Martial arts is an increasingly popular fitness activity for Women, but most women seem to be more interested in Fitness aspect of it for maintaining their health and Body toning with some self defense abilities. While the gym, yoga, and the swimming pool offer excellent opportunities for daily exercise, kickboxing provides the same opportunity while also teaching women self-defense skills. Cardio fitness and kickboxing certainly go hand-in-hand, but in some kickboxing classes the focus is definitely self-defense. Our instructors at Kfitness Academy teach Kickboxing programs that are based on self-defense skills and show women how to protect themselves while maximizing their fitness benefits. The results of such programs include improved self-confidence and a greater sense of safety, especially for women in Vancouver.
At Vancouver K-Fitness Academy we teach SKF Kickboxing which is a combination of Kickboxing, Defensive techniques from Karate, a lot of movements, Conditioning, partner training, Target training for increasing experience, Bag training, and stretching.
Nevertheless, not all kickboxing classes teach self-defense, so women who are hoping to develop these skills should be careful to choose a program with a self-defense theme. Fortunately, fitness kickboxing classes can be adapted by the individual who wants to learn to protect themselves in many situations. Participants should be more flexible with their approach and adapt their motions to practical self defense moves. Practice standard jabs, crosses, and hooks while also incorporating palm-heel strikes, finger jabs, and other hand strikes. During training, you must be aware of the difference between developing your cardiovascular and muscular fitness and functional fighting movements. As such, you want to choose a class that teaches real fighting techniques and footwork rather than classes that involve random movements and jumping around.
You might want to consider taking some classes with a personal trainer as well. During these sessions you can practice sparring techniques that allow you to practice your reactions to dangerous, real-life situations. An effective kickboxing self-defense class will incorporate a number of useful motions from kicks and punches to elbows, knees, hammer-fists, blocks, grabs and locks. Your kickboxing self-defense class should include repetitive routines so that you learn to respond to threats instinctively, but it should not be so routine that you only learn a few techniques.
Most importantly, you will only get from your kickboxing classes what you put in. If you are sloppy with your movements, or you develop defense skills half-heartedly, they will not be effective in the real world. However, if you are aware that every movement is critical, and you focus on developing proper technique and form, you will be more prepared for real-world threats. Visualization is as important as repetition, because in most threatening situations you will not have time to think about your reactions; rather, you must react quickly and decisively. Ultimately, the techniques you learn in class must be applied almost as an instinct. As such, you should approach self defense classes seriously and throw punches, kicks, and jabs as if you were really defending yourself from an attacker.