Archive for Book Review
Book Review:Dragons Touch by Hei Long
Posted by: | CommentsBook Review: “Dragons Touch, Weaknesses of the human anatomy” by Hei Long
This isn’t a huge volume so the review will be pretty brief too.
The preface of this book is a comment on the USA martial arts scene and a plea for combining solid techniques with the knowledge of this book.
In the introduction, the author talks about karma to explain that this knowledge isn’t to be abused. He states his belief that if you take a life unjustly, you will be punished for it later in life. Next is the classification of the targets. Mr. Long uses 2 categories: Numerical, which describes the anatomical level (brain, cardio-respiratory, muscular, skeletal, etc.) and alphabetical, which describes the physical reaction to striking a specific point (pain, structural damage, unconsciousness and death). I very much appreciate this system for it’s clarity and lack of complexity.
The main part of the book now follows with an anatomical and physiological review of the target areas, followed by a series of photos demonstrating techniques that could be used to attack them. There are 43 targets described, located on the head, back, chest, abdomen, groin and legs. The author also shows from which angle the targets should be attacked. Read More→
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Book review: Dynamic Stretching and Kicking by Bill “Superfoot” Wallace
Posted by: | CommentsBook review: “Dynamic Stretching and Kicking” by Bill “Superfoot” Wallace
Bill Wallace is one of the big names in American martial arts. He was a successful Karate point fighter and then turned to full contact competitions. He’s most famous for using only his lead leg to kick with and doing so with great success. You can also see him in a few older martial arts movies, usually playing the bad guy.
This book is another one of those “oldies”in my library (first published in 1981). I used the information in it to enhance my kicking skills when I just started competing. As a heavyweight, I often fought opponents who were perhaps strong but not that skillful because they relied on their strength too much. I wasn’t the strongest fighter around, but I often managed to be a bit faster than the others, especially with my kicking techniques. Part of the success I enjoyed in these competitions is due to this book. As time went by, I was confronted with the limitations of this method, but more on that later.
The book starts out with a short introduction to basic anatomy, physiology and kinesiology of stretching. These topics are covered very briefly, but they do give some useful background information. At the end of this chapter, some useful pointers are given: Keep your back straight, don’t bounce, etc.
Bill "Superfoot" Wallace
Next are some warm-up exercises covering the major joints and muscles. The format in which they are presented is one of the best I have seen so far, but it has sadly not been copied much in martial arts books. Each exercise is presented with several pictures. On the opposite page is an explanation of the physiological benefits, the number of repetitions to be performed, Martial arts benefits and some pointers. This way, you know exactly what to do, why it is important and what mistakes to be attentive to.
Even though most exercises are good enough, there are some that would be considered advanced or not good for you these days. E.g.: certain hip rotations, lower back stretches and bridging exercises. Besides these few, the exercises certainly have their use. Read More→
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Book Review:”Training and Fighting skills” by Benny “The Jet” Urquidez
Posted by: | CommentsBook review: “Training and Fighting Skills”
Benny “The Jet” Urquidez is somewhat of a legend in the USA. He is one of the pioneers of full-contact fighting and to his credit, one of the first to fight with leg-kicks. He started his study of the martial arts at the age of 8 and had a successful competitive career in the traditional (non-contact) Karate tournaments. Full-contact fighting emerged in the USA in 1974 and Benny switched to this type of competition. He continued to have a long and prosperous career with many world champion titles, before retiring as a professional fighter. He has also worked in motion pictures as an actor, fight choreographer and trainer of actors.
Here’s an old fight of his:
This book is actually quite old (first published in 1981) but is still sold today. It was one of the first books on full-contact fighting I bought and at the time, my impression was largely positive. These days, I have a more nuanced opinion, which I’ll explain in a bit.
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Book review: Meditations on Violence by Rory Miller
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s the book review I promised: “Meditations on Violence” by Rory Miller:
The book starts with a foreword by Steve Barnes, followed by a short introduction and preface.
Chapter one covers “The Matrix” but Keanu Reeves doesn’t show up anywhere so don’t worry. Instead,Rory explains a tactical and strategic framework that helps you determine what your martial arts is best suited for.
The next chapter covers “how to think” and gives you some interesting concepts on how to approach learning and training for self defense or martial arts. Rory talks about how you can fool yourself easily, even if you’ve trained for a long time. He also takes a critical look at the different sources knowledge can come from and how to think in the moment when you’re smack in the middle of a fight.
Then we move on to the different types of violence where he describes the common characteristics of real-world violence and the human body’s reaction to it. Another topic is how violence is time-related and happens in specific places.
The fourth chapter goes into detail about the criminals you want to learn to defend against. This chapter is very interesting as Rory gives several examples from his experience with them as a corrections officer. He explains how they think, act and feel in relation to the violence they commit.
Read More→
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Book Review: “Fighting in the Clinch” by Loren W. Christensen and Mark Mireless
Posted by: | CommentsAnother book review for you: “Fighting in the Clinch“ by Loren W. Christensen and Mark Mireless:
The book starts with a foreword by Big John McCarthy of UFC fame and then goes right into the nuts and bolts of clinching. The authors briefly cover clinch models for Greco-Roman, Freestyle, Judo, Sambo, Western Boxing, Muay Thai and what they call “Street Slop”
Next up is the fighting stance and some footwork drills. Chapter three goes into the outer-perimeter clinch and goes into detail on concepts like the tie ups, controlling the box, the post, clearing his arms, inside control, hand fighting, set ups and much more.
Chapter four is a big one, it covers a variety of takedowns for the street and how to get them. The chapter starts off with an interesting section of “do’s and dont’s” and then delves into the techniques: double leg, single leg, high C, lift and slam, they’re all there.
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Lost Victories by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein
Posted by: | CommentsI read this book a while ago and wasn’t sure I’d review it here. I’ve always had a fascination with history, which is why I read it book in the first place. But as it’s not directly related to the usual topics of this blog, I wasn’t sure to publish this post. I’ll cover why I did so anyway in a bit. Here’s the review.
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein was one of Hitler’s most brilliant commanders and a keen strategic mind. He had a distinguished career and played a crucial role throughout WWII: The Battle of the Bulge, the Crimean campaign, The battles of Leningrad and Stalingrad, Operation Citadel, to name but the most notorious. Given the many victories he obtained, it’s safe to say he was one of the key commanders of the German forces throughout the war. He was later dismissed by Hitler, served a prison sentence after the war and acted as senior adviser to Western Germany after his release. For a bit more information, check out his Wikipedia page.
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Here’s another old review: Indonesian fighting fundamentals: The brutal arts of the archipelago by Bob Orlando. I cleaned it up a bit and added some extra information. Enjoy!
Bob Orlando is a martial arts teacher and writer perhaps best known for his knowledge of Penchak Silat and Kuntao. In this book, he explains the fundamental principles that form the backbone of these two arts. As these are also covered in the video Fighting Arts of Indonesia, I will not go into great detail about them here but will do so in another review. I’d rather tell you some more about the material that isn’t covered in the video.
Bob Orlando on the right, about to punch one of my students.
The book starts with a foreword and preface, including some acknowledgments. There is also a note to the reader, giving information on the demonstrated techniques, clothing and spelling used. In the introduction, Bob defines some terms, explains how the book came about and stresses the value of concepts and principles.
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