Boxing Class is a Knockout at LaCrest

Phil Chebook runs a class at in Lansdale that's been a knockout with members and non-members alike.

On a recent Friday evening, an upstairs exercise room at LaCrest was packed with people throwing right hooks, left hooks and uppercuts, all while bobbin' and weavin'.

Since February of last year, Chebook has been running a boxing class for beginners and experts.

"I mentioned it to LaCrest, and they were looking for a change of pace," Chebook said. "They have every kind of class except boxing. I said 'I'm in.' This is my dream. I've always been working on technique for several years now. I enjoy teaching."

Chebook has worked on the boxing technique for about 30 years in various gyms. He now brings his expertise to LaCrest two nights week: Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

"Attendance is crazy," he said. "Tuesday we usually have 15 people and Friday is usually standing room only."

Chebook is also one of the instructors for the 13th annual PhillyFit Bash on May 20 at B&R Family Fitness Club in Feasterville.

Chebook begins is class with stretches, natch, and then it's into a couple of various techniques.

"I add a little something every week. There are a lot of beginners, so we start from scratch and keep progressing," Chebook said. "We have some pretty established boxers. These young adults didn't know what boxing gloves looked like 14 months ago, and now I'm really proud of them." 

The class is a mix of cardio and self-defense. It's an all-around good workout, Chebook said.

"They feel good about themselves," he said.

Each class is an 8-week session, but the course is continuous; attendees can keep signing up after eight weeks. 

"After eight weeks, we give out certificates. After another three months, we give out advanced certificates. It's something for them to look forward to," Chebook said.

There's no sparring or even a ring involved in the class. Students work together and pair up hitting mitts and then the bags.

"That's where they let out their frustration," Chebook said. "We do a lot of footwork, that's vital in boxing. I put the music on and they go back and forth."

The ultimate goal with the class, Chebook said, is for the students to learn how to defend themselves. 

"It's basically technique. It's a good workout, it really is," he siad. "It's one of the best workouts there is. By the time they leave here, they are burning the calories. They're hurting in a good way." 

Chebook relies on some advanced boxers to help him out during the class one-on-one with students. One such aide is former amateur-professional Philadelphia welterweight fighter Tony Curcio, who resides in Upper Gwynedd. Curcio had a record of 6-8-1 during the mid-1960s.

"It's a good mix," said Curcio, who trained Dwight Muhammad Qawi (Dwight Braxton). He was also around Philadelphia boxers like "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon, Len Matthews and Slim Jim Robinson.

Curcio said the students like the class.

"There's more girls and more older people," he said. "It's great for them. They are interested in it. They learn something." 

Curcio said you either have to love boxing or be real good at it and make money with it. 

"This is conditional," he said of Chebook's class. "You teach somebody how to punch - and I'm talking punch - you'll kill 'em."

Curcio wished the class was more than two nights a week.

"They can't get enough of it," he said. "But to get a jab and a right hand together, like a reflex, it will take you two, three months to put it together and that's five days a week." 

Laura Kelly is one student in Chebook's class. The Towamencin resident has been taking the class for over a year. 

"It's something different, something fun," Kelly said. "Just the idea of getting powerful, hitting, there's something about it that appealed to me." 

Kelly said she has learned a lot from the class.

"It really is total body: it's legs, it's arms, it's core, it's everything," she said. "There's a lot of cardio, which is nice. I'm not a dancey, cardio person, but this is a great way to get cardio in." 

She said she never took the class for the self defense aspect; it is more about the strength and power.

"You just feel good," said Kelly, who also teaches at LaCrest. "You leave here and you feel good. You feel on top of the world. You feel powerful. It was more of the mental aspect of it than physical." 

Chebook's group exercise boxing class occurs Tuesdays from 5:45 p.m. to 6:40 p.m., and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 6:25 p.m. Check out more at http://www.northpennymca.org/LCT/