&S - North Shore News — Sunday, May 28, 2000 Katharine Hamer News Reporter MY editor suggested I write this piece from the perspective of a jelly-legged woman who couldn’t punch her way out of a paper bag before she started kickboxing lessons. “Not so!” 1 protested, flexing my newly-sculpted biceps, “i'm no wimp!” Truth be told, though, this year’s hottest fitness craze is a lot harder than it looks. I first tagged along to classes six months ago with a gaggle of girls from the office because 1 wanted to look like the kung fu chick from the Bond __ flick, Tomorrow Never Dies. Half of them stopped going within a few weeks. Having trained as a ballet dancer, thought Id. have no problem with the combi- nations, but for the first few sessions I felt about as coor- . dinated as if P'd just been to the pub. -” T put the wrong foot for- _ ward, hit the punching bag ‘with all the strength of a granny and kept forgetting to protect my face with my - elbows. If P'd been in a real fight, Vd have been knocked cold Jin three seconds flat. '-. + But I got better. . “Kickboxing and cardio “T wanted to look like the kung fu chick from the Bond flick, Tosorrow Never Dies.” karate have grown massively in popularity in’ the three years since American fitness instructor Billy Blanks (he of Subway ad fame) invented Tae Bo: an aerobic workout that crosses Tae Kwon Do and boxing techniques. Burning a reputed 800 calories an hour, kickboxing is the perfect way to get in shape for summer. A combination of kicking, punching, and calisthenics set to uplifting music is a great way to banish a day's worth of stress while increas- ing strength, endurance, and flexibility. And unlike a standard aer- obics class, you're learning a useful skill along the way. Which — even though my height precludes me being able ro tackle anyone but a midget — makes me feel a Jot better about . walking down dark alleys at night. There are several martial arts centres on the North Shore with kickboxing and cardio karate classes — and introductory offers are often available. SPORTS — Kicking her way out of a paper bag NORTH Shore News writer and Kung fu wannabe Katherine Hamer puts her best foot forward as luck at kickboxing. Several North Vancouver clubs offer fessons for aspiring kickers. Some, though not all, classes are contact-based, with an opportunity to work with punching bags and focus pads with a partner. As with any exercise pro- gram, if you have any health problems or injuries you” should check with your doc- tor before beginning. Clarke’s Family Martial Arts Centres. Two North Vancouver locations at Dollarton Shopping Centre, juniors crowned Jan-Christian Sorensen Contributing Writer NORTH Vancouver’s Ned Hayley claimed the boys 16 doubles crown with partmer Julien Jacob at the Hollyburn Junior Classic Tennis 7. ‘Tournament held last NEWS photo Psul McGrath KIA Besharat, 16, prepares to return the bail during the Hol urn Junior. Tennis Tournament. held last ~_ weekend in West Vancouver. - FOR. Saturday, June 3 10:00am 2:00pm Lonsdale ReeCentre at 23rd & Lonsdale — Lobby All beys 6 years, (born in 1994 & entering grade 1} and older, residing between Grand Boulevard and the Capilano River are invited to register. ‘For more information cali $83-6444 ext. 1940 ‘weekend in West Van. Hayley and Jacob handed North Vancouver’s Philip Bester and partner Kamil Pajkowski a 1-6, 6-4, 5-3 loss to grab top spot. Bester also reached the semis for the boys 16 singles event but dropped that match 6-3,~ 6-4 to Coauitlam’s Rehman Esmail, who went on to claim ‘the title. On the girls’ side, North Vancouver’s Justine Walsh claimed her girls 16 singles match when she toppled West Vancouver’s Michelle Appleton 6-4, 6-0. Appleton had . some revenge when she and part- ner Ghadihela Flores won their girls 18 doubles match against West Vancouver's Jennifer Khoe and Surrey’s Breanna Kray 7-5, 6-4. Meanwhile, Layla Morzan of North Vancouver and - partner Justine Wojcik lost in the finals of the girls 16 dou- bles event when they went down to Sarah McLeod and Nina Alimpic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. Gymnasts compete NORTH Shore athletes are in Montreal this week for the 2000 Canadian Gymnastics Championships. - Competition began ‘Tuesday at the Arena Maurice : Richard in Clympic Park. On Tuesday, Courtney Szabo of West Vancouver placed 19th with a 34.800 in preliminaries action in the novice women’s category. In the women’s junior high division, North Vancouver’s Sarah Buchanan’ posted a 32.400, good for 14th spat. On Wednesday, Team B.C. grabbed a bronze medal in the Women’s Oper: Ts:asi1 “ompe- tition behind a dominant Ontario team and a strong — Quebec group. : In ali-around women's pre- liminaries, Jennifer Clarke of North’ Vancouver notched a 34.600 to grab 18th spot while Maria Celkova, also of North Van, finished in 21st place with a 34.275. In women’s senior high performance, Breanne King of North Vancouver came in lth place witha score of ” 34.837. Rounding. out the field were. West Natasha Gowda and Nathalie Balfour. They scored 32.200 and 31.887, respectively. ~~ Jan-Chrisitan Sorensen Vancouver's : 924-0446 and Westview Shopping Center, 988-7997 & KB-One. 105-1861 Welch St, North Vancouver, 984- 6947 (also offers Thai box- ing classes) @ Wolfes’ Hapkido. 101 photo Terry Peters she tries her ‘Bowser - Ave.;,° North «i. Vancouver, 904-9653 @ Champions. Karate — Academy. 125 E. Ist St.,-: Worth Vancouver, 983-3799 | Local gyms may also offer --. courses. Call for details.’ .. Nigh school. © ar gn A y “NAME: Katherine Clark © SCHOOL: Handsworth © GRADE:8 ~~ > SPORT: Bantam moun-. - » biking. 60 2 oe: , COACHES: Sam Scorda,- tain biking COACHES: Aubert and Stackhouse THE SCOOP: Katherine won the bantam division at the third annual provin- cial invitational champi-. onships in Victoria on Manon + Scott May 14 with a clocking of - 29 minutes and 22 sec-’ ~ B.C. Invitational onds, some 27 seconds ahead of the next best fin- isher. Riding in five gicls’ combinéd-divisions races during the season, she placed’ first. among ban- tams each time to capture both the North Shore and Lower Mainiand_individ- tes of the week NAME: Ben Stigson - SCHOOL: Argyle... °.. - GRADE: 11 SPORT: Serior mountain Mike: Pruner Inkster’ ~ and* Tom THE SCOOP ben : capped off’ a ‘remarkable .; _season_ as the undisputed | champion rider in: the. province by finishing first over a three-lap course in a field of 62 seniors 2 . Victoria. His winning time, which was 21 sec- onds beyond one. hour, “was more than five.min- utes faster than the ‘run-: ner-up. Undefeated” all’ season. he was North Shore © and. Lower - Mainland champion..as well, PG Selections are made by the North Shore Secondary Schools’ Athletic. Association based on outstanding performances in school competition.