Wanna Fight? Talk to Joe Chao.

Or maybe you just want to learn some self-defense.  How about a good, low-impact workout?

Joe Chao works for the County.  That's his day job.  But his passion is martial arts.  He's an expert and a certified instructor in Muay Thai, Krav Maga, and Kung Fu.

On Thursday, June 26, Joe gave anyone who was interested a free, introductory lesson at the Recreation Center.  He had about 10-12 "students," some from the Park and some not.  I was the oldest.  Joe's son, Julian, about 8, was the youngest.  Most, but not all, of us were men or boys.  Many of us were in relatively good physical condition, but some were not.

Joe taught us basic Muay Thai moves.   Muay Thai is essentially Thai boxing.  We didn't touch each other, except in very controlled and gentle ways, and the focus was on learning the movement techniques.  We also learned some of the superficial examples of how they could be applied.

Joe's not looking to train people to fight with each other.  He's stimulating interest in something about which most of us don't know, he'd like to promote enthusiasm for a different way of moving and conditioning, he's an advocate of self-sufficiency, and above all, he's a devotee of safety.

What Joe wants to do is offer martial arts training as an ongoing program.  Some equipment is involved, although we didn't use any on Thursday, and he can get it at substantial discount.  He'd like interested people ("students") to commit to maybe two or three sessions a week.  For the sake of his passion, he'll provide this for a cost that is far below the usual market.  He's thinking of about $10 per person per session, or maybe $90 a month.  He estimates that the initial start-up, for the equipment, will be about $50, reflecting the excellent pricing he can arrange.

This isn't as easy and straightforward as it seems.  Joe needs liability insurance policies, which are not exactly cheap.  He also needs a commitment from potential students.  He'd like to do this in the Recreation Center for all sessions.

I will tell you this: I'm not exactly pugilistic.  I would not, normally, be looking to prepare myself to do combat with someone.  And my back has been acting up lately.  But I had a very good time, and I met some interesting people.  I got a decent workout, and that was with lots of breaks, so we could be taught the next technique.

If this might interest you, let Joe know.  He needs to make a presentation to the Village (Manager and Commission), and it will help him to know about how many people he might be serving.  You can reach Joe at Modern Martial Arts & Fitness: www.mma-f.com, modernmartialartsandfitness@yahoo.com, or call him at 305-542-5549.