In January, Laura and I urged listeners to follow through with the old New Year’s resolution scene to improve their health and well being. My husband and I got a head start in September by joining a different kind of gym. During a late night cruise on Groupon I came across a great deal; thirty fitness classes for twenty bucks. My choices included dance, aerobics and martial arts. The Nia dance studio was a bit too Portland for me and I have a general disgust for aerobics paired with top forty hits. The jiu jitsu studio was located in the Hollywood district just moments from our house, bank, library and coffee shop. I had recently had a lively discussion about Bujinkan with Tiffany Davidson, only to discover Portland’s training center to be too far off our beaten path. Since taking Tae Kwon Do in middle school I had longed to get back into martial arts. Life in rural America made it easier to partake in softball, dance and cheerleading.
By 2007 Kaly and I had moved to North Carolina and my brother had gone off to college. In North Carolina, fitness meant joining Curves or going ‘mudd’n.’ Back in Michigan my brother was going through a transformation due to Judo. Not only was he taking Judo classes but he had fallen ass over tea kettle for the instructor’s daughter.
“Of all people, Adam? The instructor’s daughter?” I said.
It worked out, though, and Kaly and I spent a Judo-filled night at her gym. Being Irish, the Hawkins kids had always had a knack for carousing. Our grandpa had done some boxing in Detroit after WWI. The older two siblings were still beating on one another well into their forties.
“You guys knock it off!” Dad still has to say.
Kaly fit right in with the Hawkins family and our UFC parties. He was Scaleychimp Champadeng and coach for TCC wrestling until 2007. By 2012 we had been married a year, residing in Portland for three, and were looking for a change in our fitness practices. A few days after purchasing the Groupon deal, Kaly and I were leaving Whole Foods with organic iced coffee (whatever that is) and were in search of an open sushi restaurant. He headed towards NE 43rd Ave instead of NE Sandy and my eye caught on a red wall.
“Hey, that’s the gym on my Groupon offer.”
He grabbed my arm and marched us into the building. Straight Blast Gym still defies definition even as I reflect on those first moments inside. Photos of great fighters, the smell of late summer air moving through the open door and motivational images greeted us. I had the feeling I had stumbled into one of those hero quest movies where the unassuming gets taken on an adventure. I expected Mr. Miyagi or a Rocky look-alike to exit the inner office. Instead, we met Zach. Bearing a slight resemblance to our friend Thornbury, we liked him immediately. Before I knew what hit me, Scaleychimp and I were signing on the dotted line. What an adventure it became.
Nearly seven months later we have been able to accredit SBG and ourselves with many changes. Despite an unplanned arm surgery and bout with Noro-virus I’ve found a strength and drive I thought was gone with high school sports. Kaly is on the mat again, not as a coach but as a participant. We run together three times a week, which is a major milestone for me. I’ve been known to say I wouldn’t run unless zombies were chasing me and I’d run out of ammo. The example our coaches set for us is additional motivation to push ourselves in and out of the gym.
Even our communication has changed. A few weeks ago I sat at Moon and Sixpence, pouring over Randy Couture’s book and asking Kaly questions about form and the history of wrestling. We are starting to plan some summer hiking trips with friends and will use nearby Mt. Tabor for training. It is not to say we haven’t had our pitfalls but we are doing more than we were a year ago. I would like to say that work and household matters never get in the way but it just isn’t true. When faced with going to the gym or chopping a fallen tree in the yard, a decision has to be made. When a student’s parent is running an hour late you can’t say, “Sorry, gotta go.” However, every day is an improvement and we’re thankful for the adventure and the people we’ve met. If work runs late, I know I can still get to fundamentals for a serious workout.
Every day you can, do. If you don’t, you won’t.
As Laura and I prepare to make changes to our site, I hope you’ll find the time to join us in assessing your own, “thus far.” When you could, did you? If not, how can you start?
Ellen Ivy 