By Melanie J. Knox, Page Editor

The Exercise Science Department is offering two new classes: cardio kickboxing and kajukembo karate. Both are one-hour courses and will be taught by James Cox, a fourth-degree black belt marshal arts instructor at Abilene Kajukembo Karate and Boxing Gym.

“I want to try to further the knowledge of marshal arts and bring a reality to it-a realization that this is something life-long and positive,” Cox said.

Dr. Joe Bell, associate professor of exercise science and student at the Abilene Kajukembo school, said he has always felt the importance and need for a self-defense class.

The class limit on cardio kickboxing was set at 40 students and filled up on the second day of availability, with 45 students now actually enrolled in the class. For Kajukembo karate, the limit was set at 30, and it is also a full class.

“We hope that these will both become well-established courses that will be full every semester,” Bell said. “This is going to be fun for the students and for us, and we are very excited about it.”

Students also seemed excited.

“I signed up for kickboxing because a lot of my friends were, and it seemed like something that would be really fun to do in a large group,” said Chris Wilcoxson, junior electronic media major from DeQuincy, La. “I feel like it will give me more confidence and help release the four months of stress I built up while studying abroad.”

There is no pre-training required for either course.

“It’s easy to work with a beginner,” Cox said. “They don’t have any habits to break, and I hope they leave with a better understanding of self-defense.”

The Kajukembo class is about developing knowledge and skill, and toward earning a yellow belt.