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11 December 2014

Steve Boedt and Fabian Kühn: Two of the Industriy's Best Freestyle Step Instructors

Steve Boedt and Fabian Kühn: Two of the Industry's Best Freestyle Step Instructors

Every Freestyle Step Aerobics class is unique: the 'Freestyle' element does exactly what it says on the tin. The steps and moves aren't fixed, so the classes have a whole lot of personality. Each instructor puts their own individual free style on their routines.

Naturally, some instructors are going to have more imagination, more creativity, more energy than others. High five if you've managed to find one of those gems! Two of the best, biggest and most brilliant names within the Freestyle Step instruction world are Steve Boedt and Fabian Kühn. If you've already heard of them then you'll know how fabulous they are; if you haven't, then read on to find out what you're missing out on.

These men are both very different in terms of the styles of their classes. Each style has its upsides; each has its drawbacks. Now is your chance to decide once and for all which style - and which instructor - is best.

The next best thing to come out of Belgium after chocolates is Steve Boedt. He decided to become a Freestyle Step instructor 17 years ago, after being persuaded to become a member of a local class. He was hooked from the word 'go', and the rest - as they say - is history.

Since then, Steve Boedt has earned more fitness awards than you can shake your booty at. Over the years he has held the titles of 'Instructor of the Year', 'Rookie of the Year' and 'Presenter of the Year' to give you just a handful of examples. He has worked in numerous countries, appeared on several fitness workout DVDs, and even made countless television appearances on hit shows such as The Biggest Loser. This guy is an expert in every sense of the word.

Steve Boedt has come to our DownUnder land quite often, to events such as Filex, event by Australian Fitness Network. During one of his visits, he created this video sample, along two of our best instructors, Min Lomo, and Tim Garland.This video my be from 2011, but give us a "look in" into Steve's style, knowladge and professionalism.

 

When it comes to style, Steve Boedt is a real performer. He's an entertainer. He's a showman. He likes to get up on stage in front of a group of people and make sure that the whole room has a good time. He puts every bit of his personality into the choreography and classes which he devises. Of course there's a strenuous workout in there as well, but his classes are all about having fun. This next video, although not a Freestyle Step video, shows how his energy and enthusiasm brings in large amount of people to his classes.



It goes without saying that working out - especially Freestyle Step - should be enjoyable. However, turning it into too much of a knees-up runs the risk of losing focus on why you're actually there: to get fit.

One man who sits at another end of the scale is Brazilian instructor extraordinaire Fabian Kühn. His classes take the technical aspects of Freestyle Step very seriously. Fabian Kühn has had a love for fitness and Freestyle Step for pretty much his whole life, which definitely comes across in his classes.

Don't get me wrong - Fabian Kühn's classes are still packed full of lively steps and energetic moves. You can rely on him for a session of fun, enjoyment and passion, as he puts a lot of individuality into his choreography. After all, he didn't earn the nickname 'Mr Step' for nothing! However, his classes do put a lot more emphasis on the actual moves and the overall workout rather than concentrating in having a great time risking missing on a harder workout.

Essentially, Fabian Kühn's Fitness Step classes are very advanced, but his instruction style isn't over the top. It's a very classic style; you could say that he's more of a serious teacher than an entertainer.



In all honesty, this is the main difference between these two men. There's no doubting that they're both extremely talented, passionate men, they just lead their classes in very different ways. Which is better? I'm not sure that there's a single right answer to that.

If you have a great time doing something, then you're more likely to succeed at it. This applies to all areas of life, not just working out! That's probably much of the reason why Steve Boedt's classes have become so popular. All the members have a blast, so of course they're going to keep returning week after week. They'll go away and tell their friends, and in this way Steve Boedt rises to stardom. Add to this the fact that he's such an entertainer and it's even more clear why his classes are always full; a teacher who enjoys what they teach makes the whole class seem more fun.

In contrast, a fitness class will never be truly brilliant unless it has a broad range of funky moves which stretch and tone your entire body. Focusing on these elements is essential; that's exactly what Fabian Kühn does. His classes are advanced, so they're pretty taxing. However, nobody's saying that they're all work and no play - Fabian Kühn's classes must be enjoyable, otherwise he probably wouldn't have reached such high levels of popularity. However, his technique must stand for something - he has attained over a million views on YouTube to date. His classes are clearly staggeringly popular, so surely there has to be a huge amount of merit with planning a challenging class, without going over the top as Steve Boedt does. If this wasn't true, people wouldn't keep turning to him time and time again.

When comparing these two Freestyle Step instructors, it's clear to see that they are both very similar in terms of the successes that they have achieved, but their styles are poles apart. That's the beauty of Freestyle Step Aerobics: you can go to two different classes held by two different instructors and they will both feel completely different. However, each has its merits; each instructor will have a dedicated set of followers.

I can't help but feel like despite their immense popularity, neither Steve Boedt nor Fabian Kühn has the perfect recipe, ....close second though!. Call me old fashioned, but I would have thought that the ideal situation would be to strike an instructor as energetic, enigmatic, entertaining, knowledgeable, captivating who throws a damn challenging choreography, with respect to the levels present in their class. It would make my day if I could put both, Steve Boedt and Fabian Kühn, inside a bottle, then give it a good shake to enjoy the final product! Am I being unfair and asking for too much? Too much to ask to have a bit of both worlds? Can you ever really have it both ways? You decide...


This is my last article for 2014. Next Month I want to start 2015 with options in Freestyle Step exercising when you may find it difficult to get to a gym, or the gym's near you do not offer this fantastic class, or if you have got the Freestyle Step bug so badly that you want to practise between classes. I'll explain how they can do certain elements of freestyle step within your own home.

Until the first week of 2015... I hope that "More" Freestyle Stepping makes it into your "New Years Resolution".

Bruno Jimenez
December 2014

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# TAGS - #freestyle, #FreestyleStep, #step

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