Most real martial artists cringe when they see a martial arts fitness video. Form is usually bad, function is nonexistent and skills goes down the drain. Try mixing that with a dance component, and most martial artists would be squirming in their gis (karate uniform) when they find a cross followed by a mambo.

But if you aren't concerned about learning martial arts and are just concerned with getting in a good, fun working, this dance/kickbox Crunch video fits the bill.

Like most Crunch videos, it's got an energetic instructor in Jeanette Jenkins (you may know her as a trainer to such stars as Queen Latifah and Terrell Owens). She leads a group of seven people in a Crunch studio. They have smiles glued on their faces and their frequent "woos" will either motivate you or drive you crazy. Same goes for Jenkins' incessant encouragement: "work it" and "own it." I found it invigorating, but others may not be so charmed.

The video begins with a five-minute warmup. It is then followed by several dance-kickbox segments where you might find something as unusual as a knee-kick-jab-jab cross combination followed by a tap out and hip roll.

The final 4 minutes of this 45-minute workout are spent in a cool-down and stretch.

The video is high-energy, which means you will work up a sweat and get your heart rate, and if that's your goal, then this might be a fun video for you. However, if you are trying to learn kickboxing, look elsewhere.

`Crunch: Super-charged Kickbox Party'

$14.98 DVD

Grade: B