MCMAP

Brian R. VanCise said:
Actually Billy Blanks who founded Tae Bo was a Tae Kwon Do and American free style point champion. Just because some of the moves look like kickboxing they are not necessarily. ;)
Click to expand...

Yes, Kickboxing in its generic term. But are you trying to say that while he's a Kickboxer, he wouldn't incorporate any kickboxing techniques into his Tae Bo? Does this sound logical to you?
 
Buka said:
In 1985 Billy Blanks called me and said, " I have an idea how to get more people to exercise. By using karate techniques and music, so it will be fun." I said, "Okay......"

He coined the term "Karobics" He asked me if I knew an Aerobics instructor because he wanted one instead of a Martial Arts instructor. I asked "Why?" He said, "A karate guy will teach like he teaches Karate. I want someone who will teach it like Aerobics, teach it like exercise." I called my friend, Michelle, a local aerobics instructor. Her, me and Billy met in my dojo and for two weeks Billy worked with her on how he thought it should be taught. We then implemented the first Karobics class, in my dojo, in Boston. We had class on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays at 11 in the morning. There wasn't much success. There were a handful of housewifes, some of my students from an earlier morning class and some of Billy's guys. The class lasted a little over a year before we cancelled it for lack of interest.

THEN.....Billy relocates to L.A somewhere around 1988. He had a tough go of it. Married with two kids, he struggled to make ends meet. Taught a karate class out of the garage in his rented house in Reseda.

He opened his first school in Studio city a couple years later. And it eventually took off. He had to rent a bigger place. He then offered karobics - and karobics went crazy in L.A. Billy, his daughter Shelly, his sister Irene and his brother Michael all taught Karobics. Billy also had a huge karate class by this point.

Then all of Hollywood started coming there. My wife and I had recently relocated to Maui and I flew to L.A for a week every month to teach and train. I was stunned when I first went there. There were four karobics classes, six nights a week. Each class had 80 to 100 L.A; women (not even a hint of exaggeration in those numbers) this was in addition to several hundred martial arts students in regular classes.

So....it got huge. A Hollywood power couple were training there. They approached Billy and wanted to team up with him and take it to a national level. Naive, he said "sure" Two weeks later he called me on Maui. He told me the couple came in one day, and told them what they were going to do. he said he did not like the idea. They then took out some legal papers and told him, "We just trademarked the term Karobics. We now own it. You'll do what we want."

He promptly threw them out on their worthless asses. Right there on Ventura Boulevard. I heard they even bounced. He then said to me, "We gotta come up with a new name for Karobics" I said, "okay, let's think on it for the next couple of days".

He calls back two days later, all excited, He says, "I got it. we'll call it Tae-bo. A combination of Tae-kwon-do and boxing." (Billy won the Golden Gloves here in Mass. I worked his corner)

I'll never forget what I told him -

"Billy, that's the single worse name for anything I've ever heard. It's stupid, completely unmarketable - it just won't work."

Boy, can I call em', or what? Thank God he doesn't listen to me.

Three weeks later I land in L.A again. There are now seven Tae-bo classes a day. There is one hundred women in every single class and a line out the door waiting for the next one. This is in addition to the Martial arts program - which was the largest I've ever seen in a school to this day.

Soon, fighters were attending the classes for cardio. It was the single toughest workout I've seen, and I was in world class shape at the time. He had to offer Tae-bo at 6 a.m, 7, 8 and 9. Then in the afternoons at 4,5,6,7,8. It was fricken crazy. He again rented a larger place right down the street on Ventura.

A guy in the gym, Paul was his name, was a marketing genius. Back in the 1970's Evil Kinevil used to do commercials for this gizmo that you touched to where you had pain - and pressed a little plunger on top of it. The device gave a mild electrical stimulus that supposedly helped heal aches and pains. Paul sold 20 million units at 29 or 39 bucks apiece (I forget) You know what the unit was? It was the automatic lighter on a gas grill. It just caused a mild spark. Paul purchased them in bulk for a dollar each. Do the math.

Paul approached Billy and said he wanted to help Billy go national. Billy, much wiser now, hooked up several lawyers (who trained in the Karate class) with Paul. The rest, as they say, is history. Billy and Gayle flew out to Maui shortly after. We went out to dinner. He showed me a copy of the check he got from Paul. It was for forty million dollars. (With one hundred million more to come over the next seven years.) I asked him, "Did that puppy clear?" he said,"Yup." I said, You're buying dinner! Like forever!"

