Mat Pilates
Mondays 9-10 a.m.
Ponderosa Studio, 6488 University Boulevard
I live in residence, so from Place Vanier it was about a five minute walk to the Ponderosa Studio. I didn’t get in right away because the lower floor’s door was locked, so when you get here, keep in mind that the studio is on the second floor.
Overall, I liked the class. I’m not an avid fan of pilates, but I like it occasionally. Since I’m not terribly athletic, I wondered if this class would leave me sore for a week. I didn't think it would, since I felt energized, not exhausted, after it. This was a great class for someone who doesn’t want a workout that kills them if they haven’t been doing it for a month already.
The class was held in a dance room, which was rather cold due to air conditioning. I (and others) dressed for sweat, not warmth, so in the first half of the class I was pretty cold. Upon talking to some people about it, it’s likely that the aircon will be turned down for subsequent classes. If you attend this class, though, bring a hoodie just in case.
As most pilates classes, this class focussed a lot on core work (while lying on your back or planking) and mobility of the spine and hips. You’ll find some balances here as well. Many of the exercises are movement based, but others are stretches. Don’t be surprised to see overlaps with yoga here, but the main way in which pilates differs is concentration on building core strength through repeated movements, and less stretches.
The instructor started off with finding the T-zone, an area of your lower abs that should basically be working all the time during the pilates class. The class started off rather slowly, but increased in difficulty until the very end, by which point I personally was warmed up. Exercises were varied and were switched up a lot to keep it interesting, with a lot of emphasis on form. Exercises ranged from standing to lying on your stomach and back, as well as using a strap. Overall a fast-paced class, with very few moments to rest.
The instructor’s attitude was positive and helpful, and she pointed out many helpful little details that allowed us to do the exercises properly. Although I have chronic back pain, there was no point during which it flared up during the class, and still hasn’t since.
Would I do it again? Yes, if it weren’t so cold in the studio. Therefore, I’d probably go back, but keep a sweater nearby just in case. Otherwise, fantastic class!
Verdict: Very good class, varied exercises, but maybe too easy for seasoned pilates fans. Rather cold in the studio, but that might be fixed soon. Location very close to Place Vanier.
Krav Maga
4:30PM - 5:45PM, Wednesdays
SRC Dojo
I’ll be honest: I had no idea what I was getting myself into with this. My parents have been bugging me to take self-defence classes for ages, and I thought I’d comply and try it out, with Free Week happening and all. I loved it, and I’d recommend this class for everyone and anyone who wants to learn practical self-defence.
The key word here is practical - the self-defence techniques and concepts taught here don’t focus on extensive training. They’re designed to be easy-to-use, applicable in many situations, quick, and effective in disorienting your opponent. Krav Maga is actually an Israeli martial art that “takes the most useful parts of martial arts such as judo, and combines it into one meant for specifically for street fighting”. “Krav maga” literally means “contact combat” in Hebrew.
The class was held in the SRC dojo and going barefoot was recommended (but not required). Any clothes that you can move around in easily are good for this class. It’s not very workout-intensive, in my opinion, but that may be a good thing, since anyone can join in.
The class started off with some warm ups (jogging, partnered versions of pushups, jumping jacks, etc.), the progressed into learning disarming moves and sequences of several moves. After the warm up, we started with learning sequences of punches and head bashes. An especially interesting move was the one used for poking offenders’ eyes out - you splay out all your fingers like a claw and tense them so they’re crooked, and then if you aim quickly at the nose, there’s a great chance you’ll hit the eyes.
This self-defence is supposed to work regardless of your size, height or weight, and as such there were a lot of similarities to aikido (a non-offensive Japanese martial art), which I studied a couple years ago. When getting out of a wrist grab, twist the offenders’ arm, then use your body weight to force the offender to the ground. Grabbing someone’s gun from their hand is also pretty easy if you use the weak points of the opponent’s grip (thumb joint) to do it.
Overall, the class was really fun. You won’t believe the thrill you get when there’s your partner, pointing a rubber gun at you, in the dark with loud music playing, and you put your hands up in surrender only to grab their gun and walk past a moment later. I’m not registering this term, because I’ve got other commitments, but for Term 2, I’m totally going to.
Verdict: I really liked this class. Very fun, interesting and easy-to-learn. Not much of a workout, but teaches valuable strategies and moves for self-defence.
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