Tae Bo has been around for several years. In the 80s, Billy Blanks, a former Tae Kwon Do martial arts champion brought together his martial art training and boxing to create the groundbreaking workout that is still a phenomenon 20 years later. The workout has continued to evolve to promote fitness in all shapes and sizes of people.

People who have followed Tae Bo since the beginning are still getting their money’s worth from the workout. Not only does the kickboxing portion ramp up the heart rate, but the kicks and punches also build muscle and burn fat. It is a total body workout that is suitable for men, women, young and old.

Tae Bo videos and DVDs are sold in major stores all over the country and online at Blanks’ website, www.taebo.com. The workouts begin with a warm up and a stretch which is crucial to any workout. Beginning workouts demonstrate the moves in slow motion and then in time with the music so that everyone can get used to moving their body in these ways. More advanced workouts follow when you master the beginning videos.

Through each workout, Billy Blanks performs the moves with the class and talks the audience through each move, encouraging everyone to continue and not give up. He combines his faith with his fitness expertise to get even the most sedentary people off of the couch and moving their bodies.

The Tae Bo series continued with Tae Bo Boot Camp®. These DVDs are meant to combine resistance bands with cardio boxing moves to ramp up your fitness level. The routines are demonstrated slowly and then you move faster for fitness.

Tae Bo also has a series entitled Tae Bo Amped®. These series of routines use a weighted resistance bar to add weight to the workout for muscle building. Periods of intense cardio are mixed with kickboxing routines for increased fat burning.

The latest DVD series is Tae Bo T3®. Each new series adds another component to the kickboxing moves to enhance fitness and keep the body constantly changing. No two routines are the same and with this type of workout, tapes and DVDs can be alternated for an entire week of great workouts that won’t become monotonous. You are encouraged to perform a different workout five to seven days a week with a day or two off for rest.

On the Tae Bo website, fans can find workout schedules to help them alternate for muscle confusion and to avoid boredom. With any of the workout programs you purchase, there is an eating plan included to maximize results.

Tae Bo workouts do not use professional fitness trainers, but real people, to demonstrate the workout. They sweat just like you do. Billy Blanks keeps the workouts fresh and motivating so that participants will continue until they reach their goals.

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5 Steps to Choosing the Right Martial Art for You

One of the questions I get asked most frequently, in several different variations is about which martial art an individual should study. Generally which martial art, and more importantly which school to choose are fundamental decisions someone should make. My answer is usually something along the lines of, “choose the school and the system that you are going to stick with and stay with it for the rest of your life.”

The reality is that the answer is going to be different for every person. What I will attempt to do in this article is give you a set of general guidelines. I will talk in very broad terms about different martial arts, and what to look for in a school. Ultimately every teacher, at every school, in every system is going to be completely different.

1. Dispelling a common myth

Just like with religion and politics, many people honestly believe that what they do is the best thing in the world. One only has to make a cursory study of the psychological principle of cognitive dissonance to see why this is so. So many schools out there claim to be teaching, “the ultimate, deadliest, most secret, guarded system of self defense ever invented by the gods of combat.” To be quite blunt – they are full of crap.

In one respect, much of this stuff is a marketing stance. Heck, everybody wants to study the best thing in the world. If such a thing existed everybody would study it. Some martial arts schools can become very cult like as well, and this is where the cognitive dissonance comes in. The practitioners actually believe their marketing stuff.

The truth is that style is not going to fight for you – you are. Every person is different and there is not one best system for everyone. It would be quite scary for me to face a sumo wrestler in combat, but it would also be silly for me to expect to take up Sumo and be good at it.

Claims of superior systems that can make you as deadly as a Navy SEAL in 24 hours also stem from American culture. It is unfortunate that we of the MTV and Internet generation are always looking for a shortcut, a quick fix. It makes many of us miss a lot of very valuable and important stuff.

2. Let’s start with you

If I can help you answer a few key questions about yourself and your interests, you will have done most of the work toward picking out a martial arts school that is best for you.

First and foremost, what do you want to get out of martial arts training? Yes, yes, I know you want to learn self defense – put that on the list. But people study martial arts for a variety of reasons. You want to get some exercise, you want to meet new people, you want to get rid of stress, you want a new hobby, and you think the uniforms look cool. Really think about it and write down your reasons. Everything is valid and your reasons are your own. Then I would prioritize your reasons – which ones are more important than others. Maybe getting into shape is your main goal – if so, that may help determine a place to study.

