Yaw-Yan, also called Sayaw ng Kamatayan or "Dance of Death" is a Filipino hybrid style of kickboxing developed by Napoleon Fernandez. Since its inception in the 1970s, it has dominated the kickboxing scene in the Philippines and has proven very effective against other stand-up fighting arts. (Wikipedia)
After getting attacked by a drunk guy last 2010, I enrolled in Hybrid Yaw-Yan for self-defense. Those mutha fuckas gotta learn some lesson. I'm going to kick his ass when I see him again. I'm grateful I have a great trainer; Sir Henry Kobayashi was able to teach me some deadly martial arts technique that I can use in times of danger.
sir Henry in his younger days :-)
Whenever I train at his gym, I always sweat like a pig. The warm up exercises is just hard. It's not the actual session but I'm already sweating like I did a 10 kilometers run. The thing that I enjoy the most is mits hitting with Sir Henry. I love it coz it's a stress reliever. Like if I'm angry, I hit it harder and punch it like a maniac. But he said I shouldn't act like that. I have to relax and punch nicely.
On my last session, I hurt myself
Well, it's nothing serious. I just had blisters on my toe. I attended Coach Jojo "Anghang" Tabang's class. He's nickname is Anghang meaning spicy. They call him that coz when he fights it's so hot and spicy. Hot and spicy like when you eat a chili pepper, no you have choice but to endure the spiciness. He is like that, he likes to train and give pain to his students.
Excuse me for this graphic pic... I posted that photo on Facebook and this is what he said, "Having blisters on your toes also shows that you're really twisting when you punch. Meaning you're doing it right." Damn, no pain no gain?! It was really painful, I'm telling you. I have to use adhesive bandages after that sesh. Next time I'm going to buy a muller tape.
sir Jojo in one of his glorious match
Aside from Yaw-Yan, they also have a fitness and circuit training at the gym. It's kinda similar to HIIT (High-intensity interval training), perfect for those who want to burn calories and increase metabolism. To give you an idea, here's what we do:
hammer the tire
ride 'em cowboy!
jump like a baby boy!
After each session makes me feel like a contestant from the reality TV show, The Biggest Loser. There are times that I wanna give up, but I paused and say to myself. "You expected it, just embrace it!" Then I will go back on track again. It's all in the head. If you think you can do it, you can do it. =)
My favorite workout is punishing my tummy. I don't wanna say abs because I don't have it yet. Teehee! Sir Nic Balbuena also taught me a lot of abs workout, stretching and perfecting my round house kick. Here's a photo of me kicking his shield. =)
