Want to get relaxed? Join a boxing class!

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It is not that time of the month, and the teen angst period has passed, like, eight years ago. But lately, the level of my anger, emotion and rage have been reaching unprecedented levels. If someone gets on my nerves, I want to punch him/her right away.

I was still sensible, thank God, but I knew that it was only a matter of time until I could do something destructive. So, all of this emotional baggage had to be channeled somehow.

But how? Getting bitchy with all of my colleagues and scolding everyone around, of course are not viable options.

The answer then came about two weeks ago, while exercising at the Jakarta Hilton International's LifeSpa and Fitness Center.

There was an announcement that the Center was going to open a boxing class and invite its members to join.

This is it. Sign me up, baby!

With the spirit of Rocky Balboa, I started the class by humming Sammy Hagar's Eye of a Tiger (cue theme of Rocky) endlessly.

The Cus D'Amato (late, legendary boxing trainer) of the class is former boxing champion Syamsul Anwar Harahap.

On the first day of the class, the thirteen of us were taught how to stand, step and look fierce (I made up the latter).

We should not stand straight on with legs parallel, as it will make your opponent easier to punch you. Instead, we should stand with one shoulder and one foot forward.

As my right hand is stronger than my left, I was asked to put my left foot forward.

The legs are slightly bent and apart as far as shoulder width. The legs, however, make a 45 degree angle with our body. The foot in the back must be tiptoed, or what Syamsul calls "heel up".

As for the fists, the right fist is placed on the right chin, while the left fist is a span away from the left cheek.

Afterwards, Syamsul taught us to step forward, backward, step to the side, and rotate.

"This (stepping) is the basics of boxing footwork. You have to master it first before you learn how to punch. It's very useful to move about, avoiding opponent's attacks," Syamsul said.

The left feet move first if we step forward or move to the left side, and vice versa.

"The right foot, or the foot at the back, is indeed the support. Even if you move with the left foot first, it's actually the right foot which moves it," said Syamsul.

After we got the footwork down, Syamsul then asked us to practice all of the steps in several rounds, each was for three minutes, just like in a boxing match.

And, whew! After 15 rounds, it felt like we were doing a high- impact aerobic class.

We were sweating all over, tired but fresh, and the thigh muscles were throbbing. The right leg, though, felt a bit weary.

"Boxing is very good to improve our agility, speed and stamina. Because as you see, we keep on moving dynamically. It's different with weight training, isn't it?" Syamsul said.

The sport can also be done by people of any age, as long as they are in the prime condition, as boxing requires prime stamina.

There are some aerobic classes which have some boxing movement in it.

"But the benefit of the real boxing is its explosive movements. Hands and feet move with the same speed. As for boxing aerobics, like taebo for example, it's only hands that move," Syamsul said.

The other benefit has to do with self defense, as boxing, unlike karate for instance, enables us to punch right away at the target.

"Boxing also helps to improve our self esteem and increases concentration. Because we have to always monitor and anticipate our opponents' movements,"

"All in all, however, the key is agility. It's very useful if you're a dancer, or at least, like to dance," Syamsul said.

The next session will be started with a jumprope routine, a very good exercise to synchronize hands and feet.

According to Syamsul, boxing can be combined with weight training, but not too much.

"The mistakes of the local boxers now is that they think the bulkier the biceps are the stronger the will be. It's untrue. Instead, bulky biceps will make it difficult to punch, and your moves will be more stiff. The most important is the momentum, and the pressure to the target. And the best targets that knock your opponents out are the chin and the pit of the stomach," he said.