from the October, 2014 issue of Kiai!

How I Did 50 Classes in 30 Days – Without Injury

 

By Tabitha Balakumar
Brown Belt

This past Spirit Challenge, a generous Thousand Waves black belt, Senpai Barry Moltz, wasn’t able to participate. So, he decided to do a fundraiser of his own: the Fit in 50 Challenge. He offered to donate $1,000 to the dojo if someone could complete the challenge of taking 50 classes in 30 days. I volunteered, and took exactly 50 classes during the month of September, 2014. Many people have asked me how I managed this, and the answer isn't really simple. So, if you’d like to know, read on.


Tabitha's chart, showing her progress toward
50 classes in one month, was displayed for all
to see.
First and foremost, I was determined not to injure myself.
Before even beginning this challenge, I made my health and safety the utmost priority. At the beginning of each class, I kept a tiny piece of awareness for myself so I could listen to what my body was telling me. When it said it had had enough, I modified the exercise. I ended up making it through all thirty days without one injury. No strained, pulled, or overworked muscles, no tweaked knees, messed up shoulders, nothing. Awareness is a huge factor in keeping your body safe and healthy, and it manifests in ways other than listening. Such as…

I didn’t jump into this challenge blindly.
Doing fifty classes in thirty days is no small thing. I needed to take twelve classes per week in order to reach the required class count, so I created a plan and a training schedule. I’ve also done previous challenges, such as Honbu’s 60 Classes in 60 Days, so I knew generally what I was capable of. And, I’m in pretty good shape because my regular training schedule is around six classes per week. If I had taken on the Fit in 50 Challenge without all these factors behind me, it probably would have been like running the Chicago marathon without training for it. Bad things would have happened.

I took care of myself.
I made sure to eat healthy foods and get plenty of rest throughout the month. On the second week, I started coming down with a cold so I had to scale back on my training schedule. It put me behind, and I had to adjust in order to make up the lost classes, but I still prioritized my health over everything else. If I’d tried to push through the cold and train anyway, then I would have gotten sicker, which would have compromised awareness for listening to my body, and then I probably would have injured myself. So, I ended up losing three days of training to this cold, and, when I came back, I came back slowly. Making up the missed classes wasn’t easy, but, to me, it was time well spent for the sake of my overall health.

Why did I take on this challenge?
Several people have commented on how this challenge was going to boost my class count toward the next rank advancement. And, yes, it did get a hefty boost, but I actually completed my required classes long ago so that’s not why I took on Fit in 50. The only reason I took it on was for the dojo. It wasn’t easy, and I am quite tired after a whole month of so much physical exertion, but if Thousand Waves gets $1,000 out of it, then it’s worth it to me. As it turns out, it was even more worth it because Senpai Ryan Libel and Senpai Amy Jones also donated, making the total amount $1,150. The generosity of our wonderful community never ceases to amaze me.

Would I do it again?
Not without a very, very good reason. ;)

Read Senpai Barry's thoughts behind the Fit in 50 Challenge, and generally about meeting challenges.