Best Seat in the House column by Chris Graham
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I recently took up, of all things, the sport of kickboxing.
Yes, for Christmas my wife and I bought ourselves a punching bag, and after we figured out how to hang it from the ceiling of our exercise room without causing the roof to collapse, we were in business.
I’ve been at it for about a month now, and let me just say, if a 70-pound guy with no arms and no legs ever comes up to me and tries to pick a fight, well … watch out.
‘Cause I’d kick his arse from here to next week.
Ahem.
Seriously, the kickboxing workout that I do – 30 minutes a night, four nights a week, is by far the best thing I’ve ever done, and this is coming from a guy who plays in a rec basketball league, does a day a week of powerlifting and spends a couple of days a week in the spring and summer cycling the backstreets of a hilly Valley city.
The punching – jabs, overhand rights and lefts, powerful hooks from either side – and the assortment of side kicks and spin kicks that I work in for good measure are cardio to the max.
And the reward is feeling, all jokes about beating up a defenseless punching bag aside, like I am actually doing something that might make me more of a value as a person.
I definitely feel like I could defend myself more actively just a few weeks into this – and at the ripe young age of 35, I’ve discovered at least one talent that I never knew myself before to have.
That’s right – I can kick above eye level now.
(Envy me later.)
So I’m more secure, more lithe, much more flexible …
And the punching bag cost me $79.99 at the local sports store.
Get yourself one, and all the 70-pound guys with no arms and legs in your neighborhood will start looking at you differently, too.
Chris Graham is the executive editor of The SportsDominion.
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