3. What style?

Now, let’s talk a little bit about systems or styles. A system is just the type of martial art you will be studying like Karate, Kendo, or Kung Fu. The differences between styles may also help you to determine where to look.

The main difference between most martial arts style is focus. Some arts like Tae Kwon do focus on large kicking movements, while others – like Kendo focus on a particular weapon. Body type and interest (as we discussed before) will help you think a little about style focus. For example: I am built like a fireplug – short and wide, am somewhat slow and am very interested in the self defense aspect of training. Ketsugo Jujutsu turned out to be the best style for me as it focused on unbalancing the opponent, the kicks were low to the ground, and the fighting in close where we short guys excel.

Beyond focus is a scale of formality to informality. To me formality is a measure of emphasis on things like training etiquette, ceremony, style of dress, method of addressing seniors etc. Many Japanese and Korean styles are very formal. On the far end of the informal scale you might have a cardio kickboxing class at local gym. On the far end of the formal scale you might have a style like Kendo which places a lot of emphasis on appearance and etiquette.

Neither formal nor informal is better or worse; it is a matter of preference. I personally enjoy some of the formalities of traditional Japanese martial arts. For me they build character and shape a strong state of mind that carries over into day to day life. For others, the formalities may be difficult to grasp and they may wish for something less formal.

The following is a list of styles I have arranged from most to least formal. This arrangement is from my own best knowledge and is neither absolute nor inclusive. Many would rightfully disagree with where I have placed things on the list, but this is meant to be a general guideline. Again, every single teacher in every different school is going to be different. This is meant as a starting point:

Kendo / Kumdo
Aikido
Tae Kwon Do
Karate
Jujutsu
Kung Fu
Silat
Ninjutsu
Tai Chi / Bagua / Hsing-yi
Arnis / Kali / Escima
Capoeira
Kickboxing

Boxing

While you’re on the web already, it would pay off to do some research. Look up a few sites for a few of the styles I have listed here. Get some general information about focus and formality. See what strikes you as interesting. Make a small list of styles you might be interested in pursuing.

4. Practical Issues

OK, now you’ve done some soul searching and some research and you have a list of styles you might be interested in learning. Now we have to talk a little bit about lifestyle. If Kendo interests you, but the nearest school is 200 miles away – it may not be a practical choice.

You can certainly look through your yellow pages to find schools close to you or ask people you know if they know of any schools. A word to the wise: friends will always try to get you to come to their school and may get offended of you don’t or if you visit and then don’t want to sign up. That’s definitely something to consider.

Some practical things to consider are school location and proximity to home / work, costs and your ability to pay dues and other fees, class schedule and how it fits into your schedule. Other things may also be important to you like parking, and facilities – write them down.

You should narrow down your potential list of schools based on your criteria, but you should still plan on visiting more than one to give you a sense of comparison.

5. Choosing a school

The following are a list of things I suggest you look for when choosing a school or instructor. To me, these factors are more important than any other of the above factors and can make or break your martial arts experience.

•When you call the school, are all your questions answered, and answered honestly? Sometimes someone will answer the phone that may not be able to answer all your questions. They should pass you on to someone who can , or have someone call you back.

•Every school out there should offer at least one free trial class before you sign up. How else can you determine if you want to study there? Your best bet is to try out several different schools to give you some comparison.

•When you visit the school, is the practice safe, or are students allowed to train in dangerous ways or without proper supervision?

•Is the school itself hygienic and free from unsafe conditions?

•Do students and teachers show respect toward everyone? This extends beyond formal bowing and address to making sure everyone is learning and nobody is being abused.

•Be prepared that many schools these days require a contract like a health club. Make sure you are clear on the terms of the contract if you do decide to sign one, and do not be afraid to walk out if you are uncomfortable with the terms.

•Be very wary of cult-like schools that try to up-sell you to intensified black belt programs and the like. While some of these may be legitimate, there are many scam artists in black belts out there. You should be very clear about what you are paying for up front.

•Do the teacher and senior students display a lot of skill in the art they are teaching? This may be hard to determine since great martial artists are often very subtle. However, the teacher and students should display knowledge, skill, and balance which might be more obvious.

•Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something about the school doesn’t sit right with you, then it probably isn’t right. Look out for the fast talking salesman who tries to sweep your concerns under the rug.

Remember that choosing the right teacher and the right school is more important than the actual style. If you choose a school that you enjoy, study with a teacher you like, and train with students that inspire you – you are likely to stick with your martial art. The longer you stick with it – the better you’ll get. Hopefully you will discover a very positive lifelong journey that will shower hidden benefits on you as my martial art has upon me.

