Deano’s Pizza owner Tim Metcalf is partnering with former UFC fighter Tim Credeur to bring the New York kickboxing franchise I Love Kickboxing to the multitude of fitness enthusiasts in Lafayette who want the high energy and group workout mentality of Crossfit without its high risk of injury.
“Here’s the problem with Crossfit — everybody loves the high intensity, they love the energy, they love the camaraderie, but they use a lot of weights and when they get going really fast their form goes out of the window,” says Metcalf. “It’s not if you get injured, it’s when you get injured because of not using your form.”
According to Metcalf, the I Love Kickboxing program focuses on body weight and doesn’t incorporate any free weights. And because the program usually only involves striking a bag, injuries go out the window.
Metcalf compares the gym’s emphasis on functional exercises to having a “kit car,” where your body might look like a Maserati, but has a Volkswagen engine running in it. “Instead, you’re basically going to have a really good motor with more functional exercise that gets you through life while preventing injury,” said Metcalf.
Metcalf says that the program utilizes fitness but with a focus on more of a self-defense or martial arts background without the formal bowing or belt testing associated with other martial arts fitness programs.
“We teach you a curriculum of just striking and kicking, but incorporate it into more of a fitness and functional form,” says Metcalf. “But it’s fun and that is the format of this business.”
The I Love Kickboxing facility will be located on Bertrand Drive right across from Deano’s Pizza in the center of Lafayette and is expected to open at the end of May. The gym will offer standard membership including monthly and annual plans along with a body class plan that gives the option to pay for each class to allow casual users to only pay for what they use.
While the gym will offer only kickboxing classes, Metcalf says they will be changed on a daily basis to eliminate repetition for members.
“There will never be any hand to hand combat in these classes,” assures Metcalf. “You won’t be striking one another, you will only always hit a bag. So this is for the person who is working and doesn’t want to play softball on the weekends anymore to prevent injury.
“We don’t want you to miss a day at work,” he says. “We just want you to function better in your daily life, and that’s our philosophy: to keep you in that dress size or that pant size you want — to be functional and injury-free is really what we work on. And if, God forbid, it would ever get into a situation where you had to defend yourself, you would have the basic knowledge, at least to know how to throw a punch.”