Tae-bo was never meant for self defense. Or for fighting, or for kickboxing, It was for exercise, fitness and weight loss. The way Billy, Shelly, Irene and Michael taught it - was just plain nasty. Toughest workout around.

Anyway.....that's the skinny on Tae-bo.
Click to expand...


any cliff notes (or cliffies)?
 
Buka said:
In 1985 Billy Blanks called me and said, " I have an idea how to get more people to exercise. By using karate techniques and music, so it will be fun." I said, "Okay......"

He coined the term "Karobics" He asked me if I knew an Aerobics instructor because he wanted one instead of a Martial Arts instructor. I asked "Why?" He said, "A karate guy will teach like he teaches Karate. I want someone who will teach it like Aerobics, teach it like exercise." I called my friend, Michelle, a local aerobics instructor. Her, me and Billy met in my dojo and for two weeks Billy worked with her on how he thought it should be taught. We then implemented the first Karobics class, in my dojo, in Boston. We had class on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays at 11 in the morning. There wasn't much success. There were a handful of housewifes, some of my students from an earlier morning class and some of Billy's guys. The class lasted a little over a year before we cancelled it for lack of interest.

THEN.....Billy relocates to L.A somewhere around 1988. He had a tough go of it. Married with two kids, he struggled to make ends meet. Taught a karate class out of the garage in his rented house in Reseda.

He opened his first school in Studio city a couple years later. And it eventually took off. He had to rent a bigger place. He then offered karobics - and karobics went crazy in L.A. Billy, his daughter Shelly, his sister Irene and his brother Michael all taught Karobics. Billy also had a huge karate class by this point.

Then all of Hollywood started coming there. My wife and I had recently relocated to Maui and I flew to L.A for a week every month to teach and train. I was stunned when I first went there. There were four karobics classes, six nights a week. Each class had 80 to 100 L.A; women (not even a hint of exaggeration in those numbers) this was in addition to several hundred martial arts students in regular classes.

So....it got huge. A Hollywood power couple were training there. They approached Billy and wanted to team up with him and take it to a national level. Naive, he said "sure" Two weeks later he called me on Maui. He told me the couple came in one day, and told them what they were going to do. he said he did not like the idea. They then took out some legal papers and told him, "We just trademarked the term Karobics. We now own it. You'll do what we want."

He promptly threw them out on their worthless asses. Right there on Ventura Boulevard. I heard they even bounced. He then said to me, "We gotta come up with a new name for Karobics" I said, "okay, let's think on it for the next couple of days".

He calls back two days later, all excited, He says, "I got it. we'll call it Tae-bo. A combination of Tae-kwon-do and boxing." (Billy won the Golden Gloves here in Mass. I worked his corner)

I'll never forget what I told him -

"Billy, that's the single worse name for anything I've ever heard. It's stupid, completely unmarketable - it just won't work."

Boy, can I call em', or what? Thank God he doesn't listen to me.

Three weeks later I land in L.A again. There are now seven Tae-bo classes a day. There is one hundred women in every single class and a line out the door waiting for the next one. This is in addition to the Martial arts program - which was the largest I've ever seen in a school to this day.

Soon, fighters were attending the classes for cardio. It was the single toughest workout I've seen, and I was in world class shape at the time. He had to offer Tae-bo at 6 a.m, 7, 8 and 9. Then in the afternoons at 4,5,6,7,8. It was fricken crazy. He again rented a larger place right down the street on Ventura.

A guy in the gym, Paul was his name, was a marketing genius. Back in the 1970's Evil Kinevil used to do commercials for this gizmo that you touched to where you had pain - and pressed a little plunger on top of it. The device gave a mild electrical stimulus that supposedly helped heal aches and pains. Paul sold 20 million units at 29 or 39 bucks apiece (I forget) You know what the unit was? It was the automatic lighter on a gas grill. It just caused a mild spark. Paul purchased them in bulk for a dollar each. Do the math.

Paul approached Billy and said he wanted to help Billy go national. Billy, much wiser now, hooked up several lawyers (who trained in the Karate class) with Paul. The rest, as they say, is history. Billy and Gayle flew out to Maui shortly after. We went out to dinner. He showed me a copy of the check he got from Paul. It was for forty million dollars. (With one hundred million more to come over the next seven years.) I asked him, "Did that puppy clear?" he said,"Yup." I said, You're buying dinner! Like forever!"

