Wouldn’t it be fun to spar with officemates? To roll your sleeves and get physical in a sport for that unique experience?
This summer, employees from the Ormoc Business Center of BAVI did just that.
In a unique wellness activity organized by the Ormoc Business Center, employees experienced training for Combat Aikido and Arnis Full Contact Sport. Aikido is a modern, non-violent Japanese martial art, while Arnis is closer to home, being a Filipino martial art that involves wielding two hard-hitting wooden sticks.
Truly, these two disciplines are not your usual run-of-the-mill company wellness activity.
And that was the exact objective of this activity, as shared by Prime Catan, Trade Marketing Specialist for Ormoc Business Center, “We wanted something different. Luckily, the resident veterinarian, Dr. Jeelan Tomol, suggested martial arts and knew who to contact for a summer session. We shared the idea to the rest of the team and they were excited about it.”
The activity was a whole day session facilitated by Martial Arts Instructor Ricardo Nanggan. It involved a step-by-step process of explaining the logic behind each move, actual demonstration by the facilitator and soft execution in pairs by the employees themselves.
“We were all equals… it was fun learning together as a team.”
– Martin Atayde, Ormoc Business Center Head
Martin Atayde, Business Center Head of Ormoc, when asked how it was like sparring with his team as the leader of the group, shared, “We were all equals in said activity. We all didn’t know that much about the activities and it was fun learning together as a team. Seeing how everyone was involved and engaged regardless of position in the company or background was very fulfilling.”
When asked if they would do it again, Mr. Atayde immediately responded, “Yes. That day was very tiring for all of us. We’re not getting any younger, but the activity was worthwhile for me, and especially for the team because it gave us the opportunity to bond.”
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Special thanks to the Institute of Human Kinetics, of the Visayas State University, Visca, Baybay Leyte, for making this wellness activity possible, productive and very informative.
This activity is one of the many wellness activities spearheaded by the HR Employee Engagement group of BAVI. With the objective of maintaining a healthy work life balance among all employees while developing and building teams regardless of department or rank, activities can range from zumba sessions to fun runs.
Have a unique idea for a wellness activity you want us to try out?
Email us at llrapadas@bountyagro.com.ph