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If your goal is to improve your fitness or lose weight but you need to do something more exciting than jogging on a treadmill to keep you motivated, perhaps you should consider doing a martial art like boxing, kickboxing, karate, or judo.

In this article we list the top 10 reasons to consider doing a martial art for fitness and weight loss to help you decide if doing one is right for you.

1. Doing martial arts for weight loss

It’s no coincidence that gyms, personal trainers and producers of exercise videos and DVD’s are now heavily incorporating training techniques and exercises from a wide variety of martial arts in their workouts.

Boxercise, Tae Bo, Cardio-Kickboxing, Kung Fu Aerobics, and personal trainers using punching bags, focus mitts and kicking pads in their sessions are just a couple of examples of how martial arts training is being used in cardio workouts for fitness and weight loss.

Because martial art training is typically high intensity and usually lasts for at least an hour in most cases, it burns a maximum number of kilojoules or calories per workout and is therefore great for anyone who wants to lose weight and lose it fast.

2. Doing martial arts for fitness

Most martial arts incorporate exercises and drills that improve cardiovascular fitness and endurance, help build muscle strength and improve muscle flexibility so they are perfect for anyone wanting to improve their overall fitness.

Cardiovascular fitness improvements require us to regularly elevate our heart rate for extended periods and most martial arts training can help us do that.

Improving the strength, size and shape of our muscles requires us to regularly subject them to some form of resistance training. Martial arts training helps provide this training by requiring us to perform exercises like push-ups and squats using our own body weight for resistance.

Improved flexibility is a natural byproduct of martial arts training because most, if not all styles of martial art incorporate stretching exercises in their workouts.

As a result of providing all of these fitness benefits, martial artists like boxers and kickboxers are widely regarded as being among the fittest athletes in the world and practitioners of karate, judo, etc are considered among the strongest pound-for-pound and most flexible athletes in the world.

3. Doing martial arts and self-defense

One of the most obvious benefits of doing a martial art is that it provides us with the fitness, strength, skill and techniques necessary to protect ourselves from being attacked by others who are out to harm us if the need should ever arise.

Like an insurance policy, we hope you’re never in a position to have to use your martial arts training to defend yourself, but it’s great to know this ability is there just in case.

Because they are primarily concerned with elevating our heart rates to burn energy and improve our fitness, many of the workouts listed above like Tae Bo, Boxercise, etc don’t really provide this benefit to the same extent as doing martial arts training with a dedicated teacher in a martial arts school that only provides one service – to teach you a specific martial art.

Many people mistakenly believe that because they punch a focus mitt 50 times during a session with their personal trainer that they know how to punch properly and can therefore defend themselves if they need to. This is a big mistake and we hope these people never find themselves in a situation where this belief is tested.

Unless they’ve had many years of martial arts training themselves, most personal trainers and gym instructors will not be able to offer advice about your punching and kicking technique, they are only really qualified to hold the focus mitts or kick-pad for you while you punch or kick them.

Remember, while probably great at what they do, these trainers are more like aerobics instructors than specifically qualified martial arts instructors.

4. Doing martial arts and self-confidence

In addition to providing us with the ability to defend ourselves, one of the greatest personal benefits that martial art training provides is a high degree of self-confidence.

This self-confidence partly results from the knowledge that we are much better equipped to defend ourselves given that we have done some martial arts training, but it also comes from a sense of achievement once we begin to master the techniques taught to us and the new confidence that results from feeling fitter and stronger and looking fitter and stronger.

Given that one of the first things to suffer, and one of the hardest things to reestablish afterwards, when we become overweight is our self-confidence this benefit is of particular value to those of us who have a weight problem.

5. Doing martial arts to improve body balance and coordination

As well as helping us to become fitter and stronger, martial art training typically involves the mastery of a range of techniques that requires us to be well-balanced and have superior body coordination.

In learning to master these techniques we naturally improve our balance and our coordination which helps us with other aspects of our daily life.

6. Doing martial arts for variety

Martial art training provides great variety in two ways.

Firstly, martial arts training sessions themselves have great variety built into them by including warm-ups and cool-downs, stretching exercises, strength building exercises, cardio exercises and exercises designed to improve and teach us a wide variety of techniques.

This variety is great for our mind as well as our body.

Secondly, there are such a wide variety of martial arts to study that we should be able to easily find one that suits our particular goals and interests.

