I had to report in after doing Janis' StrikeZone tape today. I have to put in a disclaimer, I am only now returning to kickboxing after a 5-week hiatus with a broken toe.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this tape! Considering earlier discussions on VF, I was surprised to find that it's relatively intense and the combos are inspired and motivating.

Best of all, Janis is in rare form! I admit, I have her 9702 tape and I haven't yet done the kickboxing section (!) so I don't have much to compare with, but I really thought that Janis was geniuinely enjoying herself and seemed sincere.

She is definitely having fun! As others have said, the first 22min of the workout is combos and I thought that Janis did a good job of keeping the intensity up while teaching the combos without resorting to too many "walking in place" breaks. She uses jumping jacks raising the arms vertically up & down, and so on.

And the combos were fun and included moves not too popular in kickboxing tapes made for the general public - hook kicks, crescent kicks, back kicks.

Then the last 20min are "kickboxing strength" drills with partners and paddles - these were really cardio and technique drills that can be pretty intense - because if you DON'T have a partner to switch off with, you're doing TWICE the work others are doing! And this part of the tape is more relaxed and casual - not as choreographed and yet well organized.

Janis laughs and sincerely enquires how the others are doing throughout and just looks like she's having fun. It's funny in the second half the way she walks around the others coaching them and every so often just can't resist and begins throwing in roundhouse kicks side-by-side with them - like being on the sidelines isn't her nature.

I enjoyed both parts. It's truly a solid intermediate to advanced KB tape with some innovative kicks and combos. More advanced than Kathy Smith's KB tape (c'mon, it's got back kicks!) Less high-impact cardio than Cathe's Cardio Kicks but more intense than Todd Gheisar's Workout 3 (not as many "walking in place while teaching" intensity breaks). I had fun!

I confess, I did not do the cool-down - shame on me, it's supposed to be a very nice Tai Chi cooldown.

I forgot to mention, I do own a pair of IronWear weighted gloves (1lb each) that I haven't used with this tape yet - yet Janis and her team used 2-4lb weighted gloves throughout. Whew! I think I'll need to work back up to my original strength and form to do THAT without hurting myself! I can see how this would definitely bring the intensity up to a high-intensity advanced workout.

I recognized some of the music on this tape as previous Dynamix or MusicFlex tracks, and even recognized one song from Cathe's MIS (I think). The music had a good beat, medium volume, not pounding, and I liked it, but overall it wasn't memorable. I hope Janis uses some really motivating rock or pop music in her future productions.

What a nice way to get back into kickboxing. Overall, I was surprised I liked it! I'm glad I got this tape. I know she's selling it at her website, www.janissaffell.com. Now I'm inspired to go back and try 9702 - to learn why it got such mixed reviews.

Dawn P