BUDOKON BY CAMERON SHAYNE: BEGINNING PRACTICE

I've been looking for a martial arts based workout on DVD for my home fitness routine. But besides the various kickboxing titles like Tae Bo, "Budokon for Beginners" was the only one I found. The good reviews prompted me to take a chance on it. I was delighted with "Budokon for Beginners," and ended up getting more than I bargained for.The workout begins with yoga, goes into martial arts, and ends with a Qigong meditation. The overall workout is good, and I wish it were longer. But it's quite effective on its own if you're pressed for time, or even better if you combine it with another activity (like 20 minutes on a stationary bike, for example). Cameron Shayne's instruction is great - he cues well and is easy to follow. As both a yoga newbie and black-belt level martial arts practitioner, I felt comfortable with his teaching.In the martial arts portion, he uses real techniques and stances such as the front kick and Cat stance. It's the closest I've seen to the real deal on a mainstream video workout. That's not surprising, given Mr. Shayne's background as a high-ranking black belt instructor. Indeed, it was almost like being in an actual Karate class. The bulk of the martial arts section consists of straight punches and front kicks from stances, which are among the first techniques we teach to new students at our dojo. With that in mind, as a Karate Sensei I would recommend this DVD for folks planning to begin a martial arts class, or even for current practitioners. The yoga will help build core strength and flexibility, also important for martial artists.Speaking of yoga, "Budokon for Beginners" turned out to be a good investment in more ways than one. Besides its faithfulness to martial arts technique, it was my first exposure to yoga. I never thought I'd get into it, but this DVD led me to investigate yoga and add it to my workout regimen. As a result, I've enjoyed a number of yoga workouts by Rodney Yee, Baron Baptiste, and others. It's always nice to get turned on to a new thing that's good for you. Along those lines, I've also purchased Gaiam's "T'ai Chi Beginning Practice" and "Qigong Beginning Practice." So far I've been happy with the Gaiam line of workout DVDs and yoga equipment.NOTE: The Gaiam website indicates that Cameron Shayne has a Budokon weight loss system nearing release that includes three workouts. From what I've seen in "Budokon for Beginners", I'll be purchasing it as soon as it's available. UPDATE 10/11/05: If you have this DVD, you don't need "Budokon for Weight Loss." The workout portions are very similar. See my review of it for more details.

Combine a slow version of power yoga with some mixed martial arts (mostly kicking and punching) and a dash of meditation at the end, and you have Budokon for Beginners. While this routine may be for beginners of Budokon, the very out of shape might find it too difficult. Budokon assumes some level of flexibility, and if you are overly stiff, you may benefit from a yoga routine, especially one that focuses on strength and flexibility in the legs and core. You'll need a solid core and strong legs for Budokon.I have a number of exercise DVDs and VHS tapes, and I can easily say that Budokon for Beginners has the best presentation and production I have seen in an exercise video. Specifically, Cameron Shayne's pose guide is among the best out there. Even experienced yoga practitioners can learn something from him. The language he uses to describe poses and forms is both familiar and unique--most often for the better, sometimes not. Even if you know how to do all of the poses, use the pose guide. It's a work out in itself, and you might find some tips on how to perfect your forms.Budokon for Beginners is nothing new per se - yoga, martial arts, and meditation have been around for many years - but it's the combination that is effective in this routine. Yoga, of course, gives you flexibility, strength, and a sense of oneness with your body; martial arts gives you flexibility, strength, cardio, all of which produce a feeling of power; and the meditation section, while very brief, lowers your heart rate after nearly half and hour of continuous movement.The short and long versions of the main routine are helpful once you get past the need for introductions to the poses and movements. The shorter version doesn't allow for as much rest, and so the intensity is higher than that of the longer version.During this routine, you will spend most of your time on your legs and core since that is where most of your muscles are located and where most of your physical power originates (for both yoga and martial arts). I use the routine on days when I don't go to the gym to lift weights and feel like moving around more than doing only yoga. I'm positive you'll find a place for this routine in your exercise schedule.

the short workout is 30 minutes - 15 of yoga to stretch and warm up, then kicks and punches to work the joints. Excellent core strengthening. Gets cardio going, I feel I've done a good little workout after just the short (30 min), so looking forward to the full workout! This one can easily fit into the busy daily schedule

Bien démontré mais bien simple pour les experts, mais bien difficile pour les débutants !J'ai bien aimé la première partie qui est l'échauffement par le yoga.Pour le karaté et les mouvements c'est du B.A. BA par contre valable que pour les débutants ou moyens.

Das DVD Menü ist übersichtlich, Die Idee des Budokon wird erläuert. Man hat die Wahl zwischen einer kurzen und einerregulären Trainingseinheit. Mr. Shanye gibt klare und gut verständliche Instruktionen. Allerdings wird man sich die DVD vorabmindestens 2 mal anschauen müssen. Das richtet sich nach dem eigenen Hintergrund. Ist Yoga- oder Kampfsporterfahrung vorhanden? Sehr schönes Workout, in dem auch Koordination und Balance trainiert werden. Macht man das regelmäßig, sollte man sowohl körperlich als auch geistig davon profitieren können. Schade, dass es hier noch keine Kurse gibt.

ポーズガイドもついているので、ヨガの動きは丁寧に説明されていました。ただし、マーシャルアーツの部分は…？型の習得？体幹を鍛える？全体を通して今ひとつ狙いが理解できませんでした。

I was getting slightly bored with doing regular yoga alone, and since I'd wanted to do martial arts for years (just never had the time or money), I thought I'd give this a go. And I absolutely loved it from the first time I did it!! I'm doing this practice 4-5 a week now, and starting to see results especially in the abs, arms and thigh areas.So, what this DVD is about: It starts with a 20 minute yoga section, that is based on one type of a sun-salutation. for the whole time your weight will be entirely either on your arms or your legs, as you "flow" between poses via the downward facing dog. For the whole time you will be using some muscles to the full, and there is no resting. This really gets your muscles going.Then, there is an about 20 minute martial arts section, that includes punches and kicks. for anyone who's done martial arts for a longer time, these will be fairly basic, but for anyone like me who's never done it, this is the bit that will really get you sweating and sore the next day. The fast kicks really test your balance as well as muscles.The last bit is few minutes of meditation, which is done standing up.And the bad points: practically nothing, but I'd say that the limited number of poses and movements is going to cross your mind at some point after you've been doing this for a few weeks. However, don't let this discourage you from starting. All the kicks and punches they show you are the basics you have to master perfectly before being able to move to more fancy movements and still look graceful. and this will take some time.Also on the DVD are a pose guide, that shows you clearly and slowly how each pose is done correctly, and a shorter workout for when you've mastered the basics and require less guidance during the practice.I'd recommend this to absolutely anyone, especially those who are looking for something extra to their yoga practices.