 Cardio Kickboxing has been around for quite some time and under various names, programs such as Tybo with Billy Blanks or Intensity Training and even P90X workouts. Regardless of the name, there is no question that Cardio Kickboxing can be a heck of a workout and even give people an introductory taste to the martial arts. But where does fitness end and self-defense begin? Today we ask the question, is Cardio Kickboxing good for self-defense? So Cardio Kickboxing has a name kickboxing in it, which is boxing with kicks. I know we're getting really cerebral here aren't we? Most programs will incorporate a structured regimen of punching and kicks which are definitely related to the martial arts, but the question here is just how effective would these programs actually be in a life-saving situation? Is Cardio Kickboxing good for self-defense? Well, let's look at some reasons why it is, some reasons why it might not be, and then we'll give you our definitive conclusion. Okay, so let's take a look at some ways that a Cardio Kickboxing or a fitness class can give you some advantages when it comes to defending yourself. The first one right off the bat that comes to mind is endurance, and that's a big selling point for these workout programs, these Cardio programs. It's right there in the name Cardio Kickboxing, Cardio. You're building up your endurance, you're breathing, you're enhancing your performance. So just that alone, by increasing that, there's a multitude of ways that can come in handy in defending yourself. One, fights don't always last very long, but they expel a lot of energy. So you want to have the energy to stand your ground. Two, if you're not experienced in fighting or if you have an opportunity to escape, that gives you the endurance to run. If you have the opportunity to run, you can run. So endurance is a big thing. Secondly, it actually develops at least some modicum of punching and kicking technique. It may not be as, have the finesse or the exact technicalities as Muno trained in the dojo, but you are learning to punch and kick. You're at least getting some mechanical work in there. It's better than nothing, because a lot of people who don't know how to strike might just flail their hands out. You know, that's how you end up with broken wrists, broken fingers. You don't have to hold a punch or even make a fist. So at least it teaches that much. And not only with endurance, it helps you lose weight, helps you get into shape. And that overall is going to affect your big picture of performance, whether you have to fight and stand your ground, whether you're just working out or you have to sprint and run and escape. It all plays into the other. It builds speed and confidence. You know, there's the expression, slow is smooth, smooth is fast. A lot of people right off the bat just like to be fast. They like to go out and just go, without really focusing on the technique. So get that technique down. And cardio kickboxing as a beginner, I'm hoping that the class will teach you a proper punch, you know, cross punch or whatever the techniques are and that you can do them slow and you become fast with it. So overall, over time, your strikes should become faster, should you be forced to have to use them. It also builds up confidence. You know, you start to feel good. You start to feel like you're getting some ability. We've got to warn, if there could be a false sense of confidence, it doesn't make you a fighting machine. But it's at least starting to make you feel better and healthier and stronger. It develops muscle memory. You repeat stuff enough, it becomes reactionary. And sometimes that can make a difference between defending yourself or not, being having that quick reaction time when you need it. If it's a good cardio kickboxing class or fitness class, they will sometimes have you working on actual targets, hand targets, pads, heavy bags, whatever. Making some contact is better than nothing. Doing things in the air is fine, but there's nothing quite like actually striking something, getting some hits in, getting the feel of striking a target. Because it's one thing to work in the air, it is completely something else to strike something. And just as an added benefit, you know, working out like this, cardio kickboxing, exerting this energy, doing pad work, it does wonders for stress and anxiety. You know, a lot of us have a lot of pressure, a lot of stress in our lives. A workout such as this, definitely can help relieve some of that tension. But now, let's have a look at why cardio kickboxing is not good for self-defense. Okay, so what are some reasons why cardio kickboxing is not good for self-defense? First and foremost, there's a lot more to defending yourself than just throwing punches and kicks in the air. I don't care how well executed you learn to do them in the air. There's mechanics that are not at play. You're not really focusing on a particular body. You're not targeting strikes. You're not actually working on the person. You're doing it for cardio. It's for health, it's for fitness, it's for endurance, not self-defense. So the intention is not there for self-defense. So that's one main problem. The second thing too is, it typically employs just basic moves. You know, in a cardio kickboxing class, you'll have your jabs, your crosses, your punches, and your slide-up kicks, your round kicks. Some of your basic kicks and your basic techniques. There's not a whole curriculum and there's not a whole regimen. And there doesn't need to be a whole regimen of techniques. Again, it's for fitness. It's for longevity. It is for repetitiveness. It's for losing weight. So at the very least, there's a streamlined curriculum there if you even want to call it that. It also doesn't teach the application of self-defense. There's no constant of a person grabbing you and actually choking you, attacking you, grabbing your arm, trying to guide you, multiple people. That is a huge factor in self-defense. Again, more than just punches and kicks, you have to actually understand the dynamic. If someone puts their hands on you and there's no grappling too, if someone puts their hands on you, you have to be able to feel that. You have to be able to know how to respond to that. What applications work, what anatomy, what kind of anatomical responses they're gonna have. And that's a big part of training for self-defense that you're just not gonna get from a fitness class. Another thing that's lacking, and this