Tae Bo teaches fitness, self-defense
Campus Times
March 12, 1999
Sophomore Lina Gonzalez, senior Lynsey Best and junior Eboni Stanford
are participating in the "Tae Bo" exercise hour in Stu-Han Residence
Hall. The new workout trend is a mix of Tae Kwon Do and aerobics. The Stu-Han
workout, started by junior Mindy Salazar, meets in the lounge Sundays through
Thursdays from 10-11 p.m. With more people showing interest, the program
is in need of a larger room.
Some call it "the future of fitness," others see it as a new
and short-living trend on the wide field of aerobical training.
This semester, University of La Verne is grasped by the Tae Bo fever
that is spreading throughout the United States.
Monday nights in the Stu-Han residence hall lounge, about 17 women follow
the "One ... Two ... Kick ... Box" commands of a well trained
video instructor on television. After about 20 minutes, the first participant
is too exhausted to continue and leaves grasping for air.
The initiator of this program is Mindy Salazar, junior biology major
and R.A. in Stu-Han. She started the practice two weeks ago with three friends
and ever since, the nightly meetings became bigger and bigger.
"About 12 to 13 [participants] are our average," said Salazar.
Therefore, she is looking for a larger room at the moment.
Moreover, the women are planning to create a Tae Bo club out of their
hobby. Their hope is to finish the necessary paperwork within the next two
weeks.
Salazar, who heard about Tae Bo just a few months ago, thought the combination
of self-defense, dancing and boxing would be good training.
"I want to stay in shape and if we do it together I can't be lazy,"
said she. After she bought the video, Salazar went to her friends and said,
"I have the tape, let's go!"
She was quickly joined by Lina Gonzalez, a sophomore TV-broadcasting
major.
"The practice helps with self-defense," said Gonzalez. She
emphasized that the video also teaches how to punch and explains at which
parts of the body the punch is aiming.
Alena Vlna, sophomore biology major, said she sleeps better after the
practice. Concerning the specific body parts affected by Tae Bo, Vlna said
"the shoulders are trained ... actually you train everything."
Tae Bo as a sport was developed by Billy Blanks, holder of the seventh
degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, the Korean form of Karate. Blanks also
captained the U.S. olympic Karate-team in 1980.
In the late '80s, Blanks had the idea to combine dance music with Tae
Kwon Do moves "which evolved into Tae Bo."
The sport became popular after stars like Paula Abdul, Goldie Hawn,
Magic Johnson and Pamela Anderson started to practice Tae Bo.
Until the group at ULV gets a bigger room, the practice will continue
to take place in the Stu-Han lounge from Sunday through Thursday beginning
at 10 p.m. Both men and women are encouraged to attend.
