Electric Studio's rhythm boxing program is sometimes referred to as the grittier, more badass little sister of its indoor cycling contemporary. Both workouts are dynamic and music-based, taught under the watchful eye of Electric’s qualified arsenal of instructors in a dark room. Strips of LED lights shift and flash to match each and every booming beat that reverberates from the speakers. Instead of putting the pedal to the metal, it’s your fist connecting with the aqua bag, throwing punch after punch until your trainer tells you it’s time to hit the floor for the grueling off-bag segment.

Tricia Casi

For one power-packed night, Electric upped the ante by transforming the studio into a pseudo night club, decking it out in black lights that played off the neons and whites—a majority of which were designs purchased from athleisure brand HUSTLE MNL—worn by the boxers for the event. Though everyone was booked for different time slots, majority of us swung by early to show support and to mingle with other members of the community, cans of SOUL seltzer in hand. As soon as doors opened for the first class, we filed in, wraps on, gloves and water bottles in hand, ready to rumble to live music sets by DJ AiS.

Hustle MNL

DJ AiS

Bell Javier

There were four themed classes lined up for the night: disco for Butts Solinap, pop for Tricia Casi, hip hop for Bell Javier, and club anthems for Kyo Numata. Being a disco and EDM fiend, I joined both Butts’ and Kyo’s classes, eager to experience two completely different vibes under the guidance of two equally capable instructors. I jokingly (and fondly) refer to any Butts boxing class as a tempo tantrum; he’ll hit us with a series of fairly simple punch combinations, but will have our brains and bodies working double time thanks to his clever shifts in tempo. In terms of weights, he likes going slow and steady—it’s always the 15-, 20-, and 30-pounders coming out to play—so be prepared to work hard and heavy. It’s always good fun with Butts, though; it’s rare to catch a non-smiling face when you look around the room.

Butts Solinap

Kyo Numata

Kyo is as notorious as he is glorious. Long songs equate to long combos; your endurance and your power will be put to test each and every round on that bag. I take his scheduled box classes twice weekly, but he always finds a way to challenge fighters of every level by keeping his programs interesting and bewildering. When exhaustion kicks in and you start tapping out, Kyo is quick to get you back in the game; “MJ, your hooks”—because hooks are and always will be the most difficult punches to execute well—is all it takes to get me to recheck and reset.

Oh, and if the first rule of flight club is that you don’t talk about fight club, the first rule of Kyo class is that you process the off-bag WOD in-depth after crawling out of the studio.

Raffle prize winners were drawn after each class, with several lucky boxers getting to take home goodies from HUSTLE, Blackbough, Ben’s Cookies, Cottage, and Fit Food Manila. But as with any major Electric event, the best part is that this serves as yet another shared milestone for the community—one made extra special for the fighter in all of us.

Haven’t tried an Electric Studio rhythm boxing class? Book your first one at electricstudio.ph

Photos by Alvin Lat