Westside Aerobics and Martial Arts (WAMA) - News, Updates and Archive

No Sunday Kick-Box Aerobics this weekend, your chance to kick it is THIS MORNING with Claire, 9:45am!

Only Saturday Kick-Box Aerobics (9:45am) this weekend. No Kick-Box Aerobics on Mother's Day.

What happens when you forget your keys? Outside class!!!
See pictures from this morning's outside class on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/WAMASC/

WAMA's Winter Break is coming... three more chances to Kick-Box Aerobics it in 2015. This Saturday 12/19, Sunday 12/20, and Tuesday 12/22.

Still Work of the Turkey Week. We're Kick-Box Aerobics-ing it tonight from 6-7:15pm

It's Work off the Turkey week at Westside Aerobics & Martial Arts. Come cardio kick it Tuesday/Thursday 6-7:16pm and Saturday/Sunday 9:45-11am!

12/23/13 - WAMA is taking the annual winter break. First class of 2014 will be Thursday 1/2/14 at 6pm.

7/2/13 - Congratulations to Sarah and Steve! They earned their First Degree Brown Belt in Monday night's test!

12/20/12 - WAMA will be closed for the Holidays from December 24-31. Kick-Box Aerobics classes will resume January 1, 2013. So take a class this weekend before the break..!

10/24/12 - Women's Self Defense Weekend scheduled for first weekend of November!

2/26/10 - New classes added including Zumba and Movement. Check the schedule page for information on times and dates

1/3/10 - Welcome back Claire, teaching Kick-Box Aerobics Tuesdays at 6:00PM. Come on by for a high-energy class..!

5/01/09 - New Confluence Aikido Japanese Sword Training class Saturdays from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM. Beginners welcome, drop by and check it out.

4/18/09 - Congratulations to Bob and Sarah on their 2nd degree brown belts awarded after the WMMA test Saturday.

12/20/08 - Congratulations to Chris on his 7th and Beni his 2nd degree black belt, awarded to them by Grandmaster Rudy Tuiolosega during a ceremony of the International LimaLama Federation in Mexico City.

10/25/08 - Check out the new Santa Cruz Kickboxing Academy website - address is: scmuaythai.com

10/12/08 - Congratulations to the RPM team (Richard, Peter and Magdalena) who advanced to black in their belt test Sunday.

10/5/08 - Sunday Felix Valencia will be at WAMA from 11-4 giving a Valencia Lameco Eskrima defensive knife fighting seminar. Stop on by ..

7/18/08 - We are going to have a multi-instructor benefit aerobics class on July 26 from 10:00 until 12:00 for Marc Adato. A familiar friend in Kick-Box Aerobics, Marc is in Stanford Hospital battling leukemia. Check here for more information.

7/6/08 - Congratulations to the Wave Man Martial Arts students who advanced at the recent belt test. Another big event with nine students testing. The testing covered forms, techniques, stick and knife fighting and sparring.

Click to see pictures from the test.

5/2/08 - An old favorite conditioning exercise - Knee walk Also known as shikko in Japanese martial arts (especially aikido), a two-beat gait that starts with one foot and the other knee on the ground. The kneeling foot is brought forward and the standing foot rotates down to a kneel. This is used to keep the centre-of-mass as close to the ground as possible (by force or volition), while still being able to move and fight..

WAMA wins gold - best martial arts in Santa Cruz 3/28/08 - Riding the wave to a silver! WAMA has been voted a silver medal in the Best Martial Arts category of the Metros "Best of Santa Cruz - Goldies 2008" readers choice poll. Thanks again for all the votes!

1/2/08 - Click to see pictures from the special extended 2.5-hour multi-instructor Kick-Box Aerobics class on Januay 1st that kicked off the new year right!

WAMA cardio kickboxing 2008 kickoff class

9/20/07 - Check out the new Santa Cruz Kickboxing Academy page here.

6/16/07 - The Santa Cruz Sentinel published an article on Chris and WAMA - "Chris Schulz: In it for the adventure". The paper had a great picture to go with it, but they didn't include it in the online version here.

6/12/07 - Pictures from the recent May 2007 Wave Man Martial Arts orange belt test here.

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.

WAMA wins gold - best martial arts in Santa Cruz 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.

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

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

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...

WAMA cardio kickboxing class

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...

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Westside Aerobics and Martial Arts

News and Updates