JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
Judo fitness instructor Roy Eby is passing down his 40 years of martial arts expertise to students during his judo fitness classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The free classes take place from 6-7 a.m. at the Medina Fitness Center, and from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Chaparral Fitness Center.
Eby, a health promotions technician for the Health and Wellness Center, has instructed the class for over a month.
Geared to improve total fitness in accordance with American College of Sports Medicine guidelines, Eby modeled his training after a similar judo program created by Dr. Jigoro Kano in 1882, founding father of the Kodokan Judo Institute.
Martial arts and combat sports are essentially in Eby's blood. His grandfather, Jose Becerra, was a bantamweight champion professional boxer.
"I've done boxing, judo, jujitsu, aikido," Eby said, and I've studied Bruce Lee's Ji Kun Do as well."
Eby teaches different judo techniques to his students, and he believes they should have no limits when it comes to the knowledge of judo.
"Students are supposed to keep on studying and never stop learning," he said.
His students begin class with warm-ups that include dynamic movement of all the joints. Exercises are next and include light jogging, judo push-ups, sprints, tumbling and abdominal exercises. Gripping, throwing, pinning, and grappling round out the rest of the class time.
Eby said judo is known as the gentle way of combat training.
"It is not about how much you do or about who you beat up," he said.
Rather, judo, or martial arts in general, can be used for fitness and bettering oneself physically, mentally, psychologically and socially.
"Students can use judo to participate in tournaments if they desire, or use it for income if they want to teach a class," he said.
"They can even participate in the Olympics if they wish because judo is an approved sport by the International Olympic Committee."
The instructor tries to teach to each student's goals and needs.
"Everybody is here because they either want to get in better shape or want flexibility," he said. "Other people say, 'I just want to have fun,' or they do it for self defense.
"The bottom line is, I can't treat people the same way because people have different emotions," he continued.
"Just because I speak one way to one person doesn't mean I can speak the same way to another person."
Shannon Miller, an air reserve technician for the 433rd Airlift Wing, enjoys Eby's knowledge and teachings of judo.
"He sets examples and wants you to learn," Miller said. "He gives you personal stories and insight on how he has progressed in his career.
"He makes you feel like the shining star in the class. Whatever mistakes you make, he tells you how to correct them and move on."
Miller signed up for Eby's 6 a.m. judo class because she wanted something different and challenging to get into shape after having a child.
"It's an hour workout that truly, by the end of it, you're asking yourself, 'It's over already?'" she said. "He warms up everybody in class, works us out for 50 minutes, and by the end, I'm sweating.
"It's not a class where I'm just going to be throwing people down," she continued. "I'm going to throw them and they are going to throw me."
Another Eby student, Patrick Keller, a doctor with the 559th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, has also benefited from the fun and challenging aspects of the judo fitness class.
"It gives me an opportunity to get a good workout three days a week," he said. "I feel better after I take the class."
Using Kano's Kodakan Judo system, students are eligible to test for a yellow belt through the judo fitness test created by Dr. Stanislaw Sterkowicz from the University Poland.
Eby's goal is for the judo fitness class to be an Air Force-wide program. He's hoping to one day teach the class as an instructor at a college level, much like Kano did in Japan.
"The judo fitness test measures muscular strength, endurance and cardiovascular," he said. "Taking the judo fitness test gives people a measurement of these three components. It also builds self-confidence and prepares people for success.
"I don't believe in setting students up for failure. I believe in setting them up for success," he added.