Oct. 4th: Testing Boundaries!

I have an announcement! I have found a major flaw to the 'can-do' attitude I have tried to adopt as of late.  There are probably many flaws to it, but the most significant and obvious flaw is that sometimes there are things that I simply cannot do.  At least not yet!

As I do most Septembers, I found myself feeling a little lazy, and behind on some New Years Resolutions and so I decided to get back into fitness again.  This past winter I took some Kung Fu classes with friends at BCIT which was kind of neat, but this fall I wanted to try something new.  I signed up for Bellydancing - which I've been wanting to do for several years now - and then to continue the dance and martial arts theme I decided to try out Capoeira.  Therein laid my error!

Everything started off great with an amazing Bellydancing class that ended up being just slightly more work than I though, but otherwise was exactly what I had hoped for and expected in terms of skill level required.  But then I had made the poor assumption regarding the skill level required for the Capoeira class. I thought I was taking a beginner class - which in my mind meant that it was for anyone who had never done Capoeira before.  What I hesitated to acknowledge was that a 'beginner' Capoeira class required much more than 'beginner' fitness training.  The fact that I was having problems getting the basic stance right was a problem.  My taking Capoeira was comparable to if a runner decided to run a half-marathon after only enough training for a friendly 5km run.  And because I'm crazy - I thought I could do it after spending an hour on my toes while working my core with some bellydancing.  Lesson learned!  I'm just glad that I managed to get through the class without fainting or crying.

I am extremely grateful that I took the class, but I think it might be the last Capoeira class for me for a while - at least until I am at a fitness level remotely capable of getting through the classes.  The question is - what do I work on next so that I am ready to try it again in the future?  The flexibility for the acrobatics?  The strength to hold myself upside down and hit hard when fighting?  Or the endurance to dance while fighting?  Hmmm - perhaps I should try a little bit of all of the above.

To see some Capoeira in action - here's a little video put together by Capoeira Ache Brasil - where the instructor of the class teaches regularly.  They make it look way easier than it actually is.