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Whether you’re stuck at a hotel or lucky enough to be home, it’s
difficult to stay active and productive during quarantine. What’s more,
when you don’t have to contend with subway rides or commutes to work, it
can be a slog just to get yourself out of bed at an otherwise
reasonable hour.
Nevertheless, the other day I did, and I’m beyond happy
with my decision because I got to join a “Krav Maga Combat Ready” class
conducted on Zoom, and led by Von Ng, the China Director of Krav Maga Global (KMG).
Scan QR code for KMG website
Ng has been training in Krav Maga since 2005, and teaching Krav Maga at KMG in
Beijing since 2010. According to Ng, “Krav Maga is the primary fighting
system used by the Israeli defense forces. It is [also]used by
military, security, third party protection, law enforcement, civilian
adults and children all over the world. It’s known for its simplicity,
it is easy to learn, easy to retain, and it’s direct to the point
approach.”
Despite my weariness and sleepy eyes, it was great to get up early
and sweat the stress out with a bunch of “Internet friends” through the
little screen on my phone. Needless to say, after the workout, I felt
fresh and energized.advertisement
As it happens, I had stumbled upon the class in a WeChat group called
“Yoga Under Quarantine”, in which folks share free online workout
classes such as Yoga, Zumba, Chinese Plum Boxing, and more. They are all
organized by different people who are passionate about various sports
and happy to share their expertise with others.
Meredith C. Wen
Despite its name, the group offers much more than just yoga. According to Meredith C. Wen,
the group’s founder, “At first I figured it’d be yoga only because
that’s what I’m trained in and I didn’t know if anyone else would want
to teach. But within the group, I’ve been approached by really amazing
instructors!”
Asked why she decided to start the group, Wen explained that, “When
we were initially preparing to return to China and quarantine, I was
thinking about what I would need to stay sane. For me, it’s books and
movement [so]I wanted to help people out in this way. ”The online platforms used by instructors in Yoga Under Quarantine may
vary, however a pretty popular one right now is Zoom, which is
available for both iOS and Android users. It’s quite simple to navigate
and comes in English. All you need to do is download the software from
your App Store and then join a class by plugging in a Meeting ID, which
will be provided by the workout class’ organizer.
During the class, you can choose to mute yourself or switch off your
side of the video depending on your situation. But of course, it would
be better to turn on the video so the teacher can check your moves and
form. As a total beginner and outsider of KMG Combat, I switched the
video to keep a low profile. But rest assured, no one is out there to
judge, I’m just afraid I would judge myself.advertisement
Photos: Courtesy of Meredith, Von Ng, and Wendy Xu