Billy Blanks TAE BO - Click here for TAE BO now! BILLY BLANKS

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Tae Bo® is an aerobic exercise routine developed by tae kwon do 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. Blanks later developed a backronym for the name as well; Total Awareness Excellence Body Obedience. Blanks developed the routine in 1989 by combining music with elements from his tae kwon do and boxing training to form an intense workout regimen. After some celebrities such as Paula Abdul started using Blanks as their personal trainer and a series of videos were mass-marketed to the public, Tae Bo® exploded in popularity in the late 1990s. Many gyms rushed to offer kickboxing-based fitness classes similar to Tae Bo, and it was even mentioned in Train's hit single "Drops of Jupiter". Although the workout's status as a pop culture phenomenon was short-lived, it is not necessarily accurate to categorize the workout as a fad; Tae Bo® videos and DVDs 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 health through movement. Tae Bo® also includes aerobic exercises, strengthening all muscles of the body with basic choreography.

The high-intensity workout has been shown to increase cardiovascular fitness, strength, muscular endurance and flexi Bility.

Recently, Blanks has offered a line of Tae Bo® videos known as the "Believer's" series that introduce Christian elements such as prayer into the workouts. His secular workouts remain the most popular.

Blanks is still currently active in fitness. In 2004 and 2005 he launched another successful program called Billy Blanks® BOOTCAMP. These videos dove into combining original Tae Bo® moves along with rigorous training he had learned while visiting the troops overseas. BOOTCAMP Elite followed the original Bootcamp with the addition and use of Bands. The bands which wrap on your feet and hands create more resistance for a better workout.

Billy is currently underway in producing a new line of videos for 2007. The title has yet to be announced although customers are eager to see what Billy will do next. He is celebrating the 10th year of his successful Tae Bo® workout.

Billy is Massachusetts Golden Gloves Champion (light-heavyweight class) and the Tri-State Golden Gloves Champion of Champions.

Having moved to Boston as an adult, Blanks opened his own karate studio and began teaching classes. It was there that he unintentionally hit upon the concept for Tae Bo in 1975. “I was creating some exercises for myself because I wanted to get in better aerobic shape,” he explains, when he decided to combine Tae Kwon Do moves with dance music. Dismissed by some in Boston as a fleeting trend, one capitalizing on the newfound popularity of disco music, there was no denying the allure of what Blanks called Tae Bo (a name which he spliced from Tae Kwon Do and boxing, later creating the backronym Total Awareness Excellence Body Obedience).

Whatever limitations Boston seemed to impose, they quickly melted under the perennial sun of Los Angeles, where Blanks moved in 1989. He taught classes in his garage, then opened the Billy Blanks World Training Center in Sherman Oaks. With his first celebrity clients, including singer-dancer Paula Abdul, word-of-mouth soon opened the floodgates. During the 1990’s and to the present, those embracing Tae Bo included such stars as Pamela Anderson, Justine Batemen, Catherine Bell, Valerie Bertinelli, Neve Campbell, Rae Dawn Chong, Rebecca De Mornay, Farrah Fawcett, Vivica Fox, Goldie Hawn, Queen Latifa, Emmanuel Lewis, Ryan O’Neal, Lisa Renna, Lela Rochon, Jack Scalia, Connie Selleca, Brooke Shields, Sinbad and Shannon Tweed. Athletes seeking to stay in top physical shape also flocked to the studio, including Wayne Gretzky, Bruce Jenner, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal.

With its star endorsements, and the infusion of some professional marketing muscle, Tae Bo became an unprecedented national success and Billy Blanks a recognized fitness expert. His record-breaking infomercials defeated all others, and his workout videos became #1 best-sellers, generating sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Major market newspapers and newsmagazines trumpeted a new exercise phenomenon. Among countless other talk shows appearances, Oprah shaped up with his help during a weeklong appearance in the Bahamas. More recently, Bantam released his first book, The Tae Bo Way, which not only shares his workout routines but also Blanks’ philosophy and personal story.

Concurrent with his rise as a fitness expert and physical trainer to the stars, Blanks has also built an impressive resume as an actor. He has appeared in 18 movies including Kiss the Girls, The Last Boy Scout, Bloodfist, Lionheart, Talons of the Eagle, Back in Action, Stand Alone, Balance of Power and The King of the Kickboxers. On television, Blanks has been seen in such episodic shows as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,The Parkers,” Suddenly Susan, ER, Melrose Place, Martial Law,Street Justice, Spenser: For Hire.

Blanks is Christian and released a special line of Tae Bo workouts called the "Believer's" series that includes motivational prayers and other Christian components. He has appeared on Christian television network TBN.

He is married to his high school sweetheart, Gayle Godfrey Blanks, since 1975. Their daughter, Shellie, born later that same year, is also an accomplished martial artist and is prominently featured in many of Billy's Tae Bo videos. They also have a son, Billy Jr., who has acted in a touring production of Fame.

The character of Dee Jay from the street fighter series of games is modeled after him.

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