Multitasking? Local Program Builds Bodies While Sharpening Minds

By John Voket

Do you drive to work listening to books on tape while eating breakfast? Is your lunch hour occupied by trips to the gas station, the cleaners, and the market?

If you fashion yourself one of those people who can’t stand to do less than two things at the same time — the consummate multitasker — then you’ll be happy to know that Melissa Carter isn’t going to waste a lot of time whipping your body and your mind into better shape. The 25-year-old entrepreneur and accomplished martial arts enthusiast recently established a Newtown-based academy where you can build self-confidence while getting an extremely beneficial workout.

Whether you are a toddler or a senior, physically fit or just starting on your first health regime, Carter’s Cardio Fitness and Defense (CCFD) has a program for you. Currently based out of the gym at Newtown’s Frasier-Woods School on South Main Street, Melissa Carter and her accomplished staff of half a dozen family and professional associates are providing one of the area’s newest and well-rounded programs promoting a combination of physical and psychological benefits.

Martial arts have long been associated with not only improved health and fitness, but for helping to enhance self-awareness, confidence, and self-discipline. And while more and more individuals adopt these ancient routines for all the aforementioned reasons, there’s no discounting the fact that in a rare instance, the self-defense training might help protect you and possibly save your life in the event of a dangerous confrontation.

During a rare quiet moment before a recent class, Ms Carter told The Bee that she has been taking martial arts since she was 12. Since discovering an affinity for martial arts she has won several national championships and is a member of many aerobic organizations, including the International American Aerobic Association and the International Sports Medicine Association.

Not only is Ms Carter a second-degree black belt with significant experience in martial arts and aerobics, but she is also a sixth grade science and English teacher at Chalk Hill Middle School in Monroe.

Besides her current dual-career pursuits, she has taught tae kwon do and kickboxing at several gyms throughout Fairfield and New Haven Counties, Quinnipiac University in Hamden while attending as a student over a five-year period, at Eastern Taekwon Do in Monroe as well as in the town’s after-school programs.

In addition, Ms Carter teaches tae kwon do at Monroe Summer Camp and during after-school programs at the Fraser-Woods School here in Newtown. Currently CCFD offers are cardio-kickboxing, tae kwon do, strength training (cardio pump), fight club, and Pilates. Besides herself, her staff includes sister Kimberly who teaches cardio-kickboxing and is a first-degree black belt in tae kwon do, and her father, Tom who also teaches tae kwon do.

Other staff tae kwon do instructors include Hersh Parikh and an international celebrity in the art, Michelle Golino. Besides devoting herself to the martial art for more than 25 years, Ms Golino has participated on two world tae kwon do teams from 1989 to 2003 and is one of the highest ranking females in the sport, now preparing to test for her fifth-degree black belt.

“Her focus is the science and physics of the traditional art, otherwise known as the Theory of Power,” Ms Carter explained. “Classes incorporate traditional methods while honoring old-style discipline. Ms Golino also adds fun and exciting challenges for students of all ages, and students will learn very quickly that martial arts is not just a game or sport, it is a way of life!”

Tae kwon do literally means “the way of the hand and foot.” Officially developed in Korea and named in 1955, tae kwon do’s origins can be traced back nearly 2,000 years.

The art is known for its flashy jumping and spinning kicks, and practitioners learn to use their hands and feet to defend against an attacker. Tae kwon do can be performed for exercise, competition, or self-defense, and early training involves basic punching and blocking techniques and progress as skill levels increase.

The benefits of tae kwon do include: better health and fitness, greater flexibility and stamina, confidence, self-awareness and assertiveness, discipline of mind and body, stress reduction, and of course, self-defense skills.

Another notable faculty member at CCFD is fight club instructor and Newtown resident Chris Berardi. Mr Berardi holds various martial arts rankings in ITF and WTF tae kwon do and ninpotaijitsu, and has constructed his curriculum around providing both fitness and self-defense training around “real life scenarios” his students may face.

“The beauty of fight club is it can go on forever. There’s no limit to the range of experience a student can gain and virtually no limit to the health benefits,” Mr Berardi said.

Ms Carter added that Mr Berardi’s self-defense techniques are coupled with protected contact sparring to help to bring the mind and body where they need to be to survive a fight and, most importantly, to avoid one!

“Fight club takes place in a controlled environment where each student determines the speed and contact level,” she said. “And fight club is exclusively for mature individuals ages 15 and up.”

In her cardio pump classes, Ms Carter stresses strength training where each student uses a bar bell and an aerobic step.

“Each student decides on how much weight to put onto his/her bar. Strength training tones the entire body and transfers fat into muscle. Exercises involve using multiple muscles in order to create stability and balance. We teach simple resistance exercises that not only challenge, but also develop strength, control, and body awareness,” she said.

The CCFD Pilates track provides clients a series of controlled movements using one’s own body weight under the watchful instruction of April Carlson.

“In addition, our classes incorporate hand weights,” Ms Carter said. “Pilates engages the mind and body in the workout for safe and effective conditioning.”

And for those who aren’t afraid to sweat and burn a little, there’s the cardio-kickboxing class that the two Carter sisters teach. This training involves an aerobic workout that can burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour.

“A regular class consists of punches, kicks, and calisthenics while listening to modern, motivating music,” Ms Carter said. “As part of the class, we provide each client with heavy bags and targets to kick and punch. All levels are welcome to participate, and we have students ages 8 and up.”

For more information on CCFD view cartersfitness.com.