Billy Blanks’s tae bo videos were my go-to workout as a teenager.
Find out what it’s like to return to them today.
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Our instructor stood in the middle of the room to demonstrate poses for cautious contact.
We were shown how to position our torso, how to hold our hands.
Where are women not very strong?
the instructor asked us.
Our upper bodies, one woman offered.
And where does our strength lie?
Our legs, we all answered unanimously.
She then taught us a series of punches, kicks, and jabs.
The moves felt familiar.
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As a teenager at the turn of the millennium, Id doneBilly Blankss Tae Bo workoutsreligiously.
At the time, I wasnt that interested in self-defense.
I was drawn to the videos back jacket promise that I would burn 800 calories per hour.
Turns out, though, Tae Bo had taught me something other than just how to keep myself small.
In adolescence, I completed theAdvanced Tae Boworkout video at least a thousand times.
Though I dabbled with other exercise tapes, there was just something aboutBlankssprogram that had a hold on me.
The marketing promised that Id become strong enough to kick a mans assand look great while doing it.
In adulthood, I mostly abandoned Blankss workouts.
Id worn them out and had moved on to workouts that were outdoors or communal.
They were always trying to kick and punch each other, anyway.
I figured I should give them a context to channel that fury.
They were intrigued, at first, and participatory.
About 15 minutes into the program, they walked away.
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I, however, continued with the tape.
Blanks stood in the center of a red-carpeted studio with his class behind him.
The most conventionally attractive (or thin) women were placed closest to Blanks.
Though far-removed from adolescence, I still had most of the workout memorized.
Id forgotten, though, how often Blanks repetitively counts to eight.
I believe the intention was to motivate us to get through each set.
I mostly found it grating.
Where exactly should I be placing my hands?
Should I be engaging my core?
(Probably, yes.)
No one talks during the workout except for Blanksbut the participants are not silent.
They typically made these noises at the end of a set of squats.
The name Tae Bo is a mash-up oftaekwondo(a Korean martial art) and boxing.
But then he pivots back to continue his repetitive counting.
But then he immediately chides one of the students behind him for taking this modification.
Dionne, he yells.
I aint gonna let you give up!
And its not hard to focus on the workout.
After all, its pretty fun.
It feels good to have permission to kick and punch the air.
You just have to watch your own form and listen to your body to double-check you dont get injured.
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