I see a lot of people doing Tae Bo and I actually went to such a training session. I must say I loved it, it was a little similar to my personal combination of Mixed Martial Arts and ground exercises routine. Mine was more intense in terms of muscle usage but I really tend to think that Tae Bo is a lot better when talking about aerobics, muscle tonification and loosing weight. Tae Bo is basically an aerobic exercise routine. It was invented by Billy Blanks, an individual that practiced tae kwon do and boxing. By combining elements from these two styles of fighting and music choreography Tae Bo was born. It was the original "cardio-boxing" routine and basically uses martial arts movement at rapid pace while promoting body fitness.
Tae Bo is a combination of boxing and tae kwon do and this is where the name comes from. Later a backronym was thought of: "Total Awareness Excellence Body Obedience". Belive it or not, it all started in 1989 and thanks to the fact that Billy Blanks started training some celebrities like Paula Abdul in the nineties now we have some sort of pop culture type movement in some areas. Some of the best sold training DVDs out there are Tae Bo related and many gyms offer this type of aerobic training.
Do not think you will practice Tae Bo and learn martial arts. This is not the case. There are no throws, ground moves or grappling moves here. It is all intended to make your body stronger in terms of fitness. You might learn to kick and hit better but it will not really teach you to fight. If you think about fighting and self defense maybe you should try mixed martial arts for the most similar effect to tae bo in terms of intensity. Tae Kwon Do is also a very good option. To sum it all up this high-intensity workout in Tae Bo is aiming to increase cardiovascular fitness, strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. You will not get stronger or gain muscular endurance unless you really are a beginner at training!
