heard and felt in the studio. It certainly didn’t make sense to be doing something as relaxing as Yoga and Pilates when you don’t even feel relaxed in the first place with thumping beats accompanying you. Seriously, even the thumping vibrations can be felt in the ladies locker!! Ok, the yoga studios have pre-laid mats on the floor which makes it easier for those yoga practitioners as it eliminates the need to bring your own yoga mats and spaces in between the mats are nicely spaced out already as the shape of the mats are pre-printed on the carpets. If you can’t visualize, go have a tour of the gym!

 

Instructors Quality Drop?

I went for BP and BS last Mon. Since spending almost the entire day sleeping in, I was admittedly bored and decided to go for BP. There’s nothing much I could do as my nose was still clogged from the flu. I arrived later than LM (yikes) whom I promised to book a spot for. So in the end, LM decided to go for RPM while I dithered and finally went for BP. Feeling good after the class, I was half-hearted about going for BS as it was being replaced by Jay Jay. LM pre-warned me but I decided to give him a try anyway. I was in the class when he did his BS clearance last year and he didn’t leave much of an impression then but well, I always give newbies a chance for some of them do improve over time so I went ahead.

Big mistake! After the first few tracks, let’s just say I was dying to get out! Not only was his cue-ing off, his diction leaves much to be desired. Half of the time, I have absolutely no idea what he was saying as he was mostly mumbling and eating his words, which initially I figured was due to the mike. But on hindsight, there were no such problems during BP. I wasn’t the only one who was confused on the next step move. A lot of the members were left going haphazard on their boards with a confused look on their faces. Prob only the ones in front actually knew what he was doing. Usually failing the diction test, I will rely on the instructors visual cues but then again, his form and technique wasn’t that spot on either so it was a no-brainer when it comes to deciding to stay on and continue to torture myself or get out and go take a nice shower! A few people who couldn’t tolerate it either took off even before me and that is before we got to track 4! Me and few others quickly made an exit right after track 4. That was indeed the worst BS class I have ever attended during my gym life.

I am not sure about others but frankly, I feel the quality of the newer batch of instructors (who are on their rounds of shadowing or TT) seemed to have ‘dropped’. LM is of the same opinion when a newbie shadowed her fave instructor’s BP class. Quoting an example, the young fler said bench during the class but it came across up as beach so LM was understandably flabbergasted. Actually, only a handful are able to speak English fluently or understandable English at best. I am not trying to nitpick here or discriminating anyone but I believe being able to converse in good English should definitely be one of the requirements in taking up the instructorship as it is the medium of teaching here. There’s no point that the instructor is just able to execute their moves flawlessly when they can’t even communicate the steps or moves to the members easily. Regulars may not have much problems and tuned out as they will know the next moves but gym newbies will defintely find it hard to keep up if no proper instructions are given. If nobody can comprehend what the instructors are saying, people can just guesstimate at best and may get confused and execute the wrong moves. 

Perhaps the trainers need to re-look and re-assess the requirements on those taking up the instructorships and make sure the standard of our instructors are on par with the international instructors that they are affiliated to. It somehow defeats the purpose when the instructors can pass the clearance test here to teach in the gyms but ultimately fail their international certifications….