Inside the first Fräulein x SJMT Kickboxing Class

Together with the Studio Super Jack Muay Thai, we held our first Fräulein Kickboxing class last Saturday. A place where we, as women, can come together, learn from one another and create a safe space. Where we can simply feel good and have fun.

The afternoon took place at the SJMT Studio in Kreuzberg, one of their two venues, followed by a get-together supported by iced matcha drinks from Matchasome. We gathered in a very large and bright room, laid out with mats, surrounded by boxing gloves, boxing rings and punching bags – exactly how you’d imagine a kickboxing studio to be like.

The class was led by PT and Lisa, two of the trainers of the studio. Starting with warm-up and stretching exercises. The room, which had been buzzing with excitement, transformed into a quieter, more focused atmosphere – naturally because it became too tiring to speak.

After that, we started with simple rhythm exercises to learn the basic moves: standing shoulder-width apart, with the left foot always in front of the right, and a constant, gentle bouncing back and forth. Always in the right stance, stepping from left to right, right to left, forwards and backwards. Rhythm and body awareness are essential, just as PT told us in our interview. They’re the core of sport, without it, you can’t move. 

We were also taught the basic movements of Muay Thai: the defensive stance, simple punches with our fists and elbows, knee kicks and leg kicks. PT and Lisa both moved around the room, offering tips and correcting our posture and the correct execution of the exercises. Both have many years of experience; PT started learning Muay Thai after moving from Thailand to Germany about 15 years ago, Lisa discovered the sport several years ago on a trip to Thailand – now they are the only female trainers at SJMT.

We practiced the moves on our own first, then in pairs against each other wearing boxing gloves and pads, practicing continuous movement and training our reflexes as we tried to block or avoid the other person’s attacks. The room was soon filled with excitement and laughter; the exercises turned into fun games between us as we swapped partners throughout the class, allowing us to get to know one another and adapt to a changing sparring partner.

The class was finished off with some more workout exercises, pushing our limits once again and getting our heart rates up one last time, before wrapping up the class with some stretching exercises, allowing our bodies and muscles to relax.

Everyone was out of breath and sweating, but still full of energy, and conversations started up again – about the last plank exercise, which was a real challenge, the fun sparring exercises, for many of us it was the first time, some already had a little bit of experience – but everyone was still keen for more.

The afternoon was rounded off with refreshing matcha by Matchasome, which helped us cool down: the Happy Matcha, a classic iced matcha latte, or the Summertime Forever, an iced strawberry matcha latte – the latter was definitely the favourite of the day, especially combined with the rice-coconut milk).

Little by little, drinks were finished, guests were flicking through Fräulein Magazines that could be taken home along with cute sticker sheets from Matchasome, and the room was filled with conversation. Nobody seemed eager to leave, the energy and the power of the last two hours could still be felt.