Kickboxing Deconstructed

When reviewing Kickbox: Core Cross Train, this week’s DVD selection, I couldn’t help but make comparisons to Kickbox Yoga Fusion, the DVD that inspired me to start this blog.

Both are GAIAM kickboxing DVDs led by instructor Patricia Moreno, so there are a lot of comparisons to make. I even recognized a couple of combo moves from the fusion DVD. Moreno’s trademark teaching style is in evidence, with detailed breakdowns of the moves, and plenty of positive affirmations.

At first glance, I was puzzled by the structure of this DVD. There are five different workout segments on the DVD (4 core ones, plus a bonus), but they didn’t seem to flow together well (there was no Play All button, for one thing), and there was not a lot of instruction about how to use them.

Should you string them all together? Do different ones on different days? Focus on one or two until you master them, before moving on to the others?

In the absence of any explanation from GAIAM or Moreno, here’s my take on the five workout segments.

Punches. This 13-minute segment focuses on learning how to do punches and other arm movements. Similar to the Kickbox Yoga Fusion DVD, this segment was full of detailed instructions and was easy to follow. The workout ended rather abruptly with a 10-second “cooldown” that made me wonder if all the segments were supposed to be played back-to-back.

Core Energizer. The title of this 25-minute segment implies that this segment is all about the abs, but I see this as the arms segment on steroids instead. It uses a lot of the same punching moves as the first segment, but done at about twice the speed.

I found this segment a lot more difficult to follow, because of the speed, but also because she was not as good about cueing which punch was coming up next. At the end, there was a short stretching segment, making me waver again on whether or not you were supposed to play these segments back-to-back.

Kicks. This 18-minute segment was more in the instructional style of the first segment, but with the focus on learning how to do various kicking moves instead of punches. This was trickier to follow than the Punches segment, because of the added requirement of balancing on one foot so the other foot can kick.

One nice aspect is that she builds from a super basic move, adding on other arm and head movements after a few kicks. So, if you’re uncoordinated like me, you can just stick with the super basic move. Like with the previous segments, the Kicks segment ends abruptly after less than a minute of stretching.

Combinations. This 15-minute segment really has two parts. The first 9 minutes goes through a few short combo sequences of punches and kicks. Like with the Core Energizer segment, the pace is fast and the assumption is that you already know all the moves, so there is not a lot of instruction or cueing. It was really tough for me to follow, but it was short, so I think even an uncoordinated person could work up to it after mastering the basic moves.

The last 6 minutes of the Combinations segment is a unique, graceful stretching sequence. I would have really liked to see this separated out as a different menu item, so I could more easily use it as a cool down after the other segments.

Bonus Power Workout. The 14-minute “Core Balance Challenge” bonus workout is secretly a 12-minute-long constantly-shifting plank pose, with a couple of minutes of yoga cat-cow pose at the beginning to lull you into a false sense of competency.

So, the takeaway is that this DVD is a little uneven as far as skill levels. The ‘beginner’ segments are absolutely great for beginners. Moreno is quite skilled at breaking down complex moves and making them accessible for those new to kickboxing. The trick is to take advantage of these beginner segments without getting discouraged by the more advanced ones.

For uncoordinated beginners, I would recommend starting with the Punches and Kicks segments … and then fast forwarding through the first nine minutes of the Combinations segment to get to the cool down part.

Once those become old hat, you can tackle the Core Energizer and Combinations segments with more confidence. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready for the Core Balance Challenge.