Thai Dance Aerobics

Last night, I decided to try the Move Fitness gym and the classes that accompany it.  It's been a few months since my Kickboxing groupon ran out, so I've been looking for something else to do to get the blood moving.  Side note: I greatly miss kickboxing and really wish there was an ILKB studio here in Bangkok that I could join.

This gym at the big mall has a studio with classes of all types: aerobics, yoga, pilates, circuits... several types.  I had gotten the flyer a few days earlier, to ask some questions on when to go and how much it would cost.  In I stroll, and ask the very nice reception lady about having a seven day pass.  Just one week, to get a feel for the range of classes and decide if I wanted to put this much money into it.  She eventually asked her manager and I got the free pass for the week.

I had no idea what to expect.

I was biding my time on the treadmill, doing a little warm up before the class, when I saw the studio filling full of women.

All of them Thai.

And the instructor: A very charismatic guy, with a microphone system like a pop star and a massive purple tie-dyed headband.  He kept yipping (for inspiration) as we danced.

The entire class was in Thai, which as you know I don't speak.  At one point in the middle of the class, I turned to the gal next to me and held out my right arm asking, "Kwa?"  That's the word for right, apparently, and Sei is left.  She nodded and smiled as we kept on moving.

At certain points throughout the hour long class, the instructor would turn off the studio lights and we would dance in the dark, with nothing but the little laser light to get us moving.  I suppose it was meant to be a motivator.

The music was all Asian type pop stuff, with a sprinkle of club hits like LMFAO.  I think one was a Beiber song, though I would have to know his work to be sure (and I won't put any energy into that).  And the dancing was a bunch of salsa and mambo and cha cha moves... which I've noticed that Thais aren't really skilled in.  There was a hint of Asian pop moves... the long arms swinging as you saunter forth, the hopping, the pop and lock.

There's little more entertaining than watching a room of Thai women try to shimmy.

I was surprised to see that no less than 4 women left before the class was over.  This is something I would never see in the states, someone leaving in the middle of a class.  Most of them kept up, even me, though some were considerably more coordinated than others.  The girl directly in front of me was doing incredibly well, and was one of the smallest, thinnest people I had ever seen.

The class was a blast.  I'm leaning to joining this gym and all the amusement that will accompany it.  Maybe I'll even learn a bit of Thai.