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By Max Dudek

Initial thoughts on the drive to Kickhouse

I was nervous and a little jittery after some morning coffee, which I thought would settle me down. It did not. Although I was excited to meet some new people and have fun on some bags, I was also pretty anxious to step into the completely new environment of a kickboxing studio. To be perfectly honest, I was basically expecting everything and nothing at the same time.

As soon as I entered, I was immediately greeted by John, the owner. He proceeded to give me and the other newcomers a tour of the studio, which was filled with fun decor and a wall of photos detailing the body transformations of some of their members since they began at Kickhouse.

During the session, John would always find a way to support and compliment our strengths, as well as correct our mistakes when our form got spotty, making it almost feel like I had a personal trainer.

Explain how the instructors made you feel comfortable in your first session

The class that I attended was led by John, who made the whole experience fun and pumped in some 2000s music — personally my favorite — and the other members were full of energy and enthusiasm. During the session, John would always find a way to support and compliment our strengths, as well as correct our mistakes when our form got spotty, making it almost feel like I had a personal trainer. At the end of the session, he had the members congratulate the newcomers for completing the grueling workout, which made me feel like I was part of the larger community.

What did you learn? Was it fun punching and kicking a bag? 

I learned jabbing, crossing and the signature roundhouse kick in my initial session, and I thought was impressive for not having any prior experience in kickboxing. To me, that shows the ingenuity of the instructors. Of course, all of this did not come without some post-class discomfort, which always occurs when you step outside of your comfort zone. But given the chance, I would totally visit Kickhouse again. The atmosphere was pretty fun and individually focused, creating the perfect blend of structured kickboxing and being able to vent any frustrations out on a bag.

This experience pushed me to try something new and make a few friends, all while getting a good workout in. You can’t beat that combination.

Can you see why it’s easy to go back to Kickhouse? 

I totally understood why people come back to this place after just a few minutes into the session. The instructor put everyone at ease with some good tunes and a couple instructions and compliments early on, and that helped. All in all, this first visit helped me find some joy in hitting and kicking a bag, which I previously thought was just not for me. This experience pushed me to try something new and make a few friends, all while getting a good workout in. You can’t beat that combination.

Kickhouse is located at 535A Busse Hwy, Unit 1A in Park Ridge. For more information, click here.