Best of the Maldives: Thai Boxing – Centara Ras Fushi

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Today is a double holiday in Thailand – both the King’s Birthday, honouring Thai tradition and culture, and Fathers Day. The latter is more than a card occasion and is marked by this official holiday.

Someone who will be marking the day is Prasit Latsila Sujith K.V. from Phuket who teaches yoga, tai chi, and Pilates at Centara Ras Fushi. He also teaches the ideal sport for today – Thai Kick Boxing.

As it happens, Thai boxing skills are typically “passed down through the generations” according to Prasit and he learned the art from his father. He competed when he was young and studied it at university.

Another curious fact about Thai Boxing (or Thai Kick Boxing) is that it is the second biggest sport in Thailand. One of the first things I learned running Piero (sport television graphics) is that “Football” is the #1 sport in nearly every country in the world (“American Football” in USA, “Aussie Rules football in Australia, and “Soccer” football everywhere else). The variety comes in which sport is the second most popular. Motor Racing, Basketball, Ice Hockey and Rugby are the most common “2nd sports”. Thai Kick Boxing is one of the rare solo seconds, ie. the only country where the sport is #2 (another example of a “solo second” is Netball in New Zealand and Squash in Egypt).

Prasit offers regular and requested classes at the waterside yoga pavilion which is part of the resort spa (see photos). A session starts with the “Ram Muay” which is a “show of respect to the teacher” and a warm-up. And today in Thailand, is one big “Ram Muay” for wisdom imparting fathers everywhere.

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Centara Ras Fushi - thai boxing 3

Centara Ras Fushi - thai boxing 2

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Best of the Maldives: Waboba Ball – Kurumba

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Waboba action at Kurumba

Mill pond flat water. One of the trademarks of the Maldives seascape. Especially in the sheltered lagoons. Just perfect for skipping stones. But the soft sandy beaches of the Maldives are devoid of stones pretty much. Anyway, you find the perfect skipping stone and then it’s gone after a single throw. It sinks to the watery abyss starting and finishing its skipping career in a single moment of glory.

The Australian innovation, Waboba Ball, takes the fun of skipping stones and turns it into a beach game. It is a ball weighted just enough to give it great skipping action. You can play skipping-catch (see above) or compete to see who get get the most skips in a throw.

An ideal Christmas gift for someone hanging around the Maldives shallow waters. Of course, such a great gift is only found in one of the Maldives’ finest stores, Kurumba’s Nala boutique.

Special thanks to my demonstrators Cailen and Keegan Calkin who provide the action demo above.

Kurumba - waboba ball beach

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Best of the Maldives: Activity Schedule – Sun Siyam Irufushi

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Sun Siyam Irufushi - shuffle table

One of the myths I hoped to bust with the “Best of the Maldives” series is that “there is nothing to do in the Maldives.” Well, 1,000 “Best of the Maldives” pieces posted or drafted and I can assure you that there is something for every possible interest and taste. One resort that exemplifies the smorgasbord of offerings is Sun Siyam Irufushi. They publish an Activity Schedule that runs nonstop 7:30 am through 1:00 am. Every hour, every day. It’s great to have lots of equipment and activities on offer, but it is especially inviting when a special slot has been organised when others might be able to join in. I particularly liked the fact that they organised like tournaments and competitions. So if you like table tennis or pool, but get a bit tired of just hitting the ball around with your youngsters, you have to opportunity to be matched up with someone else on the island who also plays a bit more seriously for a more engaging match.

Below is one day’s agenda of activity taken at random from their weekly schedule…

  • 06:30 – 09:30 Sunrise Snorkeling Safari
  • 11:00 – 12:00 Round Ping Pong Competition
  • 12:00 – 19:00 Brewery Day
  • 15:00 – 16:00 Darts Challenge
  • 15:00 – 18:00 Holhudhoo Island Experience
  • 15:00 – 16:00 Body Building
  • 16:00 – 18:00 The Cooking Class
  • 16:45 – 17:15 Introductory Yoga Class
  • 17:00 – 18:00 Family Happy Hour
  • 17:00 – 19:00 Happy Hour
  • 17:30 – 18:30 Beach Volleyball
  • 17:30 – 19:30 Lucky Dolphin Sunset Cruise
  • 18:30 – 22:00 Shanghi Night Buffer
  • 21:00 – 01:00 Mojito Night with DJ
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Best of the Maldives: Exercise Course – JA Manafaru

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JA Manafaru - exercise course 1

 

