Thursday, March 20. 2008
Beginners guide to Les Mills Body Combat
Ok, so mentioned it before, Body Combat is a great fun way to get fit. The hard bit when starting out with it if as un-coordinated as me, is getting the technique right.
The first class I did was great! Although I was left at the end of it wondering how the hell the rest of the people manage to do all the kicks etc so gracefully.
The short answer is practice. Being pretty un-fit when start and not very flexible or coordinated it took 3-4 class before started getting a feel of the correct technique, and about another dozen before I looked like I sort of know what I’m going.
Although it is largely practice, there are a few ticks to help improve….
The first class I did was great! Although I was left at the end of it wondering how the hell the rest of the people manage to do all the kicks etc so gracefully.
The short answer is practice. Being pretty un-fit when start and not very flexible or coordinated it took 3-4 class before started getting a feel of the correct technique, and about another dozen before I looked like I sort of know what I’m going.
Although it is largely practice, there are a few ticks to help improve….
My local gym runs intro classes for Body Combat once a week. Go along! I made the mistake of skipping this when I started going, however recently when along to one as had managed to drag a friend along to Body Combat.
The intro class was with an instructor (T) and 4 people. During the 40 minutes covered off all the basic moves, correct foot placement, etc. Although by this stage I’d picked this up in the classes, I’d done it the hard way. An intro class (or two) would have been a lot better start off.
Foot placement/movement. The key to a lot of the technique right is where you put your feet and how you move on them. If your foot isn’t planted correct doing a kick, it is difficult and doesn’t really work. I found a couple of people in the classes that looked like they know what they are doing and watched their feet. Don’t worry about what they are doing with the rest of their body, once you have the foot placement right, the rest of it gets easier.
This couple of clips on youtube show placement pretty well:
Body Combat by Clever_eva 1 [youtube.com]
Body Combat by Clever_eva 2 [youtube.com]
Body Combat by Clever_eva 3 [youtube.com]
Lastly, listen to what the instructors say. During a class they yell out a number of tips for technique. Often if they notice a person hasn’t got it quite right, they’ll try to draw their attention to the correct way as well.
Related to those is general fitness, I was pretty un-fit when started going along a couple of months ago. After the first few classes I felt like I wanted to crawl under s rock. It is hard watching what others are doing and working on your technique when you are trying to keep up. But after a few sessions as my fitness level started to get better, it got easier to watch what others were doing…
In all, Body Combat is great fun! Once you start going, you end up there all the time. I’m along 3 times every week now…
The intro class was with an instructor (T) and 4 people. During the 40 minutes covered off all the basic moves, correct foot placement, etc. Although by this stage I’d picked this up in the classes, I’d done it the hard way. An intro class (or two) would have been a lot better start off.
Foot placement/movement. The key to a lot of the technique right is where you put your feet and how you move on them. If your foot isn’t planted correct doing a kick, it is difficult and doesn’t really work. I found a couple of people in the classes that looked like they know what they are doing and watched their feet. Don’t worry about what they are doing with the rest of their body, once you have the foot placement right, the rest of it gets easier.
This couple of clips on youtube show placement pretty well:
Body Combat by Clever_eva 1 [youtube.com]
Body Combat by Clever_eva 2 [youtube.com]
Body Combat by Clever_eva 3 [youtube.com]
Lastly, listen to what the instructors say. During a class they yell out a number of tips for technique. Often if they notice a person hasn’t got it quite right, they’ll try to draw their attention to the correct way as well.
Related to those is general fitness, I was pretty un-fit when started going along a couple of months ago. After the first few classes I felt like I wanted to crawl under s rock. It is hard watching what others are doing and working on your technique when you are trying to keep up. But after a few sessions as my fitness level started to get better, it got easier to watch what others were doing…
In all, Body Combat is great fun! Once you start going, you end up there all the time. I’m along 3 times every week now…
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Date: 15/04/2007
