Tae Bo
Encyclopedia
Tae Bo is an aerobic exercise
routine that became popular in the 1990s. It was developed by taekwondo
practitioner Billy Blanks
and was one of the first "cardio-boxing" programs to enjoy commercial success. Such programs use the motions of martial arts
at a rapid pace designed to promote fitness
. The name Tae Bo is a portmanteau of tae kwon do and boxing.
sets of videos had been sold on the back of a frequently aired television infomercial
. As a result, Tae Bo became somewhat of a pop culture phenomenon in the late 1990s. Gyms began offering kickboxing
-based fitness classes similar to Tae Bo. Since Blanks had taken out a trademark on the name they were not allowed to use the term Tae Bo without paying a licensing fee. Tae Bo videos and DVD
s continue to rank among the top sellers in the fitness genre and derivative classes are still offered at many gyms.
Tae Bo classes are taught worldwide. Tae Bo includes many of the same punches and kicks as karate
, but is not intended for fighting—it was not meant for any combat
or self-defense
applications. There are no throws
, grappling
moves, or ground fighting
techniques in Tae Bo. Its only intent is to increase fitness through movement. Tae Bo also includes aerobic exercise
s intended to strengthen all muscles of the body with basic choreography
.
The high-intensity workout is intended to increase cardiovascular fitness, strength
, muscular
endurance
and flexibility
.
, mind
and body
and so the benefits of Tae Bo are both physical and mental. Tae Bo has been characterized as an excellent cardiovascular workout with very good distractions.
Because of the movements it involves, Tae Bo is effective in toning and defining the body's musculature. It can also improve one's balance
, flexibility
, coordination
and has cardiovascular benefits. The benefit of a good cardiovascular workout was the first thing Blanks noticed when he inadvertently created Tae Bo in 1976 and it is still one of the top selling points of the program. According to Blanks, the cardiovascular benefits are a result of the dance moves added to the already high-energy workout.
The Tae Kwon Do aspect of Tae Bo provides self-awareness
, self-confidence
, and familiarity with martial arts
. Martial arts combined with punch-boxing and dancing connects the mind and body by teaching mental acuity, physical strength
, mental coordination and accuracy, and speed
.
Perhaps the most appealing aspect about Tae Bo is its proven calorie burning effectiveness. An hour long Tae Bo workout will burn 500 to 800 calories, compared with the 300 to 400 calories burned with a more conventional aerobics
class. If a healthy diet
is followed, the burned calories should translate into weight loss
. As it is an aerobic and cardio workout, Tae Bo helps its practitioners work out more sweat and lose weight at a faster pace when working out constantly during a week.
Tae Bo is also thought to lead to a better grasp of self-defense methods by kicking and punching that are done during a workout program. While Blanks says he hopes Tae Bo users are never put in a spot where they will need the self-defense training, Tae Bo will give them the skills and confidence to deal with potential trouble.
Tae Bo can also help with developing a positive sense of self-esteem
. As with any form of exercise, it can promote "positive mental health as indicated by relief in symptoms of depression and anxiety
," as stated in a study on the effects of exercise on mental health by Arizona State University
researcher Daniel M. Landers.
Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "living in air", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism...
routine that became popular in the 1990s. It was developed by taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
practitioner Billy Blanks
Billy Blanks
Billy Wayne Blanks is an American fitness guru, martial artist, actor, and the inventor of the Tae Bo exercise program.-Career:Blanks began his study of the martial arts at the age of eleven and practices Karate and Taekwondo...
and was one of the first "cardio-boxing" programs to enjoy commercial success. Such programs use the motions of martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
at a rapid pace designed to promote fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
. The name Tae Bo is a portmanteau of tae kwon do and boxing.
History
Blanks developed the routine in 1976 by combining dance with elements from his martial arts and boxing training to form a workout regimen. During the 1990s, a series of videos were mass-marketed to the public; by 1999 an estimated 1.5 millionsets of videos had been sold on the back of a frequently aired television infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
. As a result, Tae Bo became somewhat of a pop culture phenomenon in the late 1990s. Gyms began offering kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
-based fitness classes similar to Tae Bo. Since Blanks had taken out a trademark on the name they were not allowed to use the term Tae Bo without paying a licensing fee. Tae Bo videos and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s continue to rank among the top sellers in the fitness genre and derivative classes are still offered at many gyms.
