Powerstrike Forza, Go!
A few years ago, at about this time in the holiday season, I was wandering around Midtown in New York. At Rockefeller Center, among all the joyous Christmas schmaltz, a little TV in a window caught the corner of my eye. I could have sworn I saw a legion of leotarded women swinging bokken around (nah, couldn't be). When I turned around to look back at the TV, it was just quick cuts to views of perfectly normal aerobics classes; but I kept watching and sure enough the sword-aerobics clip came back on.
I had discovered Powerstrike Forza. "Also known as Samurai Sword Training, the one hour class is a supercharged workout that blends elements of two Japanese sword fighting techniques - Kendo and Aikijujitsu."
Just imagine if you traveled to Tokyo and saw a roomful of people with baseball bats doing synchronized batting practice to music.
Actually, as much as I'm amused (bemused?) by visions of Samurai Jazzercize, I'm all for the idea behind this. Kendoka extol the virtues of suburi, exercises with a heavy bokken, for training strength and technique after all; this is what you get if you remove the kendo from suburi—and replace it with house music. From a Western perspective, it sounds like a fresh and fun take on the hoary old idea of training with Indian Clubs. Given what a hard time people often have getting a good upper-body work out with aerobics, it's a great idea. In fact, pretty much anything that can get folks excited about exercise is a good idea.
But still, the silliness can be a bit much. It seems hard for the marketing/press folks to avoid describing these classes as "learning sword fighting" and they always seem to pull out the word "empower." Plus, some of the pictures really do look goofy (this from a guy who wears a pleated "skirt" while he swings his sword around).
The snob in me desperately wants to know what sort of "aikijujutsu" sword fighting the creator has trained in (a bio says she got a "black belt in Shorinjiru Karate and a brown belt in Aikijujitsu, and has trained in kick-boxing for four years").
Somewhere on a news clip, I heard an instructor say "Just keep your body straight, it's all arms."
YouTube
"The Pulse" Magazine
The Official Book
I had discovered Powerstrike Forza. "Also known as Samurai Sword Training, the one hour class is a supercharged workout that blends elements of two Japanese sword fighting techniques - Kendo and Aikijujitsu."
Just imagine if you traveled to Tokyo and saw a roomful of people with baseball bats doing synchronized batting practice to music.
Actually, as much as I'm amused (bemused?) by visions of Samurai Jazzercize, I'm all for the idea behind this. Kendoka extol the virtues of suburi, exercises with a heavy bokken, for training strength and technique after all; this is what you get if you remove the kendo from suburi—and replace it with house music. From a Western perspective, it sounds like a fresh and fun take on the hoary old idea of training with Indian Clubs. Given what a hard time people often have getting a good upper-body work out with aerobics, it's a great idea. In fact, pretty much anything that can get folks excited about exercise is a good idea.
But still, the silliness can be a bit much. It seems hard for the marketing/press folks to avoid describing these classes as "learning sword fighting" and they always seem to pull out the word "empower." Plus, some of the pictures really do look goofy (this from a guy who wears a pleated "skirt" while he swings his sword around).
The snob in me desperately wants to know what sort of "aikijujutsu" sword fighting the creator has trained in (a bio says she got a "black belt in Shorinjiru Karate and a brown belt in Aikijujitsu, and has trained in kick-boxing for four years").
Somewhere on a news clip, I heard an instructor say "Just keep your body straight, it's all arms."
YouTube
"The Pulse" Magazine
The Official Book
Labels: Essays, The Martial Arts
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