For the past 10 years, kickboxing has been an essential part of my life.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗯𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.

I’m in the Netherlands this week for FastFlowcon and making the best out of visiting this amazing country.

The Netherlands is home to some of the best kickboxing athletes and schools in the world.
Over the years, I’ve spent several summers here, and at one point, I even moved to a small town to train at one of the world’s top gyms.

This Monday, I visited the Colosseum Gym and enjoyed a fantastic bag training session.
The facilities were excellent, and the atmosphere welcoming and friendly.

One of the reasons I love kickboxing is the immediate feedback loop.
𝗜𝗳 𝗜’𝗺 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.
Adjusting my technique to avoid getting hit as much means constantly I’m learning and improving.
𝗜𝗻 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗯𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀.
For me, there’s a good parallel with DevOps and Value Stream Mapping in this sense.

Have you ever tried kickboxing?

Happy Wednesday!