Tae-bo was never meant for self defense. Or for fighting, or for kickboxing, It was for exercise, fitness and weight loss. The way Billy, Shelly, Irene and Michael taught it - was just plain nasty. Toughest workout around.

Anyway.....that's the skinny on Tae-bo.
Click to expand...

Don't ask Buka for marketing advice. Check.

Seriously, it seems like you know everyone from back in the day. I guess that's what happens when you're an old fart.
 
Buka said:
In 1985 Billy Blanks called me and said, " I have an idea how to get more people to exercise. By using karate techniques and music, so it will be fun." I said, "Okay......"

He coined the term "Karobics" He asked me if I knew an Aerobics instructor because he wanted one instead of a Martial Arts instructor. I asked "Why?" He said, "A karate guy will teach like he teaches Karate. I want someone who will teach it like Aerobics, teach it like exercise." I called my friend, Michelle, a local aerobics instructor. Her, me and Billy met in my dojo and for two weeks Billy worked with her on how he thought it should be taught. We then implemented the first Karobics class, in my dojo, in Boston. We had class on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays at 11 in the morning. There wasn't much success. There were a handful of housewifes, some of my students from an earlier morning class and some of Billy's guys. The class lasted a little over a year before we cancelled it for lack of interest.

THEN.....Billy relocates to L.A somewhere around 1988. He had a tough go of it. Married with two kids, he struggled to make ends meet. Taught a karate class out of the garage in his rented house in Reseda.

He opened his first school in Studio city a couple years later. And it eventually took off. He had to rent a bigger place. He then offered karobics - and karobics went crazy in L.A. Billy, his daughter Shelly, his sister Irene and his brother Michael all taught Karobics. Billy also had a huge karate class by this point.

Then all of Hollywood started coming there. My wife and I had recently relocated to Maui and I flew to L.A for a week every month to teach and train. I was stunned when I first went there. There were four karobics classes, six nights a week. Each class had 80 to 100 L.A; women (not even a hint of exaggeration in those numbers) this was in addition to several hundred martial arts students in regular classes.

So....it got huge. A Hollywood power couple were training there. They approached Billy and wanted to team up with him and take it to a national level. Naive, he said "sure" Two weeks later he called me on Maui. He told me the couple came in one day, and told them what they were going to do. he said he did not like the idea. They then took out some legal papers and told him, "We just trademarked the term Karobics. We now own it. You'll do what we want."

He promptly threw them out on their worthless asses. Right there on Ventura Boulevard. I heard they even bounced. He then said to me, "We gotta come up with a new name for Karobics" I said, "okay, let's think on it for the next couple of days".

He calls back two days later, all excited, He says, "I got it. we'll call it Tae-bo. A combination of Tae-kwon-do and boxing." (Billy won the Golden Gloves here in Mass. I worked his corner)

I'll never forget what I told him -

"Billy, that's the single worse name for anything I've ever heard. It's stupid, completely unmarketable - it just won't work."

Boy, can I call em', or what? Thank God he doesn't listen to me.

Three weeks later I land in L.A again. There are now seven Tae-bo classes a day. There is one hundred women in every single class and a line out the door waiting for the next one. This is in addition to the Martial arts program - which was the largest I've ever seen in a school to this day.

Soon, fighters were attending the classes for cardio. It was the single toughest workout I've seen, and I was in world class shape at the time. He had to offer Tae-bo at 6 a.m, 7, 8 and 9. Then in the afternoons at 4,5,6,7,8. It was fricken crazy. He again rented a larger place right down the street on Ventura.

A guy in the gym, Paul was his name, was a marketing genius. Back in the 1970's Evil Kinevil used to do commercials for this gizmo that you touched to where you had pain - and pressed a little plunger on top of it. The device gave a mild electrical stimulus that supposedly helped heal aches and pains. Paul sold 20 million units at 29 or 39 bucks apiece (I forget) You know what the unit was? It was the automatic lighter on a gas grill. It just caused a mild spark. Paul purchased them in bulk for a dollar each. Do the math.

