New Yorkers love this street-fighting fitness class for ‘knuckle therapy’

It was a typical day at Rumble Boxing when a visibly shaken student pulled co-founder Noah Neiman aside with a chilling confession.

She had recently been assaulted by her abusive boyfriend, who pinned her against a wall during a heated argument. But instead of freezing in that terrifying moment, her training kicked in.

“She instinctively balled up her fist and threw a straight punch right at his nose,” Neiman, 41, told The Post. “It made him get teary eyed and back off, but more importantly than her physically being able to mitigate that danger, she said it gave her the confidence to know that he wasn’t in power.”

The story struck a nerve — and ultimately helped inspire Neiman’s latest venture: the Pack, a high-intensity group fitness class that combines strength training, cardio and street-fighting self-defense into a single 50-minute workout.

“We all have fight or flight ingrained in us. At the Pack, we can train both of those instinctual, primordial emotions,” Neiman said. “It makes you feel more mentally and physically prepared to take on all that is life.”

After all, as he put it: “The world is a little crazy right now.”

With concerns about safety rising in major US cities, female students at the Pack told The Post their focus on self-defense comes from practicality, not paranoia.

“As a woman, you have to protect yourself every day just walking through New York City,” said Michelle Shen, a social media manager who lives in the East Village. “I feel like this is something that everyone should try and at least have some type of experience with.”

“I’ve never hit a man before … so being able to hit something that resembled an actual body made me feel like I could do it.”

Katie Lever

Fit to fight

The brainchild of Neiman and fellow Rumble Boxing co-founder Andy Stenzler, the Pack opened its upscale Flatiron studio in August.

Neiman sees it as the next “evolution” in his fitness journey — which began at Barry’s Bootcamp — and a way to give back to his community.

“I’ve trained in jujitsu and Muay Thai, karate and Krav Maga, and what we’re trying to do is give [the Pack] more utility than just punching things,” he said.

Each class cycles through three 15-minute stations:

• Strength: TECHNOGYM benches equipped with dumbbells, resistance bands and weighted knuckles for squats, lunges and core work.
• Cardio: Rogue Assault Bikes, a full-body resistance workout that Neiman calls “the best piece of equipment that you’re not using.”
• Self-defense: Realistic street-fighting drills on BOBs, or Body Opposition Bags, which have human-like torsos and faces.

“The workout is incredible,” said Tank Sinatra, a content creator from Long Island. “You can go at your own pace, so you can scale it for yourself and get as much out of the classes as you want.”

For Shen, 23, the class was just as fun and unique as it was effective.

“It will get you toned,” she said. “If you’re a Solidcore or pilates girl, this is something that’s very different — but you should definitely try.”

Hit hard, walk tall

Training on lifelike BOBs instead of a traditional punching bag serves two purposes: offering realistic targets for strike practice and helping students get comfortable making physical contact with a potential attacker.

“I’ve never hit a man before — or anyone, for that matter — so being able to hit something that resembled an actual body made me feel like I could do it if, God forbid, I was ever in a situation like that,” said Katie Lever, a Manhattan model and content creator. “You walk out of there feeling strong and self-assured.”

Neiman agrees: Preparation is power.

“Why did Mr. Miyagi have Daniel-San wax on, wax off, paint the fence? It’s because he instantly knew, in a real-world setting, to apply these things instinctually,” he said.

“The best line of defense is always to run away, but sometimes you can’t. If someone grabs you and you turn around and you know how to open palm strike them in the nose and you can get away, then that’s some incredible utility that we’re adding to an incredibly fun, well-rounded, diverse workout.”

“There’s something incredibly efficient and impactful about when you’re feeling stressed, balling up your fist and punching something.”

Noah Neiman

And just having that knowledge, Neiman said, can help you avoid confrontation altogether.

“When you’ve done tough things and you’ve trained in these disciplines, you carry yourself differently,” he said. “A lot of conflict can be avoided just by your poise and confidence walking down the street.”

‘Knuckle therapy’

While many come to the Pack to learn how to fight, others show up to blow off steam so it doesn’t turn into something darker. Neiman calls it “knuckle therapy.”

“I love talk therapy, but there’s something incredibly efficient and impactful about when you’re feeling stressed, balling up your fist and punching something,” he said.

Sinatra agrees. The 40-year-old first turned to fitness three decades ago as a way to manage his emotions.

“Instead of taking it out on people or taking it out on myself in unhealthy ways, I was able to take it out on the weights,” he said.

Now, the BOBs takes that outlet to another level.

“The fact that this thing has a face lends itself to a bit more of a direct aggression release, because you can say, this is your boss, this is the guy who was following you around in a park — whoever you want it to be,” Sinatra explained.

The more people learn to manage their emotions, Neiman suggested, the less likely they are to act out violently.

“I’ve never seen somebody who gets their aggression out in a controlled setting use it for ill intent,” he said.

And it’s not just men who benefit from that kind of release.

“You get a lot of frustration out that I think a lot of women neglect that they have,” Lever, 26, said. “There becomes a lot of pent-up emotion that feels so good to get out in a way that’s aggressive or violent but obviously not real.”

More than a workout

Whether it’s about getting fit, blowing off steam or preparing for the worst, Neiman hopes the Pack gives people something real.

“If we can open up this skill building that gives you utility and confidence, gives you that knuckle therapy, gives you an incredible workout that’s going to shape the body the way you want it, then I know that people in the community are going to be safer,” he said.

“If I can have even one story like I had at Rumble where that girl hit her abusive piece-of-you-know-what boyfriend and got away because she was empowered to take control of the situation, then we’ve done our job,” Neiman continued.

“I know that that’s going to happen.”