Student of the Month

Our Student of the Month award for February goes to two people this round, Alex Liew and Jonathan Rosenfield.  Alex and Jon are best friends, and they have been training together at Plus One for about eight months.  They train in Muay Thai, Kung-Fu, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.As aspiring teenagers, one day Jon and Alex were watching some kickboxing videos on Youtube.  Alex looked at Jon and said, “Hey, let’s do Muay Thai.”  They then researched their options and began training at Plus One.  (Subsequently, I commend these two young men for their follow through.  This type of mentality will serve them well in life.)  Since joining, both Jon and Alex come to class consistently, several times per week.  When asked about why they chose Muay Thai as their primary style, Jon responded, “It kind of flows.”  While Muay Thai training is their favorite, both Alex and Jon also train in Kung-Fu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as they value the holistic components that those styles bring to their repertoire.

For Jon and Alex, martial arts training is “a relaxing time in the day.”  They both mentioned that it is a way to get out of the house and have a great time.  They explained that training in the martial arts is, “exercise… without having to exercise.”  (That’s an awesome statement!)  I inquired further about this, and it was expressed that they have both gotten into great shape without even trying.  Their bodies have gotten stronger, and they can see a physical difference.

Jon noted that training is a stress reliever, and he said he really enjoys that he can train with his friend (Alex).  Jon also mentioned that he has never really been a fan of team sports.  As such, he was really attracted to the martial arts, as it’s more individualized.  Alex mentioned that the martial arts are different from other sports because there’s so much variety in what you do.  He expressed that you learn so much more and that the training is much more wholly encompassing than many other athletic activities.  Both Alex and Jon agreed that martial arts training is not as confining as participation with other athletic activities, and they mentioned that it’s not as repetitive.  In expanding on their prior notion that martial arts training is “exercise without the exercise,” they noted that Kung-Fu training seems to be a better workout [than weights and running] but that it hurts less.

Outside of the dojo, Alex enjoys playing the piano, reading music, and playing video games.  Jonathan enjoys drama, music, and he also likes to play video games.  When asked what they would do to make the world a better place, were they able, Alex mentioned that he would give everybody just one thing, something small, so that he could make a difference in their lives in some little way.  Jonathan noted that he would feed the homeless.

Both of these young men exemplify the character traits of quality students and quality people.  For that reason, we are proud to have them both as our Student(s) of the Month for February!