Jab, kick, slide and step.

Kickboxing is a workout, a means to release aggression and to become educated in self-defense.

"It's a really good workout," said Karen Donohoe (senior-nursing), who is in the advanced kickboxing class at Titan Fitness, 412 W. College Ave.

She said kickboxing is her primary means of exercise, and she enjoys it more than running or other fitness routines.

"When you're doing kickboxing, you're not only punching and kicking, you're also thinking about the technique itself," Paul Zelinka, owner of Titan Fitness, said.

Titan Fitness offers women's kickboxing classes based on Thai boxing, the national sport of Thailand.

"We teach real kickboxing as opposed to the aerobic type of kickboxing," Zelinka said.

Thai kickboxing uses knees and elbows in addition to punching and kicking, he said.

It is "not your typical women's aerobic fitness class," Bruce Lombard, director of the Gebhardt Martial Arts program at Titan Fitness, said.

Students start by learning one tool or basic skill a week and, as they progress, learn combinations of tools, Lombard said.

Kickboxing demands flexibility and large muscle movement, William Buckley, professor of exercise and sports science and health education, said.

"To perform [kickboxing] skills, you have to have a very good range of motion," he said.

Because it uses arms and legs, kickboxing allows students to burn more calories and demands a lot from the cardiovascular system, Buckley said.

Physically, students can get healthier and fitter, and at same time, they are learning a practical form of self-defense, Zelinka said.

Ninety percent of students who start kickboxing at Titan Fitness are beginners and work at an intensity that works best for them, he added.

"We focus on putting all your weight behind each strike," Lombard said.

Women in the kickboxing classes range from junior high students to 50-year-old mothers.

"I take kickboxing as an aerobics class back at home," Kristen Althouse (junior-turfgrass science), an advanced student at Titan Fitness, said.

She said it helps relieve stress in addition to being a good workout.

Both Donohoe and Althouse said they plan to take more advanced Thai kickboxing classes.

Kickboxing is something students "can carry with them for years after," Lombard said.

Penn State also offers aerobic kickboxing classes at the White Building on campus. However, this class is completely recreational and focuses on getting a workout, not learning and practicing the sport of kickboxing, Jill Garrigan, program director of student recreational sports fitness classes, said.

The class borrows movements from kickboxing and makes them rhythmic and repetitive to raise the heartbeat, she said.

"If you don't want to dance, this is your class ... It's pretty easy to jump right in and not look stupid," Garrigan said.