Tae Bo is a workout routine created by Billy Blanks who holds a number of awards and titles, ranging from Amateur Athletic Union Champion to martial arts black belt, karate gold medalist and Golden Gloves Champion. Tae Bo is a mind/body routine that incorporates many of the techniques Blanks learned in his various sports endeavors.
Childhood
According to his website, Billy Blanks took his first martial arts class when he was 11. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Blanks was the fourth of 15 children. He had learning disabilities and problems with his hips that precluded him from playing school sports and succeeding academically. Martial arts provided an outlet for Blanks as a child and he mastered many of his skills early in his career.
Success
The history of Tae Bo, taught in fitness centers around the world and through mass marketing campaigns on tape and video, has humble beginnings in Blanks' basement while he was training. In 1976 Blanks was trying various combinations of the techniques he's learned, and stumbled upon the mix of moves that eventually made him his fortune. He worked on a formal program that was eventually offered in 1982 in the Boston area and later in Los Angeles in 1989.
Identification
Tae Bo is a martial arts practice that often is misspelled as one word, as in Taebo, Taibo or Thaibo. The origin of the name is based on the Korean martial arts concepts that Blanks embraced. Emphasizing the importance of the lower body, the word "Tae" means "foot" in Korean. Blanks uses the word "Bo" as a shortened version of the word "box." Broken up, Tae Bo stands for Total Awareness Excellent Body Obedience.
Features
According to Blanks, Tae Bo combines the body, mind and soul to deliver a holistic workout for its practitioners. The program instructs followers to build their speed and agility both physically and mentally. The series of punches and kicks incorporated in the workout are designed to build confidence in the users' self-defense abilities. According to Vanderbilt University researchers, the instructional videos are commonly sold through late-night infomercials.
Benefits
The benefits of practicing Tae Bo are two-fold: the body develops muscle and aerobic endurance while building accuracy and speed. Confidence, self-awareness and practical techniques are meant to provide followers with skills they can use to maintain a healthy mind and body, and to utilize this for safety and protection. One of the most popular benefits is the technique's calorie-burning ability: an hour-long workout can burn as many as 800 calories.
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