I was reluctant to try a fusion workout but I have practically all of Janis Saffell's workouts and love them, so thought I'd try this out. In the end, I loved the Tai Chi sections with Scott Cole almost as much .. if not more .. than the kickboxing sections!

The workout starts off with a 10 minute Tai Chi warmup led by Scott, with Janis stepping in to do a few quick stretches at the end. They will do this fairly often .. stepping back and forth and changing between Tai Chi and kickboxing. It is not distracting and in fact it was a nice balance as it keeps you on your toes.

Essentially you can call this circuit training as there is a contrast between the fast paced kickboxing and the slow but concentrated Tai Chi movements. It almost feels like you're having a nice stretch or massage after each kickboxing segment. Don't get me wrong, the Tai Chi segments get progressively tougher as we go along and you do work the muscles if you really focus ... so you will build up a sweat pretty quickly.

This 'circuit' goes on for about 28 minutes before going into an 8 minute strength segment. This section is very very tough and it relies a lot on balance with lots of slow movements which really makes you work those muscles. You can really feel the burn, especially in the pose that Janis takes the group through .. a flamingo-like pose where you're on one leg leaning forward with your other leg lifted high up behind you. After all that hard work you have a nice slow 8-minute stretch/cooldown.

It is also a good introduction to Tai Chi .. although I've heard that that itself is not 'pure' Tai Chi but it is a fusion of Tai Chi + aerobics. Personally I found it interesting enough to explore other Scott Cole workouts.

If you love Janis Saffell's workouts .. I'd recommend that you get your hands on this, albeit for something a little different.

lenamz