Tiger Schulmann's Mixed Martial Arts Manhattan 4.3 1 review

I was walking past Tiger Schulmann's and was enticed by the one week offer of $19.95 to check out the self defense & kickboxing classes. The facility looked clean (not what I expected...it was not dingy and sweaty, but actually quite clean & airy). The staff are amazingly friendly and the trainers are awesome.

I signed up for the offer and was also given a free pair of punching gloves which protect your knuckles. This was going to be fun!

For my first class (they separate adults from children, so I didn't have to worry about some young punk kid beating me up!), I was the only one who showed up so I ended up having an individual lesson with the instructor, Sensai Hall. (Ground rules, I had to call the teacher Sensai, which was cool, and we also bowed to each other. Also, to signify you understand, you say "Uuuu-s". Not sure the origin, but will look into it. My first class was amazing - i learned how to properly jab with my left, punch with my right, block kicks, knee kicks and a few other moves. It was an awesome workout both strength and also cardio-wise. Good stretching beforehand, some pushups & situps and more stretching at the end. Awesome workout and I felt amazing afterwards. My Sensai is also a professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter and was also a great teacher.

I just had my second class today, and there were more people, but i learned a new punch,and the shin kick which was described as carrying the same force as swing a baseball bat at someone...cool! After both classes, the Sensai debriefed me and then I met with the Manager & front desk team members who are also super friendly, personable and seem to know everyone's names (Wendy & Colleen at the front desk are great, but they also train people and demonstrate during classes). All of the exercises of kicking & punching bags and pads is meant to strengthen your knuckles, fists, shins, feet, etc, give you more confidence in situations and be able to protect yourself when needed.

I got the pricing at the end of my second class if I decide to continue. I am still deciding, but the short of it is that you need to purchase a minimum of 65 classes and the average cost of each class runs between $22-25 dollars per class....so its an investment, but i think i may give it a go...need to check and see if I would prefer to do this vs. joining a gym.