Even the nicest floor-to-ceiling glassed, over-water fitness centres in the Maldives mean that you have to go inside for some exercise. You have to extract yourself from the sunshine, fresh air, squawking tropical birds, and fragrant blossoms to get your heart rate up a bit. You typically have to put on your shoes for the only time in your no-shoes get-away. But JA Manafuru sets a high bar for activity-on-offer in the Maldives…quite literally.  As their adventure exercise course actually includes a number of “bar” exercises (see photos here). The whole circuit is spread out around the island so you can jog from one set of exercises to another. All of the exercises included illustrated instructional signs. The areas are even lit at night so people can use them during the cooler evening if they prefer (as does the front office manager Jourden who told me that he does the course nearly every day himself).

 

JA Manafaru - exercise course 2

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Best of the Maldives: Hoverboarding – LUX Maldives

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LUX Maldives hoverboarding

Way over the water active fun with LUX Maldives latest topical thrill. The resort is certainly keeping up is lagoon cred for adventure adding to “hoverboarding” to its slate. Not the Marty McFly “Back to the Future” verion. Actually, a natural extension to the Flyboarding which LUX pioneered (though I see other resorts offering it now). Flyboards have very short platforms with nozzles out the bottom, while Hoverboard have larger platform “boards” with nozzles out the back (you can find a good description of the difference in this article “Flyboard versus Hoverboard”. Expert Hoverboarder and Flyboard Damone Rippy describes the former as, “Hoverboard was more natural because I am a snowboarder and flying on the Hoverboard feels very similar to snowboarding on water…The Hoverboard is used to soar across the water and glide along side things while being able to elevate to a maximum height and do barrel rolls, spins and carve.”

Like a game you would expect to see on the Jetsons. Or should I say, it is like frolicking in the water with “jets on”.

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Best of the Maldives: Tai Chi – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi tai chi

Happy Chinese New Year!  2015 ushers in the Year of the Goat.  According to Chinese tradition, people born in the goat years are calm and gentle, just like the Maldives. 

To herald its arrival, try some of the ancient art of Tai Chi at Soneva Fushi. Traditionally a martial art of self-defence in more recent times is it practiced more for its health benefits to the extent that even the NHS has a page about it: “studies have shown that tai chi can help people aged 65 and over to reduce stress, improve balance and general mobility, and increase muscle strength in the legs.” Tai Chi News explains…

“Qi Gong is the foundation of Tai Chi, wherein the student learns to move their body and feel their internal energy (Qi), through simple, relatively static movements, and the use of the will (Yi) to guide the energy as it flows through its natural channels (known as jing-luo, or meridians.) The main exercise used in Tai Chi is called the Form. This is a flowing sequence of movements, lasting from 5 to 20 minutes. The Form very effectively develops physical skill and health, and constitutes a very enjoyable kind of moving meditation…More advanced students learn the two-person Form (San Shou) and the sabre, sword, staff and spear Forms, all of which provide an exciting, artistic and satisfying level to the training…Pushing Hands (Tui Shou) is a kind of partner exercise, where 2 people develop sensitivity and co-ordination together. This is a very enjoyable, playful and free-flowing kind of exercise.”

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Best of the Maldives: Seaplane – FlyMe

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Villa Air Whaleshark plane

What’s your ride getting dressed up as for Halloween? The prize for best seaplane costume definitely goes to FlyMe’s “SEEPLANE” had its maiden flight this week.

It is appropriately based at the epicentre of everything whale shark in Maldives near the bottom of the South Ari atoll, the Villa International Airport Maamigili. In fact, the whale shark marine sanctuary goes right by the airport.

The amphibian Cessna C208 holds up to 7 passengers (plus 2 pilots). It serves all the resorts in the area for 20 minute (or longer) privately booked and scheduled excursions with a minimum of 4 people.

Seaplanes have always been a distinctive way to experience the unique, other-worldly geography of the Maldives. And if you don’t spy a whale shark swimming below, you can always have a photo-op with this aeronautic imposter.

Pimp my seaplane!

FlyMe whale shark See Plane

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Best of the Maldives: Aerial Yoga – Six Senses Laamu

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Six Senses Laamu - aerial yoga

Instead of a yoga matt, Laamu introduces the yoga hammock. How Maldives!