Whether we prefer to do a martial art that primarily revolves around striking or grappling techniques or a perfect mix of both, or we want to study a highly technical or very simple style, the choice is great.

7. Doing martial arts teaches discipline and provides motivation

Everybody knows that studying a martial art requires and teaches discipline.

Because it is also goal orientated, training in one of the many martial arts also provides a great deal of motivation.

Lack of discipline and motivation are the most often quoted reasons for weight loss failures and for this reason, doing a martial art for weight loss and fitness may help many of us who lack the required discipline and motivation to achieve our weight loss goals to overcome these common barriers to success.

8. Doing martial arts for spirituality

One definition of spirituality is “Activities which renew, lift up, comfort, heal and inspire both ourselves and those with whom we interact.”

Martial art training has been practiced by millions of people over many centuries because among other things, it has a great ability to spiritually uplift us.

As well as forging a better connection between our mind and body, it also has the ability to forge a better connection between us and our world and us and others.

9. Doing martial arts training is relatively inexpensive

Compared to joining some gyms and hiring some personal trainers, training at a martial arts school or dojo is relatively inexpensive.

Many martial arts schools charge a very modest monthly fee for training and the beauty of this is you can train when and as often as it suits you.

In addition to low ongoing training costs, buying a uniform and any equipment you may need to train in most cases will be relatively inexpensive as well.

10. Doing martial arts has a social aspect

Many people who start doing martial arts training for weight loss, improved fitness or self-defense end up enjoying it most for its social aspects.

As well as training and learning with others with similar goals, many martial arts trainees help encourage and motivate each other and end up becoming very good friends.

Many martial arts instructors too have very friendly dispositions and foster a fun and friendly environment in which to train which endears them to their students who typically also become close friends.

Conclusion

If your goal is to improve your fitness or lose weight but you need to do something more exciting than jogging on a treadmill to keep you motivated, perhaps you should consider doing a martial art like boxing, kickboxing, karate, or judo.

In this article we listed the top 10 reasons to consider doing a martial art for fitness and weight loss to help you decide if doing one is right for you.

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Getting Your Kicks

You peek into the aerobics room on your way out the door and see that they’re kicking up a storm in there. At first, they look like either an array of Rockettes or a Broadway dance audition. Knees are pumping, legs are snapping, and feet are flying everywhere.

And let’s not forget the sweat. It’s pouring down by the bucket.

Sure, to the curious on-watcher, it would be difficult not to be swept up into the most publicized cardio craze to capture the nation in nearly two decades. Not only can cardio kickboxing pack a knockout punch for your fitness goals, but judging by the expressions on the faces of its participants, the activity is also a knee-slapping good time.

Millions across the country are getting a kick out of cardio kickboxing, whether it’s in the form of the insanely popular Tae-Bo or some of the more general forms offered by local martial artists, fitness trainers, and boxing fanatics.

Not since Jane Fonda helped trigger the aerobics explosion in the 1980’s has any form of cardiovascular fitness captivated the country so convincingly. It seems like cardio kickboxing classes are cropping up in every aerobics room, in every gym, in every city across America. The man behind most of this is Billy Blanks, the seven-time Martial Arts champion and the quick-kicking dynamo you’ll see on the countless Tae-Bo infomercials.

A handful of Hollywood celebrities are swearing by it – guys like Sinbad, Shaqille O’Neal, and Magic Johnson. Gals like Pamela Anderson, Goldie Hawn, and Carmen Electra are saying much of the same.

But next time you’re on your way out the gym door, stop and take a closer look in the aerobics room. You may even recognize a few faces.

After all, you don’t need to be Van Damme to do it. You can simply be the guy next door.

Cardio kickboxing, like aerobics classes, is usually offered in three different forms of intensity: low-impact, moderate-impact, and high-impact. While the low-impact version is an excellent way to obtain flexibility and form, the intensity of the high-impact class is a tremendous method of losing weight and strengthening the heart.

After a few weeks of taking the classes, you’re likely to build endurance, while improving your speed, power, and agility.

But the appeal in cardio kickboxing lies elsewhere. While benefiting from a fantastic sweat session, participants also learn the various punches and kicks that have derived from different Martial Arts forms. In other words, as much of a fitness class that it is, it is also a self-defense class.

Don’t walk into a cardio kickboxing class and expect to emerge as Bruce Lee. This is merely a class engineered to combine self-defense techniques with cardiovascular workouts and add a much-needed “kick” to your everyday workouts.

