Perky Kickboxing

I just got home from my kickboxing class tonight, and I am feeling so good! I love this class. And it's not that kind of enthusiasm you muster up just because you're trying to motivate yourself to do something that you don't really care to do--I genuinely LOVE this class! The instructor, Brandon, pushes me to my absolute limits. He has a no-nonsense, no-excuses attitude, and he sure the hell doesn't care about your personal issues. His mantra for life can basically be summed up in three words: "suck it up." Now I, being the kind of no-nonsense ultra right-wing conservative Christian republican (can I say that using any more words?) that I am, find this black and white approach very appealing. I wish I could use it on my own students. I wish I could just say "I ain't your mama so quit thinking I care whether you "find yourselves" and quit waiting around for me to spoon feed you and wipe your little tushies when I'm done. Suck it up!"

Another thing I love about the class is the people. They are friendly and motivated and quirky. They're not the normal shallow type of people that you come across at work (not that everyone is shallow at work, but you get the point). They are pushing themselves as hard as I'm pushing myself, so there's this natural bond that forms...this camaraderie born from the fact that we're all going through the same torture.

Too bad I still suck at kickboxing. I'm clumsy, inflexible, and way too perky. The "perky" part comes from Brandon. Every time I'm throwing my punches, he comes over and tells me that I need to be "less perky." I don't hunch over and cover my face enough. Some of the other students in the class joke around that I'm the "drill team kickboxer." It's just that it's hard for me to switch over to a cranky hunchback during kickboxing, when my profession practically requires me to stand straight and alert (i.e. "perky") all day long. But today I think I made good progress...I even scowled a little. Of course that's because my partner Jessica kept trash-talking me to get me to punch and kick harder (she went through boot camp training, so she knows her stuff). She was awesome. What a great antagonizer. Hey, unrelated, but I taught my students the word "antagonist" today in class. Maybe tomorrow I'll bring up Jessica as an example of an antagonist. Of course, the definition I taught my students was that an antagonist is the "villain." Hmmm...that may not work.

Time for me to have a bowl of Lucky Charms and get my sore bootie in bed.