Westside Aerobics and Martial Arts

News and Updates

4/17/07 - Felix Valencia has been giving Valencia Lameco Eskrima defensive knife fighting seminars at WAMA. Guro Felix is a FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) full-contact stick and knife fighter and was a senior instructor under Lameco Eskrima’s founder, the late Punong Guro Edgar G. Sulite. He also has an extensive background in other martial disciplines including Indonesian Silat, Jujitsu, Muay Thai, Hawaiian Lua, and Shooto so he brings a lot to the mat. This weekend he stopped by to administer an edged-weapons level 1 certification test – pictures here. He is busy these days both on the road teaching seminars and being a fight choreographer in LA.

3/30/07 - Wow, we got the gold! Well, actually the Goldie. WAMA has been voted Best Martial Arts in the sports and recreation category of the Metros "Best of Santa Cruz - Goldies 2007" readers choice poll. Thanks for all the votes!

3/24/07 - Congratulations to the Wave Man Martial Arts students who got new belts this month. This was a big event with eight students testing. The testing covered forms, techniques, stick fighting and sparring. Pictures here.

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3/20/07 - Here is an picture of Jason training in Thailand and some more recent pictures from Santa Cruz Kickboxing Muay Thai classes.

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2/26/07 - Check out the articles on Tabata sequences and Plyometrics posted in John's myspace blog.

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1/16/07 - Recovered pictures from a May 2006 cardio kickboxing class, also posted in the WAMA myspace blog. The camera self-destructed while the film was rewinding, creating some interesting lighting effects...

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11/26/06 - John Hackleman on some basics: avoiding the takedown part 1 and part 2, on the jab, on the fist , on the spinning back kick and on the left hook (all videos). John is MMA fighter Chuck Liddell's trainer and appears here courtesy of Crossfit, headquartered here in Santa Cruz. If there is a local gym or group teaching Crossfit, it's a very good conditioning regime...

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10/27/06 - New photos from September 2006 Wave Man Martial Arts belt test, also posted in the blog on the WAMA myspace page.

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9/24/06 - In case you thought you knew how to jump-rope, here is a video full of new ideas.

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8/14/06 - Occasionally in Kick-Box Aerobics cardio kickboxing classes we do sessions of interval training. Three in-depth offsite web articles on some of the standard fitness techniques we use. Starting with Burpee Conditioning. Then moving onto Jump Rope Training and Intensifying The Heavy Bag.

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7/24/06 - "No man is an island, entire of it self…any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee."" - John Donne, Meditation XVII, 1623

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6/27/06 - Photos from June 2006: the Wave Man Martial Arts belt test and a Kick-Box Aerobics class, both also posted in the blog on the myspace page.

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5/30/06 - New WAMA community page on myspace for news, updates, and general chit chat - www.myspace.com/westsideaerobics - you can click the link to see, or the button to join in.

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5/18/06 - A page on Arnis De Mano (aka Escrima) including a lot of stick fighting videos.

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4/21/06 - A very interesting and fun video tribute to the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba, a Japanese fighter. Sakuraba in his prime was an artist. He was famous in mixed martial arts for his fearlessness and flamboyant fighting style. What ultimately made him a legend was his thorough domination of the Gracie clan, including an historic 90-minutes fight with UFC legend Royce Gracie that resulted in Gracie's corner throwing in the towel.

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3/20/06 - A ramble through the history and practice of the Philippine martial art of Escrima includes it's spread to Hawaii.

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3/9/06 - Check out the new cardio kickboxing FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) in the Kick-Box Aerobics section of the "Sources" page.

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2/24/06 - "Pain is weakness leaving the body" - old U.S. Marines saying

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2/12/06 - Interesting website of archived Martial Arts information from various forums. Check out this page of usenet posts in particuar. Some of the links are broken, but it is a good collection.

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2/11/06 - An article on the physiology of cycling with a good description of how your body uses glucose and glycogen in powering muscles.

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2/6/06 - Biography of local fighter Carina Moreno and a 2004 Santa Cruz Sentinel interview.

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12/5/05 - Rare clip of Bear kickboxing (humor)

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11/24/05 - "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war..." Julius Caesar - Shakespeare

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