The most common testimony from participants generally revolves around two ideas. One is that cardio kickboxing is ideal in toning up the muscles, partiuclarly in the arms and legs, while getting you into top shape. And secondly, the kickboxing sessions, which many claim are indeed highly addictive, break up the monotony of those repetitive aerobics classes.

Above all, cardio kickboxing classes provide you in a shorter time with what hours of chugging along on the Stairmaster or stationary bike will. The full body workout – the punches, the kicks, the non-stop pivoting and moving – shoot by like a Jackie Chan movie. And you’ll be equally exhausted when it’s over.

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Martial Arts Strength Training

According to various sources on the internet, a 1996 article in Iron Man Magazine revealed Bruce Lee’s workout. In addition to his cardio and karate workouts, Lee lifted weights three times a week and performed the following routine:

clean and presses 2 x 8 squats 2 x 12 barbell pullovers 2 x 8 bench presses 2 x 6 good mornings 2 x 8 barbell curls 2 x 8

Unfortunately, he injured his back doing good mornings, which nearly ruined his career. Otherwise, his weight training was successful in that it is credited with helping him add 30 pounds of solid muscle to his relatively small frame.

Although Lee is the most famous martial artist ever, it may be that the strongest was a man named Masutatsu Oyama. Therefore, it will be interesting to contrast Lee’s workout with Oyama’s.

The Karate Bull-Fighter

Oyama was one of the first to bring Karate to America and founder of the Kyokushin style of Karate. His 1958 classic “What is Karate?” was one of the first books on the subject written in English, and designed to make the subject accessible to westerners.

Oyama initially became famous with stunts such as bull-fighting Karate-style. Unlike Mexican bull-fighters, he would actually wrestle the bull to the ground and break off one of its horns. (He wasn’t too popular with animal rights activists in Tokyo.)

Oyama’s Strength Training

According to Oyama’s 1958 book, strength and speed are more important than skill for Karate, and speed more important than strength. Also, he said it was very important to practice jumping.

Here are some recommendations he gives in “What is Karate?” (He doesn’t give an exact workout.)

Running – 4km per day
Rope-skipping – 20 minutes per day
Dumbell arm exercise (shoulder press?) – 200 times
Dips – 100 times
Push ups (with hands in fist) – 300 times
Inclined push ups – 100 times
Jumping side kick over 4 foot vaulting horse
Inclined dumbell bench press

Exercises requiring a partner:
Hitting bag with upper elbow and side of elbow – 200 times each
Practicing jumping kick with bag
Exercises for neck (with partner)
Leg exercise (squat with partner on back)
Back and Abdomen exercises with partner

Elsewhere in the book, Oyama said that he would bench press 175 pounds 500 times a day.

Then there are karate-specific exercises such as straw striking and exercises that are specific to board and stone breaking abilities. All this was in addition to practicing forms, sparring, etc.

Comparing Lee and Oyama

Now, what strikes me as the essential difference between Lee’s and Oyama’s workout styles is volume. Lee’s weight training routine is relatively brief, and he avoided lifting on days of heavy martial arts training.

While Lee might do an exercise for 2 sets of 8 reps (which is fairly typical), Oyama would do it for hundreds of reps. Clearly, Oyama’s is a more time-consuming approach that would require a lot of dedication.

If you look at pictures of these men, they have quite different builds. For Lee, his training goal was apparently to add bulk. Before the weight training, he weighed only 135 pounds, and he added 30 pounds of solid muscle.

Oyama, on the other hand, was obviously a stockier fellow, and talks in his book about losing weight during periods of intense training. Judging from pictures of him with other people, I would say that he was probably slightly taller than Lee (who was 5′ 8″). Although Oyama was of average height, he doesn’t look like a small guy when standing next to American professional wrestlers, boxers, and strongmen.

Possible Conclusions

The point is not to compare them as saying one was better than the other. I do wonder what affect their training style had on the way they looked and how much was just genetic.

At any rate, if Oyama struggled to keep his weight down, it sounds like high volume training helped him to achieve that. Lee, on the other hand, seems to have been naturally lean and wanted the weight training to bulk up (probably to look better on camera). Too much volume (without steroids anyway) might be counter-productive to that goal.

So, maybe the lesson in this is that if you want to lose weight while simultaneously getting stronger, it might be worth considering an old-fashioned high volume workout routine, assuming you can make that kind of dedication. On the other hand, if your goal is to look like Bruce Lee… well, all I can say is “good luck”!

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