Media

January 2009

America Fitness

THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI
Powerstrike® Forza: The sword-fighting workout
BY SUSAN DAWSON-COOK

Group exercisers who have only heard the swish of a blade from

the confines of a movie theoter can now grasp a sword and become

the stars of their own shows through Powerstrike® Forza. A

mortiol arts formot odapted for the group class setting, Forzo enables

participants to experience firsthond the empowering mindbody

proctice of moving a sword like o Samuroi.

llaria Montognani, the president of Powerstrike in New York

City, used her 1 0 years of korote black belt knowledge to creóte the

innovative Forzo practice in 1995, Noticing the popularity of group

exercise in fitness centers, Montagnoni felt that a class integroting

martial arts moves would appeal to hard-core participonts,

"I reotly believe in the benefits of training in a martial arts way,"

she said. Yet most people's busy schedules today don't oilow the

time or commitment needed for traditional martial orts classes and

working toward a black belt. About 98 percent of Forza participants

are not martial artists, said Montagnani. They are young

mothers, busy executives and other people who want to sweat and

troin hard, but have limited time to exercise.

Working ot o very high intensity, in Forza "you start and finish

with a weapon, very much like martial arts," Even though most

students don't know what a kata is, they can reap many of the mindbody

benefits of martial arts training, "The class isn't for everybody."

But for people trained in group exercise, who like to sweot and who

aspire to improve mental focus, Forza offers a challenging, new

experience, Montagnani stated.

The dynomic Forza format draws on two elements of Joponese

sword fighting: kendo ond Aikijuiutsu, Yet these elements include

no physical contact. The dull-tipped "fitness" swords used in classes

are mode of wood ar plastic ond slicing and cutting is done only

through air. As a result, swords con do no damage unless they are

handled improperly Keeping class sizes small, participants properly

spaced aport and opening with pre-class instruction on proper

handling of the sword hove kept Forza dosses safe over the years,

according to Montagnani,

Swords typically weigh between 1 to 3 pounds with the plastic

bokken swords (used by advonced participants) weighing 2

to 3 pounds. This may not sound like much weight, but cutting

ond striking for an hour, with even a 1-pound sword, often with

orms fully or portially extended from the body, requires extensive

muscle endurance,

A form of Japanese moving meditation is how Montagnani describes

Forza—training with a sword in o nonviolent manner. Participants

feel empowered holding a weapon in their honds while

concentrating on executing the moves correctly. "Your mind becomes

stronger because you have ta be present and focus."

The low impact, high intensity lower-body movements elevate

heort rate and improve cardiovasculor fitness while the sword move

ments sculpt, dramatically chonging the shape of arms, shoulders

and back. Repetitive movement patterns can be improved upon ond

eventually mastered. "It's nat about choreography or intricate moves

or routines that you creóte. It is about relaxing your mind," said Montagnoni,

Footwork is simple so participonts can concentrate on moving

the sword correctly, left to right, right to left ond top to down.

Like traditional group exercise classes, moves ore executed

occording to the beot ond phrase. The high intensity, low impact

moves, repeated over and over again to tronce music between 1 35

and 140bpm, involve various combinations af squats, lunges and

steps across the floor. Although there ore a total of 1 3 sward moves

in Forza, beginning classes integrate only the four easiest to perfarm:

the full cut, half cut, horizontol cut and thrust. AAore advanced

classes introduce diagonol ond reverse horizontal cuts.

BASIC MOVES

Poge 51 lists the four basic sword moves, which are the simplest

to learn and execute correctly ond that work the whole body. As

shown, the right hand is on top and the left hand is down on the

sword handle, which is the traditionol way the sword is held ¡n martial

orts. In Forza classes, the hand position is reversed about 5 0 percent

of the time to promote balanced muscle strength in both arms.

Forza is becoming increasingly popular in mainstream gyms os

well as spas and Pilâtes studios, nat only in the United States, but

warldwide. With the exception of the deconditioned or individuols

with limitations such as hernia, lower back or shoulder injuries, "any^

body who con do a regular gym class can do this. The moves are

repeated and othletic in nature, as opposed to complex [dance] like

the average Step or floor aerobics doss," said Montagnani,

Offering three instructor certificatian programs, including one

weekend-long class for Forza, Montagnoni spends an entire day

teaching group exercise instructors how to execute the movements

correctly before showing how to effectively teach them to others-

Instructors learn original choreography during the workshop and are

later offered new ideas for how to embellish these and create original

movement potterns for more advanced classes. Montagnani has

produced ane training video for Forza, and is in the process of working

on a second one. For more information on Forza and other Paw

erstrike workshops and certifications, you can view Montagnoni's

Web site at www.powerstrike.com.

 

Freelance writer Susan Dawson-Cook has an MS in geology from

the University of Arizona, She has been an AFAA certified fitness

professional for more than 17 years, Dawson-Cook's passion for

geology, health and fitness, and adventure travel serve as her inspiration

for writing.