At the start of every semester, usually in the second week, UBC Recreation offers instructor-led courses to students and other members of the campus community for free. One of our resident columnists here at The Ubyssey decided to take on some of the classes and write about them. Hatha Yoga and Krav Maga has nothing on Natalie.
Hatha Yoga (Monday)
I have a friend who posts yoga photos constantly on Instagram, featuring her body moving in ways I was sure would put me in a hospital, the beach and often a sunrise. Inspired by her healthy ways, I decided that I would try yoga this summer and maybe by the end of it, I would be the one posting those sunrise yoga photos.
I am not flexible and that became very clear to me as I tried some of the most basic yoga moves. Downward Dog? Sure, but not sure longer than a minute. Forward Fold? Maybe if I could actually touch my toes. Now, Child’s Pose, that’s a pose I can get into.
I had assumed that Hatha Yoga would be the beginner’s class, with the UBC Recreation website calling it a “great introduction to yoga” and claiming that it was going to help “develop better breathing techniques while improving your balance, flexibility, core strength, and endurance.” I mean that sounds basic right?
Maybe?
We were always offered an easier pose when our very understanding instructor saw our bent knees or shaking forms. I think there was two out of about 15 of us who used the easier poses and I felt a pretty firm bond with this other girl. We never talked, but I’m sure glad she was there.
Now I know I sound like I didn’t like the class. I did. I enjoyed the movement and even though I used the easier poses sometimes, I did use the harder ones and they gave me a really excellent stretch. Our instructor was able to show us the poses with much more ease than I’ve ever seen and was able to correct everyone’s mistakes (including my poor posture, high shoulders, tense neck, off-centre stance and too-far-apart feet) from the front of the room. Obviously I was a real natural.
The calming music and relaxed atmosphere really helped keep me centred and ready to move into the next pose. I never felt like I was cheating by using the easier poses and it was really a beginner class. Honestly, I think more people were worried about balancing on one foot while reaching for the sky than checking to see if I actually had both feet off the ground or if my legs were straight.
Final assessment: 8/10, sure to go up once I can reach my toes.
Krav Maga (Wednesday)
I saw the signs around campus, I read about it on the UBC Recreation website, I even had a friend on the waiting list last term, but this summer we registered ahead of time. We got in. We were ready to kick some serious butt.
Krav Maga, here we come.
One thing that I loved about this class right away was the instructors. Even before we knew one of their names, he was on the ground and she was ready to punch him in the face. Which sounds awful, but for a self-defence class, totally cool.
We did a quick warm up, running around the room, doing some strange two-person, let-me-shove-my-feet-under-your-bum sit ups that I have never seen before, and some general stretches. As someone who is very aware how out of shape I am, I love that I could keep up. Normally I’m panting by the end of warm ups but since the warm up was less about gaining strength and more about waking up your body, I was able to at least try and keep up.
For the next hour or so, we ran through a few different situations and how to defend against them. Someone grabbing your arm, grabbing you from behind, choking you and pointing a gun at you, we all were trained on how to defend ourselves. Quick body changes, loud sounds and attacking back quickly were drilled into our movements.
I now know how to jab someone in the eyes (fingers apart), how to correctly use my forearm to cause the most pain on my attacker, and how to steal someone’s gun – I mean, take it away from an attacker. They had fake guns to practice with and showed us how to use the attacker against themselves.
The whole thing was extremely entertaining for a class that was teaching me how to potentially save my life one day, which is a mark of a good class. Since we were working with partners, I’m glad I came with my friend who I repeatedly hit in the breasts every time she choked me (which is a sentence I never thought I would say).
I think we covered a lot more in one class because it was Free Week, but when we were winding down, our instructors talked about the other things we would cover – what to do when someone pulls you into a car, when someone pushed you against a wall, how to defend yourself against a knife or gun-wielding attacker.
It’s all very interesting and the chances are that what we learnt in class will be useful to most of us – like cooking, self-defence is a skill I’ve wanted to pick up for a while.
Final Assessment: 10/10, I’m already registered and pumped for my next class.
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