My bruised knuckles have yet to heal from vigorously and repeatedly punching a nine-pound tombstone striking pad during my first krav maga class a few days ago at the Torakan Dojo school, Woodbrook. A tombstone pad is a mobile punching-bag with handles at the ends and on the back. "You ain't seen nothing yet," said sensei Adam Chin Leung, when I showed him the evidence of my hard work during an interview after the class. He was right. I had never seen anything like krav maga, except for maybe in a Jackie Chan movie. Krav maga is a non-competitive martial art which involves striking techniques, wrestling and grappling. The official self-defence system of Israel, Krav Maga is known for its efficient and brutal counter-attacks. In 2008, Chin Leung, 34, became the first and only krav-maga-licensed instructor for T&T and the Caribbean. Although I had read about the discipline before Chin Leung's class, my research failed to prepare me for what was in store.
After bowing at the front of the room as a sign of respect for the discipline, the instructor and fellow students, I hit the ground running-literally. As a punishment for reaching a little late, Chin Leung told me to run ten laps around the medium-sized room. My efforts to explain that my tardiness was due to the new traffic restrictions in Woodbrook, which had me driving around in circles to reach Belle Smythe Street, were in vain. So I started running. After five laps, I begged for forgiveness. Chin Leung gave in, but was sure to let me know that it was only because of time constraints. I was thankful but as soon as the class started, running around the room didn't seem like such a bad idea after all. Holding the pad close to his chest, Chin Leung instructed me to: "Punch it like you mean it." Making fists with both hands, I started punching the pad. "You punch like a girl, Cherisse!" he said. "Pretend it's your boyfriend who just horn you." At that point, I added some more intensity. After a minute of punching, Chin Leung paired me with student Laura Proudfoot and we took turns punching the pad for several minutes. It didn't take long for me to feel the burn in my arms-but the workout had only just begun.
Physical workout
The next exercise required Laura to lie on the ground, with me sitting on her feet to enable her to do sit-ups and elevate herself to a standing position before doing the process all over again. "Okay, switch positions," said Chin Leung. I got through the exercise thanks to sheer determination and the fact that Chin Leung was standing right next to me watching my every move. After that, it was on to more punching. The first hit in my stomach with the pad was a shock to my body. With Laura standing over me, I had to do sit-ups while being punched in the stomach. Sounds like fun, right? Well, it didn't stop there. Laura then started to punch my stomach with her fists and I was instructed to lie on the ground with my head and feet elevated. At times, however, my feet didn't listen to my brain. Chin Leung, who also offers classes in shotokan karate and mixed martial arts, among other disciplines, wasted no time, leading the class in jabs and crosses, another challenging routine. This activity required me to hold the tombstone pad across my chest while Laura punched it for about a minute before sliding in between my legs, turning around and jumping over my head. Before I knew it, it was my turn. I gave it my best try and surprisingly I didn't do too badly. Chin Leung, the son of martial arts sensei Brian Chin Leung, teaches 160 students, ages two to 67. He said, "Krav maga physically abuses you to mentally break you. It gets you mentally strong." My krav maga experience was intense. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a very physical workout. However, I offer this advice: please be on time!