Briefly Swapping the Pen and Paper for a Pair of Kickboxing Gloves at a Class

Honestly, I was nervous during my Monday morning commute as I headed to CKO Kickboxing Carroll Gardens (562 Court Street). Not nervous to kickbox for the first time, but a little nervous because I hadn’t been in a gym-like environment in nearly three years. I played three sports during grade school and high school and went to the on-campus gym once a week during my college years. I decided after college that I would minimize my exercise to jogging outside during the warm weather. But now, I was ready to head back to a gym and try something new.

My worries subsided as soon as I entered the CKO facility and introduced myself to Adriana Zito, one of its co-owners, and Rosa Martinez, who would be instructing the 10 am class I was taking. Martinez provided me with a quick orientation of the basic kicks and punches we’d be using, which is available for participants who arrive early or aren’t sure of what to expect. When class was about to begin moments later, different kinds of people approached the heavy bags in front of them (30 bags in total at this facility) — there was Zito to my left, who has been kickboxing for more than 15 years; a Manhattan-based cardio dancer, on my right two bags down, who said this was her second kickboxing class ever; and a couple of CKO members across from me, who looked like they come here often. I remember thinking there was nothing like an hour full of jabs and uppercuts to kickstart my week, as I put on my boxing gloves and tightened the Velcro at the wrists.

The kickboxing classes are geared for participants to go at their own paces during the 50-minutes. Instructors, like Martinez, repeat the combinations over their microphone headsets and make rounds around the room to check on participants. Whenever I would forget a sequence or couldn’t keep up with the moves, Martinez, who’s been kickboxing since 2011, would sometimes demonstrate the combinations again on the empty heavy bag beside mine. Though I was messing up the sequences every so often, I wasn’t embarrassed or worried about any of the other boxers judging me since we were each in our own little worlds. Going at my own speed helped me feel more comfortable with my body and its capabilities.

Martinez’s playlist of upbeat songs from Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull and other pop stars made the time go by so quickly as our class alternated between kickboxing moves and other exercises like crunches, squats and push-ups. Plus, since there’s no sparring, combinations with repetitive moves (like jabs, uppercuts, hooks and ducks) helped me get into a rhythm. My favorite move in a combination was the roundhouse, in which you pivot on the ball of your front foot — turning your toes outward and your heel toward the bag — and raise your back leg up and around your body in a smooth arc motion, hitting against the side of the bag with your shin for the most power. I felt pretty good by the end, albeit I was catching my breath and chugging water after removing my sweaty gloves. And while I felt a bit sore later in the day, I still felt that the workout was worth it for me.

CKO Carroll Gardens has monthly and annual membership options and is currently offering three classes (with boxing gloves to keep) for $19.99. For more information or for class scheduling, call 718-222-1822 or visit ckokickboxing.com/ny-brooklyn-carroll-gardens/.

George Fiala

George Fiala has worked in radio, newspapers and direct marketing his whole life, except for when he was a vendor at Shea Stadium, pizza and cheesesteak maker in Lancaster, PA, and an occasional comic book dealer. He studied English and drinking in college, international relations at the New School, and in his spare time plays drums and fixes pinball machines.