The Samurai Workout

Diversions Samurai Workout This sword wielding slash bucklers. It might look like extras and training for a new samurai movie. Female: Head up, head up with chin up, 90 seconds. Female: But Hollywood isn’t the drag this sports club in Manhattan. Welcome to Foorza, a class based on ancient Japanese sword fighting techniques. Iilaria Montagnani: With Foorza, I wanted to bring the benefit of working out with a sword, which to me is the ultimate way of training. Female: Three half cuts. Female: Iilaria Montagnani, who has a background in martial arts, developed the Foorza workout. Foorza means power or strength in the need of battalion. Iilaria Montagnani: it comes from the Japanese way of training with the sword like a samurai so all the movements are very, very elegant. There is no rounding around—grounding or chopping. The idea is to express your body through your cuts and through your movements. Female: This sword play might seem dangerous but its not. There's no combat, just controlled repetitive movements, students use wooden sword instead of the metal versions wielded by martial artists. Iilaria Montagnani: This is the replica in the wood and this is the handle and this is the supposedly blade, that’s where you cut. Female: Montagnani says Foorza has several benefits; it’s an aerobic work out that can burn up to 500 calories a class. It also builds muscle mass and strengthens the upper and lower body. Iilaria Montagnani: Your doing all movements with the arms when you cut. While you do all those movements either in a launch or a squat or a deep step so your legs, your gluts and your cores are always working. Female: I find it to be incredibly empowering. I find it to be incredibly sculpting. Male: I find—it strengthens me in ways that other exercise classes don’t or using machines don’t. Female: You’ve got two more times, two more. Female: There is no jumping, which can stress the joints and because the movements can be executed with the light touch, you don’t have to be a musketeer to try it. Female: It was great, very different, go work out. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow.