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Tae Bo
Tae Bo is a martial arts/aerobics/dance moves hybrid that was developed in a Californian basement in 1975. Seven-times world karate champion, Billy Blanks, came up with the system as a way of training for his next title fight and was so impressed by it that he decided to share it with the world. He decided to do this not just for the money, fame and adulation, but also because he senses that he is God's aerobics representative on earth.
"I just truly believe that God has given me an opportunity to go out and touch people's lives from a physical fitness standpoint, because I tell people the truth about physical fitness and it touches their hearts."
Billy felt that he had to go and spread the Lord's message of high kicks and shadow boxing, so he began to offer Tae Bo classes to the world at large. Well, those in the tri-state area, anyway. People were highly impressed by Tae Bo and word of mouth ensured that Billy soon had a host of celebrity clients. Superstars such as Carmen Electra, Sinbad (c'mon, who can forget Houseguest and Jingle All The Way?) and Farrah Fawcett extolled its virtues and Billy started spreading the Tae Bo word a little bit further.
He used the medium of the infomerical to sell videos which allowed people to get fit in their living rooms and soon had enough money to set up the World Tae Bo Training Centre in Sherman Oaks, California.
The Tae Bo craze has also spread to Ireland, but don't worry, your instructor will be more concerned with your inner thighs than your inner spirituality. The workout is invariably set to music and typically lasts for about an hour. If you take a Tae Bo class, then you will perform a series of jabs, punches, kicks and steps, choreographed in a series of eight-count combinations. Tae Bo's primary goal is to build up the fitness of its participants, although you will pick up some martial arts moves along the way, as the program uses imaginary opponents as targets.
Participants in Tae Bo classes receive a full body workout that builds up strength, stamina, coordination and flexibility. But it's not all about being able to carry the weekly shopping home from Tesco. Depending on the intensity of your class, you can also burn up to 800 calories in a one-hour session. According to Billy Blanks Enterprises research, some people report that they feel a change in their body the very first time they do Tae-Bo and see results in as little as three sessions.
And Tae Bo is not just for gym bunnies. Billy Blanks preaches an egalitarian message:
"Tae Bo's for everybody. Anybody can do it. It's going to be work. It's going to take effort. And it'll take your will, your endurance. If you can take both of those and hold on, you can conquer anything that you want to conquer."