Tae Bo classes are taught worldwide. Tae Bo includes many of the same punches and kicks as karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, but is not intended for fighting—it was not meant for any combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
or self-defense
Self-defense
Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...
applications. There are no throws
Throw (grappling)
A throw is a martial arts term for a grappling technique that involves off-balancing or lifting an opponent, and tossing them to the ground in Japanese martial arts referred to as nage-waza, 投げ技, "throwing technique"...
, grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...
moves, or ground fighting
Ground fighting
Ground fighting is hand-to-hand combat which takes place while the combatants are on the ground, generally involving grappling...
techniques in Tae Bo. Its only intent is to increase fitness through movement. Tae Bo also includes aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "living in air", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism...
s intended to strengthen all muscles of the body with basic choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
.
The high-intensity workout is intended to increase cardiovascular fitness, strength
Physical strength
Physical strength is the ability of a person or animal to exert force on physical objects using muscles. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training.-Overview:...
, muscular
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
endurance
Endurance
Endurance is the ability for a human or animal to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise...
and flexibility
Flexibility (anatomy)
Flexibility or limberness refers to the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints, and length in muscles that cross the joints. Flexibility is variable between individuals, particularly in terms of differences in muscle length of multi-joint muscles...
.
Benefits
Tae Bo was designed as a different type of aerobic and cardio workout concept which is focused on the soulSoul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
, mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
and body
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
and so the benefits of Tae Bo are both physical and mental. Tae Bo has been characterized as an excellent cardiovascular workout with very good distractions.
Because of the movements it involves, Tae Bo is effective in toning and defining the body's musculature. It can also improve one's balance
Balance (ability)
In biomechanics, balance is an ability to maintain the center of gravity of a body within the base of support with minimal postural sway. When exercising the ability to balance, one is said to be balancing....
, flexibility
Flexibility (anatomy)
Flexibility or limberness refers to the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints, and length in muscles that cross the joints. Flexibility is variable between individuals, particularly in terms of differences in muscle length of multi-joint muscles...
, coordination
Motor coordination
thumb|right|Motor coordination is shown in this animated sequence by [[Eadweard Muybridge]] of himself throwing a diskMotor coordination is the combination of body movements created with the kinematic and kinetic parameters that result in intended actions. Such movements usually smoothly and...
and has cardiovascular benefits. The benefit of a good cardiovascular workout was the first thing Blanks noticed when he inadvertently created Tae Bo in 1976 and it is still one of the top selling points of the program. According to Blanks, the cardiovascular benefits are a result of the dance moves added to the already high-energy workout.
The Tae Kwon Do aspect of Tae Bo provides self-awareness
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is the capacity for introspection and the ability to reconcile oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals...
, self-confidence
Self-confidence
The socio-psychological concept of self-confidence relates to self-assuredness in one's personal judgment, ability, power, etc., sometimes manifested excessively.Being confident in yourself is infectious if you present yourself well, others will want to follow in your foot steps towards...
, and familiarity with martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
. Martial arts combined with punch-boxing and dancing connects the mind and body by teaching mental acuity, physical strength
Physical strength
Physical strength is the ability of a person or animal to exert force on physical objects using muscles. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training.-Overview:...
, mental coordination and accuracy, and speed
Speed
In kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity ; it is thus a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance traveled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as...
.
Perhaps the most appealing aspect about Tae Bo is its proven calorie burning effectiveness. An hour long Tae Bo workout will burn 500 to 800 calories, compared with the 300 to 400 calories burned with a more conventional aerobics
Aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness...
class. If a healthy diet
Healthy diet
A healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve general health. It is important for lowering many chronic health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. A healthy diet involves consuming appropriate amounts of all essential nutrients and an adequate amount of...
is followed, the burned calories should translate into weight loss
Weight loss
Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...
. As it is an aerobic and cardio workout, Tae Bo helps its practitioners work out more sweat and lose weight at a faster pace when working out constantly during a week.
Tae Bo is also thought to lead to a better grasp of self-defense methods by kicking and punching that are done during a workout program. While Blanks says he hopes Tae Bo users are never put in a spot where they will need the self-defense training, Tae Bo will give them the skills and confidence to deal with potential trouble.
Tae Bo can also help with developing a positive sense of self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
. As with any form of exercise, it can promote "positive mental health as indicated by relief in symptoms of depression and anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
," as stated in a study on the effects of exercise on mental health by Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
researcher Daniel M. Landers.