Simply Karate...

I am sometimes an impulse buyer. Okay...I am often an impulse buyer. It is one of my weaknesses. I also think that martial arts are very cool, and I have wanted to be a Karate champ ever since my days on the playground playing Wonder Woman. I still love to watch martial arts.

I was at Costco the other day and I was ALONE! Ah, the wonder of being alone at Costco, not having to hear little boys begging for samples, and not having to try to keep them within sight and out of the way of the reckless cart driving customers in the vicinity. I took the time to really look through the book and DVD section.

While there I came across a DVD packaged with 30 double sided flashcards. I couldn't find a picture of the exact set they have at Costco, but the book and DVD pictured is done by the same people. Its just in flash card form rather than book form, and the DVD with the Costco set is longer.

I am overweight. I have been for several years. I often toy with the idea of getting in shape. So here was a DVD with a long Karate class on it that was aimed at fitness as well as teaching basic Karate techniques...And it was less than $10! Did I buy it? What a silly question! Of course I bought it! Will it end up in my video cabinet gathering dust next to the likes of Kathy Smith and Tae Bo? No! What is the difference? Well...for one the workout teaches you basic techniques and has you repeat them numerous times. I did work up a sweat when I tried it out. However, its not really a big cardio style exercise thing. You are doing actual Karate moves, not jumping around a lot. And even if I never use it again, my boys certainly will. You should have seen them all lined up in the living room doing the punches, blocks and kicks. They were so excited! I am sure the neighbors were wondering about all the yells of "Kiai!" from our living room. I couldn't believe how cute they all were trying to do the moves. Its an added bonus that the instructor on the video has a nice Australian or New Zealand accent. I am a sucker for a good accent! After the Karate class the DVD also includes two sections to be done in partnerships. One is a Karate movement section, like a very basic sparring, and the other is a self defense set where he and his training partner take you step by step through three scenarios and tell you how to incapacitate your attacker if someone tries to grab you. I told D that he will have to play the attacker so I can throw him around. I can hardly wait!