Paul approached Billy and said he wanted to help Billy go national. Billy, much wiser now, hooked up several lawyers (who trained in the Karate class) with Paul. The rest, as they say, is history. Billy and Gayle flew out to Maui shortly after. We went out to dinner. He showed me a copy of the check he got from Paul. It was for forty million dollars. (With one hundred million more to come over the next seven years.) I asked him, "Did that puppy clear?" he said,"Yup." I said, You're buying dinner! Like forever!"

Tae-bo was never meant for self defense. Or for fighting, or for kickboxing, It was for exercise, fitness and weight loss. The way Billy, Shelly, Irene and Michael taught it - was just plain nasty. Toughest workout around.

Anyway.....that's the skinny on Tae-bo.
Click to expand...

Ah Tae-Bo my arch enemy........:sour:
i was teaching a womens kickboxing class, my class was actual kickboxing stuff but aimed at fitness. i was actually trying to teach technique. we did pads ,heavy bag and sparing ,albiet no contact unless it was with me, then they could go all out. one of my students introduced me to her Tae-bo VCR tape. tae - bo grew and grew in popularity. As time went kickboxing became synonymous with Tae-bo and aerobics. i remember going into a fitness gym asking if they would be interested in having me to teach a kickboxing class,,the director asked if i had my aerobics certification. i said no.... i dont do aerobics i teach kickboxing ....:you need to have your aerobics certification if you want to teach kickboxing, ive been doing this stuff for 15-20 years and now you are telling me i need to be ceritfied by an organization that only came into existence 5 years ago that has nothing to do with what i teach.
i couldnt explain to people there was a difference. not too long ago i noticed the new fad of a more ring style kickboxing where you use heavy bags and pad work. you can find kick boxing and boxing programs all over for women now that are not aerobics.
if not for Tae-Bo i could have been the millionaire with my fitness program and i would have ruled the world!!!:arghh:
 
FriedRice said:
Yes, Kickboxing in its generic term. But are you trying to say that while he's a Kickboxer, he wouldn't incorporate any kickboxing techniques into his Tae Bo? Does this sound logical to you?
Click to expand...

Billy Blanks is not a kickboxer. He was a Tae Kwon Do instructor and a national and world point fighting champion. Tae Bo is an exercise routine. Buka is our resident expert here on Billy Blanks and while I am sure a few others have met him I had the opportunity to train with him back in the day when he was a point fighter. You can't just throw out any term you like when describing something first it was MCMAP is mma lite or then kali lite and now Tae Bo is kickboxing. On this forum you need to be specific for people to take your seriously!
 
Here is a Billy Blanks story:

Now a good friend of mine met Billy at the Mr. Olympia expo a while back. Billy remembered him and I from back in the day and was thrilled to have someone there who could talk about Billy's martial skills rather than just Tae Bo.
 
FriedRice now in understanding how to communicate effectively on the internet if you had said Billy Blanks teaches Tae Bo which is Cardio Kickboxing then you would have communicated effectively.
 
FriedRice said:
I just call what MCMAP really is because it's designed mostly to keep the soldiers in shape...with a certain level of aggression maintained, but not enough to cause injuries...and provide fitness & fun. The bayonet drills + edged weapon are not very impressive by Kali standards nor is the H2H to full MMA. Bayonets are rarely, if ever deployed b/c there are more chances of stabbing your fellow soldiers.

So what's Tae Bo? Not Kickboxing Lite?

Click to expand...

No i disagree with that.

Tae bo is krav maga kickboxing. A cool idea with all the relevance sucked out of it.

Mc Map still has the fundementals of good training. Just pruned to fit the time frame.

Which is a hard task by the way. You have to be really strict with what people need to know vs what you want them to know.

Love the avatar by the way.
 
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kuniggety said:
Don't ask Buka for marketing advice. Check.

Seriously, it seems like you know everyone from back in the day. I guess that's what happens when you're an old fart.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was a great time to be a fighter. Just as now is a great time to be an old fart. (but I'm still fighting, bro) :) And we should hook up sometime, maybe have lunch, being in the same state and all. I was just on Oahu on Monday.

Here's a pic from back in the day, I've probably posted it before, me Billy and Joe, about to teach a beginners class in my dojo. Joe was staying at the house for a seminar the next night, probably came down because he didn't have anything else to do. Billy lived a few miles away, he was down, too. A lot of the beginners didn't even know who they were.

And you know who got their a** kicked in that trio. Which is why any time some fool yells at me that they're going to kick my a**, I'd think, "and?"
 

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