is a big one, is sparring. I don't care what art you train in and we say this time and time and time again. If you want to learn to defend yourself, you have to spar. You have to apply on a resistant partner. Otherwise, you don't know if it's gonna work. And chances are it's not gonna work if you have not had the opportunity to apply it in a pressure-tested format. I don't care how hard you can hit a pad, you have to apply it to a person who's trying to hit you back. And finally, it's lacking in a lot of primary objectives for self-defense. And fighting is not the only way to defend yourself. There's environmental awareness. There's understanding of action versus reaction. There's the grappling, like we mentioned. There's all sorts of other aspects and lifestyles and awareness in teachings and academics that you get in a dojo or you get in an actual tactical self-defense program. Weapons is another thing. There's a lot of things that play into self-defense than just doing techniques in the air. So overall, even though there's some benefits to doing cardio kickboxing that could absolutely help you defend yourself, these are a lot of things missing. And to be fair, that's fine. There's no reason for these to be included because the whole purpose of a cardio program, again, is cardio. It's for a workout. But it's important to understand the difference between what you are getting out of it and what you aren't in regards to the context of self-defense. Okay, so there could be a little bit of middle ground here. As long as you understand that it's a cardio program, there are still some things you can do and add in to your cardio training that might give you a little bit of a leg up or a couple extra advantages if you have to defend yourself. So for this part of the topic, I'm going to refer to a 2012 article from Black Belt Magazine that talks about 10 different ways you can adapt a cardio kickboxing class to help adapt it for self-defense. Now, I'm only going to pick out a couple of my favorite ones. You can find the right ones or one of my favorite ones. You can find the rest of them in the article. There's a link in the description below. So be sure to check that out after the episode. But here's a few things you can do that you can add to your cardio training that might give you at least a little bit of advantage for self-defense. The first thing you do is not just doing the punches and kicks in the air, but learn adaptive techniques like maybe try some open hand strikes instead of just fists. There's a lot of extra techniques you can do with open hand strikes. They're very powerful. Punches are good, but so are open hand strikes. And also, too, I'm going to get sandwiched in the wrist sometimes. And here's from a legal point of view. If you have to strike somebody in self-defense, it looks a lot better to have hands open and hands closed. If you've got scars on your knuckles and the outside of your hand versus maybe whatever marks on the inside, it's easier to say, hey, I was in the defensive position versus aggressive. Another thing you can do is actually strike something. Make it a priority to hit pads. Has someone hold a hand target for you? Something. Another suggestion to add is to implement sprints into your workout. If you're in a big open area or gym, do a couple of strikes in the pad, sprint and come back. Work that in there. It helps with your longevity. It helps with your endurance. It also helps you escape if you have to run. It gets you that running practice. So get used to doing some strikes and getting out of there. So adding sprints to your workout is a great tip. Now we talked about, you know, adapting your punches to open hand techniques. Don't stop there. Go ahead and add other elements, other strikes. You know, you've got elbows, you've got knees, you know? You know, this punch kick is fine, but driving elbows to the pad, knee strikes into the pad, finger strikes, add additional attacks and techniques that you can employ. And do something, work on the pad. Work on a partner if you can. So practice them in the air. Don't just limit yourself to punches and kicks. Just think about all the different weapons the body has. Learn the techniques to use those weapons and add them to your workout. Do a whole routine on that heavy pad using a variety of different techniques. And the last one we're gonna talk about right now is, and I think this is often overlooked, but very, very important, practice techniques that you can do in regular clothing. Sometimes we forget how binding normal everyday wear can be. If you're wearing a skirt or high heels or tight jeans or boots, it's different than being in sweats or in a gi. So practice techniques that you can do in regular clothes. Also, cardio kickboxing promotes a lot of high kicking. That's cool, that's impressive. But again, that's also something that you have to test in your clothes. And also make sure it's not something that you have to stretch out first. You know, especially like I can relate to this as I get older and I haven't trained as much as I used to. If I'm gonna do any head level kicks, I have to stretch. I can't do them right out the gate. Try not to have to rely on stuff that you need to stretch and warm up and work out first. Practice techniques, cultivate techniques that you can do quickly without a workout regimen and you can do in regular clothes. So those are just some of my favorite tips that I pull from your article. Again, go check out the link below. You can read the rest of it. There are still some things you can do that you can add back into the mix to at least enhance your cardio workout to make it a little bit more effective than just your standard cardio kicking program. Overall, my impression is that it is a dedicated exercise program that get you into better shape. Can it help you in defending yourself? Absolutely. And in fact, many martial arts schools will include a cardio kickboxing program themselves as a supplement alternative class. But if protecting yourself is your goal, that would definitely invest in a more robust or focused program that specializes in self defense. Thank you so much for watching. If you like our content, then please help support us on Patreon or YouTube memberships. It helps us keep the channel running and we also produce and release exclusive content for our members. So click on the links below in the description or hit the join button to learn more before signing up. Thanks for watching.