Getting A Kick Out Of Life

Most women don't like to watch men fight - and even fewer would want to fight themselves. To be fair, even a lot of men get squeamish watching two guys beat the daylights out of each other.
But when Sandy Rodgers, a 65-year-old Timber Pines resident, turned on the television and saw a bunch of tough, young dudes taking it to the extreme in a mixed martial arts event, she decided that was just the thing she needed to take her fitness program up to the next level.
"I guess I had seen some young guys working out on TV and thought, 'That workout is for me,'" said Rodgers, who works out 30 minutes every day.
But where in Hernando County does a 65-year-old woman find a place where she can learn how to fight?
Not far from Timber Pines, on U.S. 19 near the Pizza Hut, is a place called Extreme MMA.
The business, a mixed martial arts school, opened in Spring Hill about two years ago.
Rodgers happened to see it one day when driving along U.S. 19. The business was closed when she pulled up, but she picked up a flyer and later gave the owner, Paul Mello, a call.
"I called and asked 'Do have anything for old people,'" she said. "He just laughed and said 'Yes.'"
Mello invited her to attend for free one the women's kickboxing classes, which meets at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
That was two months ago.
Since then, Rodgers has faithfully attended classes and has been making steady improvement, according to Mello.
"She didn't know anything when she first came in," Mello said. "She's excellent and picks up really fast and never complains."
Mello, 38, a former body builder and powerlifter, was clad in a green T-shirt adorned with the U.S. Marine mascot, a steely eyed English Bulldog, on the night he was interviewed.
Asked whether he is a Marine (once a Marine, always a Marine), Mello said no, "but I teach the class like I am. I teach the ladies just like I teach the guys."
Kickboxing refers to the sport of using martial-arts-style kicks and boxing-style punches to defeat an opponent in a similar way to that of standard boxing. It is a standing sport and does not allow continuation of the fight once a combatant has reached the ground. It can be practiced for general fitness, or as a full-contact sport.
Rodgers said she has learned a few self-defense tactics since taking the class.
"If somebody grabs you, you know how to break their hands apart," she said. "I am not the kind of person who would run from somebody - I can put up a pretty good fight."
Then she said with a smile, "But I can put up a better fight now."
Asked whether some of her friends and family might thinks she's a little - well, how should we say it - crazy for getting into martial arts at a mature age, Rodgers laughed and said her husband did think it was a bit over-the-top at first. But now he is impressed with his tough-as-nails better-half.
"He teases me now, 'When are you going to beat me up?'"
While sparring with Mello, Rodgers doesn't hit or kick as quite hard as the 22-year-olds in the class, but she works out at the same pace as the younger "femme brutales" and has garnered their friendship and respect.
"They're just all really sweet," she said. "They didn't realize I was 65."
Age isn't the only thing Rodgers is working against in her new life as a mean, lean fighting machine.
Several years ago she was diagnosed with osteoporosis, and in 2003 took a nasty fall off a step ladder while working at a pro shop in Port Charlotte.
She got into weight lighting to increase bone-density, and went through a year-and-a-half of physical therapy to bounce back from the fall.
"I just wanted to get back into exercise," she said.
Timothy P. Howsare can be reached at 352-544-5284 or thowsare@hernandotoday.com.

Extreme MMA
What it is: Mixed martial arts school
Where it is: 2987 Commercial Way, next to Pizza Hut
Owner: Paul Mello
For more information and/or class schedule: 352-688-9321 or visit www.springhillmma.com.