As I enter the aerobics room, I see people stretching like a cat waking up from its morning nap. The instructor, a woman with well-placed wrinkles named Joanne, begins the first exercise. Everyone is excited like a kid getting a birthday present, but they knew it would be an intense workout, especially me. The music turns on and the bass sound envelops the entire room. The first exercise begins and my heart speeds up with each beat of the music. The urge to punch and kick all my stress away fills me like pouring a glass of water. Having this type of feeling shows that kickboxing has the power to relieve stress and I knew now that it would be a class that I would continue to take. The sound of banging on the ground was hard to hear as people moved around. like a line dance. The pace quickened and the instructor clenched her fist and pushed him aside. She continued this movement, going left then right, however, she was not close to finishing yet. With her fist closed, she punched and continued to alternate with each arm. Following his movements, my biceps began to burn. Time seemed to slow down with each punch; I could only endure for so long before I stopped. Everyone felt the burn equally; their faces wrinkled like a candy wrapper, with each upper cut. I thought I could hear their heartbeat from a mile away, because their heart rate was increasing by the second. As the music continued to play, I realized that this intense music following everyone's punches was creating a form of kickboxing. Kickboxing has been around since the 1970s after karate practitioners found it frustrating that punches and kicks could not direct..... . middle of paper......everyone in the room "come on guys three more times". The rest of the class performs the final set of kicks and punches to relieve the rest of their stress. Class finally ends and everyone is dripping with sweat. Some people's faces looked like a red tomato, while everyone else looked like water was poured on them. A student who comes religiously loves this class. "Kickboxing is my favorite class at Pace University. It gives me an exhilarating feeling and builds my confidence. Even if I come away smelling like sweaty gym socks, if it were possible, I would go to this class every day of the week. » said Ashley Bentham. Kickboxing has found a way to stay alive all these years. With each passing day, it becomes more and more popular and millions of people continue to try it. Kickboxing isn't going away anytime soon and I don't think it ever will..