Cardio Kicks

Cathe Friedrich
Year Released: 2000

Categories: Boxing/Kickboxing/Martial Arts


When Cathe offered her last bunch of videos I passed on CTX, but snapped up Circuit Max and Cardio Kicks (along with three others for the volume discount of course!). No kickbox fan, I purchased CK with the intention that I would be trading it. Surprise! This one has seen much more use than Circuit Max.

The only Kickboxing video I owned prior to CK was Kathy Smith's. It was o.k., but I did not find myself pulling it out that much. Actually, after doing Cardio Kicks, I find myself pulling out the Kathy Smith one more often. I have also bought a few more KB tapes (Janis Saffell).

So what is it about this tape that turned me into a cardio-kickboxing convert? Well, simply put, this tape is fun! It starts with a fast paced warm up which has you moving all over the room. It then moves into some kickbox/hi-lo combos that are a lot of fun. Like Cathe said, it's hi/lo with a definite kickbox flavor. This is not the tape to pull out to practice self defense (of course, if you want to do that you would be much better off taking a class). After this section is done, you move on to about fifteen minutes of drills. I liked the sequential power kicks the best. Kathy Smith has these in her tape, and I was never able to get them down. One run through with Cathe, however, and I had them nailed. During one drill sequence, my heart rate does drop quite a bit, but it is near the end, and I just think of it as a bit of a cool down.

You will need a lot of space for this tape. Actually, I think this tape is my biggest space hog. Cathe says if you do not have the space, get some height. I have never done this, but I imagine the tape would still be fun. The music and the set are excellent. I could do without the fake plants, though(message to Greg: can the fake plants! They add nothing.) The first time I did this tape, I would have rated it intermediate in intensity. Now I would call it advanced. It definitely is a tape you can grow with and get more out of every time you do it. As for complexity, I picked it all up the first time through. It is more basic than the standard Cathe fare. So, if you are afraid of choreography, this is a good tape to try.

Roz

06/23/2001