“Aerial yoga is fast becoming the hottest trend in the world of yoga, bringing together stretching, breathing and meditation with gymnastics and aerial arts. Now available at Six Senses Laamu, it uses a hammock, made of a soft and supple parachute-silk fabric, which is suspended from the ceiling and used to support the body weight during a sequence of postures. Aerial yoga shares the mind-body connection principles of the traditional yoga practice, while the weightlessness helps remove compression from the spine and opens up joints, leading to stress and tension release. Additional benefits include muscle strengthening and lengthening, low impact cardiovascular conditioning, increased mobility, deeper body awareness and self-esteem…Performed in a sequential flow to music…classes incorporate levitating meditation, zero-compression inversions, sun salutations, floating savasana and joint opening moves…Certified by Ay Fly Training, the resort’s Yoga Teacher Elle Fernandes is a pro when it comes to tailoring classes to individual needs.”

This description includes one of the most lyrical phrases I have come across (in a world where mellifluous rhapsody is commonplace): “levitating meditation, zero-compression inversions, sun salutations, floating savasana.” Yes, I’ll have some of that, please.

Group classes are $35 per person while private classes are $85 per person.

Popular poses, I would imagine, include the Crane, the Eagle, the Feathered Peacock, the Heron, and the King Pigeon.

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Best of the Maldives: Aqua Yoga – Park Hyatt Hadahaa

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Park Hyatt Hadahaa - aqua yoga 1

Bouncing around in the water takes a more controlled, purposeful and therapeutic dimension at Park Hyatt Hadahaa. Their Vidhun Spa offers its own special Aqua Yoga programme.

The developer and teacher of this innovative activity is spa yoga teacher Deeksha (see photos). Like many activities (especially those that involve a bit of pain and effort), her charisma and energy mutes the discomfort and difficulty. She personally turns the pool into an effervescent jacuzzi of can-do with her bubbly personality.

Water is such an immersive part of the Maldives experience, I love it when resorts take activities into the water. The cool and refreshing water provides a crisp contrast to the soothing heat of the ever present sunshine. But when it comes to yoga, the aqueous venue provides extra benefits. First, the natural buoyancy of your body in water facilitates a whole range of yoga moves for a beginner that would require guru level balance and proficiency to achieve standing on land. Secondly, water provides a natural source of resistance. Instead of bands or other devices to provide strength building resistance, Deeksha has devised a number of gentle movements in the water where the water itself is your resistance.

The whole concept does raise the potential for an entirely new range of yoga moves…

  • Downward Facing Dogfish
  • Dolphin Plank
  • Eagle Ray Pose
  • Half Frogfish

Park Hyatt Hadahaa - aqua yoga 2

Park Hyatt Hadahaa - aqua yoga 3

in water

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Best of the Maldives: Zumba – Jumeirah Dhevanafushi

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Jumeirah Dhevanafushi - zumba 2

 

Zumba is a fitness craze that has is just about everywhere now, but in the Maldives it is only at the Jumeirah Dhevanafushi resort. Like a number of aerobic trends, the key to its popularity is injecting a strong dose of fun into the workout so there is less pain with the gain.

Zumba’s fun is dance. Dance based fitness which has been sort of the core of aerobics for years (think “Flashdance”). But aerobics always seems like fitness first and dance second…exercise set to music. Zumba is more music first and fitness second. Think musical movement amped up enough to provide some fitness.

Dhevanafushi's exclusive offer is thanks to their spa staffer, Elmer Munar. In fact, Elmer was the first to introduce Zumba to the Maldives offering it for periods at a number of resorts, but now he is resident at Dhevanafushi. He holds classes at their over-water Talise Spa which provides a visual vista as energizing as the music and Elmer’s charismatic class leading. No need to wrest yourself away from the ocean to just enjoy a bit of cardio.

Elmer welcomes you with a cold lemonade and scented towel (which I found myself returning to several times during the session). He is licensed Level 2 in 5 of the 7 Zumba styles – Fitness, Sentau, Toning, Kids and Kids Jr. It’s like a buffet of Latin dance. Lori and I did cha-cha, salsa, mambo and Cubiya moves with a cool down to the bachaba. All the moves are simple and repetitive to make them easy to pick up. They all can be embellished as you get better. Elmer is clearly an expert and once the class settles into its own groove, he adds a number of flourishes to his own steps providing a bit of extra dazzle and fun to watch.

It’s hard to find a bit of dancing in the Maldives. Usually, it’s the occasional DJ enlisted for an evening or two. For any one who likes a bit of getting their groove on, Elmer’s studio is a must stop.

Fizzness. Fitness with fizz.

 

Jumeirah Dhevanafushi - zumba 1

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