Powerstrike Millenium Series #3
Ilaria Montagnani, Patricia MorenoYear Released: 2003
Categories: Boxing/Kickboxing/Martial Arts
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This is my favorite Powerstrike Millennium. There aren't any sections where it moves too quickly, and I love the way they're incorporated more torso twisting into the combinations - it drastically helps my form during the punches.
The kicks used are front push, side push, and roundhouse, and there are a TON of them, which gives me a nice hamstring workout. All punches are used as well.
Because the tape moves a bit slower than 1 or 2, I can really concentrate on my form, but it is just as intense a workout - I was still sweating a lot, and nicely sore the next day.
I would recommend this workout as the first Powerstrike to try if you haven't tried any of them.
Instructor Comments:
Great form pointers, constant stressing of proper technique, and a sense of humor make these two women my fave instructors. Plus, they seem to have a great time instructing together and you can tell they're great friends.
This review is for the DVD
version. The DVD has no menu
but is chaptered as follows:
1.1 FBI warning and intro
1.2 Warmup
1.3 Punching and kicking drills
1.4 Combo 1 left stance, combo
2 left stance
1.5 Footwork (switching
stances), combo 1 right stance
1.6 Combo 2 right stance
1.7 Side kick drills
1.8 Cooldown
I was glad that they used a new
soundtrack. I liked the music
from #1 and #2 fine, but it was
nice to have some variety. The
warm-up is long and thorough,
going through all of the punches
in slow motion (jab, cross, front
hook, back uppercut) and then
speeding them up. Then you
learn a punching drill:
jab-cross-jab-cross
duck-jab-jab
quick 1-2-3-4-5 jab and cross
punches
2 quick jabs
The kicks (front push, side kick
and roundhouse) are also
taught slowly, starting with
chambering the kick (preparing
for the kick by folding your leg up
in the appropriate position).
The first combo consisted of:
chamber + 3 roundhouse kicks
jab-cross-hook-uppercut
jab step to the side, low cross
punch with lunge
The second combo was:
low block, cross
step back, 2 front kicks
1-2-3 pause 1-2 punches
The workout ends with side kick
drills, a tai-chi inspired
cooldown and a stretch.
I know some people have
mentioned that this is not as
intense as #1 and #2. It does
start slowly but I found it quite
challenging, especially with the
multiple kick sequences. I would
still rate this an advanced video.
Instructor Comments:
Ilaria and Patricia both look
great. As usual, they put a lot of
emphasis on proper form, and I
love that you can see them
sweat for real!
Background: This is the first
"Powerstrike" video I've done, and my
kickboxing experience, while not non-
existent, is relatively minimal.
Bottom Line: I LOVE THIS
WORKOUT!!!
This is the most fun I've had doing
cardio in the approximately 3 months
since I restarted. For some reason,
cardio has been very much "eating my
vegetables" for me lately; I have been
hating sweating. But I had a GREAT
time doing this one.
I'm not going to break down the video
in detail because other reviewers have
(thankfully) already done that. This
video starts out slowly, as other
reviewers have pointed out -- and for
me, the slow part is really, really good -
- I can tell this video is going to do
WONDERS for my form, because the
form-oriented segues seamlessly into
faster combos, rather than being
isolated from the actual kickboxing.
Eventually the pace picks up and as
an uncoordinated person, I admit I
found the combos hard to follow even
though they were taught reasonably
slowly. But difficult is good -- I have a
lot to work on! The fun the instructors
seemed to be having was contagious
and I didn't even mind much being
pretty lost during some combos. I am
planning to do this video again on my
next cardio day (tomorrrow) and to my
shock and surprise I am looking
forward to it (I wish today were a cardio
day!).
Despite the overall wonderfulness of
this video, I do have one gripe with it:
the camera work often didn't allow you
to see the relevant body parts at the
relevant time, sometimes til several
repetitions of a move had gone by.
Often what you get instead is a close-
up on an instructor's sweaty face, and
while I like to see my instructor sweat,
it's more important that I can see the
moves. This will be less of a problem
as I become more oriented to the video
and I'm not going to worry about it. I
highly, HIGHLY recommend this video.
Instructor Comments:
Both are lots of fun, and really seem to
enjoy working together. I liked how
they would step out from the group of
background exercisers -- still "doing"
the workout, but demonstrating how
the moves in the workout would be
used in an actual boxing context.
For background, I'm an intensity junkie who works out with Cathe almost exclusively. I'm glad I tried this one. Patricia & Ilaria are excellent instructors who constantly remind the viewer of proper form throughout the workout. With the exception of the drills at the end which had pretty much zero cardio benefit, I'd give it a low advanced in terms of intensity. The choreography is very simple, no crazy moves here just butt kicking punching and kicking moves. Perfect for someone (like me) who has a hard time remembering complex combinations but hates to be bored.
Instructor Comments:
Patricia & Ilaria love their craft and it shows, both in their chiseled bodies and the great time they seem to be having together on camera. They look like they could kick some serious butt! I'd love to take real martial arts classes with them.
This is a kickboxing workout led by Patricia Moreno and Illari Montagnani. Be prepared to sweat! In this workout, it is straight kickboxing, no cardio or aerobics type drills. The instructors give turns setting up the cueing. The form pointers are great.
I believe there were only two combos to learn, plus a punching drill. Lots of kicks, so if you have hip or knee problems (like I do) modify! Luckily, modifications are shown. I won't go into the breakdown of the combos, as that has been done. The end of the workout was side kick drills, a tai-chi inspired cooldown and a stretch
PROS: Patricia and Illaria seem to be a great team. Their light humor and camraderie really shows. One is not trying to outshine the other, and that is nice and rare in a workout DVD. I like that form and technique were stressed. The pace was slow enough to teach good form but quick enough that the heart rate doesn't plummet. Very challenging. One could really grow with this DVD.
CONS: The set is dark so it was sometimes difficult to see what they were doing (foor placement, kicks, etc.) Illaria has a thick accent, and sometimes it was hard to understand her. Plus, although the music was fine, it repeated. That made some parts of the workout boring and difficult to get through.
Instructor Comments:
Difficult to understand Illaria sometimes, although Patricia was very clear. The instructors worked well together, and seemed to be having a good time.