Reviews for Complete Kicking: The Ultimate Guide to Kicks for Martial Arts Self-defense and Combat Sports

The average rating for Complete Kicking: The Ultimate Guide to Kicks for Martial Arts Self-defense and Combat Sports based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-01-28 00:00:00 William Qualls This is a technical book and from a review perspective there's not much point in my working through the details of a front kick (or any other) as presented in this volume. Still, there are a few points I'd like to make. I come at this from a karate perspective, though Master Kim writes from vast experience in Taekwondo. That said, good body mechanics for kicks are good body mechanics for kicks, and Master Kim goes into considerable detail on those body mechanics, as well as how each kick works, how it strikes, and what it's designed for. Personally, I think I would have liked a lot more in terms of photographs breaking out each kick. Fortunately, Master Kim has a website that can give you a lot of detail here plus a lot more detail on suggested exercises and drills to work on each kick'and not just images, but video. The photos present in the book are clear and descriptive, but more would have gone down nicely. He covers what to me are the familiar kicks very well. Front, side, roundhouse, and back--very thorough. There's also some good groundwork on kicks I'm familiar with but don't practice regularly, and here I'm thinking specifically of crescent kicks, inside and outside. There are a lot of other, lesser known kicks built into the book as well, though not all at the same level of detail. The "Unfamiliar Kicks", I've been thinking of them as. Things like the axe kick and the spinning hook kick. Neat stuff, and maybe fun to add a little variety to my training, but probably not as consistent parts of the regular regimen. As a martial artist, kicks have concerned me for a while. I've got some significant flexibility issues and these are mainly (okay, almost exclusively) in my legs. The legacy of a long, if not always consistent, career as a runner who couldn't be bothered to stretch. While I'm trying to improve that, progress is slow and I never seem to maintain enough of a stretching regimen to improve things noticeably. Perhaps that's the real problem. And you need to be flexible for good kicks. I'm not necessarily looking for high kicks, but I want my kicks to be better. So, in that respect, drills and exercises are the big thing, and this book has those. Paired with a book by the same author I read last year, "Martial Arts After 40", which I also enjoyed, I'm contemplating some significant changes in my exercise regimen, beyond the significant changes I'd already been contemplating to target other things. Overall writing: I liked this book and I'd probably squeak my rating up to 3.5 stars given the option. It's a solid book for what it offers, but the relative shortage of images in what needs to be a very visual book hurts things a bit.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-11-21 00:00:00 Calvin Animashaun This book is a must for any martial artist who wants to expand their knowledge of kicking and improve their technique. I read this book and found it well worth reading. Grandmaster Kim has many examples of how to kick, where your kicks should be placed and talks about the correct way to kick. He explains in detail where a given kick would be placed on the body and shows both proper and improper technique. He covers many different kicks in this book. I'd highly recommend this book.