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52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good coverage but training information is old, February 17, 2003
This review is from: Fighting Power: How To Develop Explosive Punches, Kicks, Blocks, And Grappling (Paperback)
I have to start this review by complimenting the author on his enthusiasm and depth, his coverage of breaking tricks and his useful coverage of an unrelated topic: fighting strategy. For that, 5 stars. For the propagation of old information, 1 star. Most of the "strength" training information provided is actually that used by body builders to increase muscle mass: medium high
weight, 10 reps/set, 30 secs rest between sets, train to failure. Powerlifters do not train this way, but narcissists do. The author mentions a few descriptions of strength
training, such as the paragraph on Gracie's weight lifting
and another instance of low reps/high weight/big rest training
program. Also, he mentions fast twitch muscle fiber development, but usually in the wrong training context,
such as endurance training. Fast twitch fibers deliver a high
force output over short durations and are quickly exhausted.
You can't train for endurance *and* power without sacrificing
the other. The author also presents a forearm exercise routine
to increase grip strength. That's just mean. This makes me doubt that this book was written from personal experience.
He does write one paragraph on brick holding to increase
pinch grip power, but WAY more should be written on
finger and hand strength in a book on power training.
Check out John Brookfield's book on grip training. Wrist weight and dumbbell air punching is just plain ol' backwards and dangerous. You really want to avoid training
muscles to slow down additional weight. So, you would train
either to throw the weight or have it decelerated by a target
such as a heavy bag. This external deceleration is the entire value of heavy bag training, and the author should know better.
Dumbell punching is the opposite of heavy bag training. To give him credit, the author does mention the use of punching weights into a heavy bag and throwing weights. The routines provided will increase your power, but not as
efficiently as other methods. The author should
study modern strength and conditioning and update his book.
_Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning_ by Baechle and Earle . I anxiously await his second edition.
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best, February 7, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Fighting Power: How To Develop Explosive Punches, Kicks, Blocks, And Grappling (Paperback)
In his best-selling book Speed Training, Loren Christensen showed you how to develop lighting-quick hands and feet. In Fighting Power, he turns his attention to power. But your goal in developing power for the fighting arts is not to be able to lift heavy weights; it is to increase the power of your blocks, punches, kicks and throws. In this book, Christensen shows you how to Combine the most up-to-date modern techniques with classic exercises to increase flexibility and striking power. Use resistance exercises, such as free weights, dynamic tension and plyometrics, to make you quicker and stronger. Properly use body mechanics, especially hip rotation, to double your power. Master Bruce Lee's patented one-inch punch to knock down opponents of any size. Defend yourself against someone who already has extraordinary power. Maximize your fighting power by following this training regimen and start seeing results immediately.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Advice for the Novice, May 17, 2005
This review is from: Fighting Power: How To Develop Explosive Punches, Kicks, Blocks, And Grappling (Paperback)
While, as one reviewer states, some of this information is old, does not mean that the information is useless. I am still so surprised to run into martial artist, of all ranks, who do not crosstrain their bodies by adding heavey bag workouts and weight training.
While I do have some minor disagreements, all in all, this book is worth five stars for those who have traveled down the road to increase one's martial skills outside the dojo. Often I find martial artists, at the gym I attend, lazyly working on a heavy bag and in no way increasing their power, speed or stamina. This book may enlighten some of these more lazy or ignorant karateka and provide them some extra tools to train harder and smarter (I do not use the word ignorant here as a pagorative - we all have learning to do).
The chapter on weight trainingg is still needed. Yes, progress has been made in the last 25 years (I grew up in the era that weights slowed you down mindset), but we still need to spread the word that weight training is beneficial for martial arts. I have ran into many people, although less than during my initial training, who do not value any kind of resistance training. Many of them are surperb athiletes - how much more they could excell with this author's advice.
Other chapters are good as well and after one reads this book, I hope they will continue to train and read other texts to increase their martial skills and add to the material presented here.
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