Drumming Up Fitness - TaikoFit!

Move over step aerobics, TaikoFit is coming to town! Founded in 2002, this blend of Japanese-inspired drumming & aerobics is creating a buzz in the fitness industry.

The concept is simple and oh-so fun: you basically use big sticks (called 'bachii') to bang away your stress on large taiko (Japanese-style drums) while simultaneously shaking your booty to the beat. In a one-hour class, you work your heart, arms, legs & abs in a way that Stairmaster just can't match.

What's really cool about TaikoFit, though, is its unique cultural flavor. The sticks, the music, and even the instructions are given in Japanese so that you feel as if you've been temporarily transported out of your mainstream gym and into a whole different world (or at least country). Its perfect for beginners looking for something fun and non-threatening, and for jaded exercisers wanting something new and interesting. Kids love it too!

TaikoFit founder Michelle Unrau, Ph.D, got the idea for the workout after after a friend from the Canadian performing group Uminari Taiko introduced her to traditional taiko drumming. The combination of the drummer's physical movements, energy and the beat reminded her of her own fitness classes. She knew that adapting the concept of taiko to aerobics would be, pun intended, a big hit. But don't be confused: TaikoFit isn't actual taiko-drumming...it merely spins elements of traditional taiko into a simpler format with a fitness twist--so that anyone can do it. In fact, Unrau, who is a strong supporter of the traditional taiko community, regularly attends traditional taiko performances and workshops with her instructors and participants and provides info to those who would like to know more about the traditional Japanese art.

Furthermore, to help offset what she calls 'the rampant commercialism of the fitness industry', Unrau offers her 9-hour TaikoFit instructor training course free to interested fitness professionals and physical education teachers. In an industry where everyone seems keen to make a quick buck, this kind of generosity is rare. Unrau, who is Director for Group Exercise for a Vancouver-area fitness chain, says she is 'disturbed by the industry trend of charging fitness instructors hundreds to thousands of dollars for the privilege of inspiring others to fitness'. 'These rising costs are making fitness less, not more accessible to the public & I wanted to do something about it.' Her workshops provide fitness professionals and educators with the tools and training to start inexpensive, accessible TaikoFit drumming programs in their local communities.

For more information about TaikoFit classes and the instructor training program, visit www.taikofit.com.