FIRES AGAIN!!!

A.F.F.F.F.F!!!!

Once again, with the advent of the Santa Ana winds, the Los Angeles air is filled with ash.

I remember the first time I saw the air thick with ash was back in the mid 90's. I was shocked to see big chunks of ash coating car windshields, and thinking that I really need to pull my T-shirt over my nose & mouth. After being outside for only like 10 minutes, my black UCLA Kung-Fu T-shirt was littered with white specks, and my hair looked like I could've been the poster child for Head & Shoulders.

Yesterday morning was a milder replay of the same. The 7am KBLA gathering was somberly subdued by eau de le feu hanging thick on the morning dew. [Dear God, have I been reading too much Will Williams lately?!?!?] After teaching for less than 30 minutes, my voice already started getting scratchy. By the 60 minute mark, I was thinking about Halls with Mentholyptus, and by 90 minutes, I wanted to go home and wash my lungs out with soap.

Times like these make you REALLY appreciate the men & women who put it all on the line for us & keep us safe & sound when fan blades meet feces.

HERE'S WHAT'S UP!

1. Coming soon, there will be an LA Firemen's Relief Association fundraiser. Instructor Nikki Shlosser, RKC, will be donating private kettlebell training sessions. Please keep checking her blog for more information as the date draws nearer!

2. As of today, the Santa Monica-based KBLA classes will extend FREE attendance to all firefighters showing proper ID. Anyone who has not trained with KBLA before and comes in to train with KBLA-Santa Monica accompanied by an ID-bearing firefighter trains for half-off. A maximum of two civilians can accompany each firefighter. This offer is good from today until the end of 2008.

If you're a first-responder and you don't understand the importance of strength & conditioning, you're either going to predispose yourself to meaningless injury, fatigue too quickly under stress, or endanger your teammates in a crisis situation. Find out about the wicked edge that KBLA's kettlebell training gives you before it's too late.

3. 5-0... We appreciate you, too. Don't think otherwise for one moment. Thanks to the hard work of people like Ofcr. Mike Prosser, RKC candidate, the Westside is a better, safer place to be. For all Santa Monica Police personnel, you are comped as my guests for the remainder of 2008! Just like the firefighters, show your badge, and you train as my guest.

And just like the last bullet point, you also don't want to find out about the importance of strength & conditioning, agility, and raw power too late. This is hot stuff, and we're giving you a chance to discover it firsthand from some of the best in the West for FREE.

IN FACT... There's MORE! Com. Nikki & I are working on putting together a special kettlebell training clinic specifically for Firefighters. Details will be forthcoming, but if you're interested in staying informed about that, please drop an e-mail to trainhardstyle@yahoo.com, and we'll make sure you're kept in the loop.

So what's the acronym all about at the top?

All Fire Fighters Free For Fall! (The SMPD part didn't exactly work in keeping with the alliteration, but you get the idea.) KBLA shows love to Fire, Police, & Military personnel all the time with our standard 50% off discount, but for the remainder of '08, we're giving you ALL our love.

Give us your all, and KBLA gives you ours!

Doin' it... HARD STYYYYYYYYYLE!