Customer Reviews

Fighting Power: How To Develop Explosive Punches, Kicks, Blocks, And Grappling

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Miyamoto Musashi, arguably the greatest swordsman who ever lived, advocated quickness and power as superior to strength and speed. Exceptional martial artists in every style demonstrate both quickness and power in all their applications, overwhelming opponents with seemingly little effort. Mr. Christensen's best selling book Speed Training covered the quickness aspect. This outstanding book covers power. As always it is well written, easy to follow, and easily incorporated into your martial training.

Subjects covered include ki power, ancient (traditional) exercises, modern weight resistance training, plyometrics (elastic strength/explosiveness), isometrics (resistance training), dynamic tension, developing a powerful neck, pushups, abdominals, kicking power, punching power, bag work, timing, and defending against power. You will learn how to use proper body mechanics and hip rotation to markedly increase your power. Even Bruce Lee's famous 1-inch punch is explained with sufficient clarity that most martial artists will be able to perform it themselves.

Christensen really knows his stuff. He began his martial arts training in 1965 and over the years has earned 10 black belts, 7 in karate, 2 in jujitsu, 1 in arnis. As the author of 29 books, he has received high praise for his easy-to-read, informative writing style from readers and book reviewers in the United States, France and Russia. He is a retired police officer with some 30 years experience in military and civilian law enforcement.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction

I've read other books on this subject but this one was the best by far. I've been following the book's exercizes and my punches and kicks have been more powerful and I could be able to take a good punch to my stomach and chest! Even if you're not a trained fighter or in enrolled in any martial arts programs, this book still gives you an edge and a lot of confidence!

I liked this book. I've incorporated several of the exercises over the last six months and have improved in my punching and kicking. My backfists especially have gotten stronger from the lying backfist/tricep extension exercise. My front and roundhouse kicks have really improved power wise and, to my surprise, Ive added some nice muscle in my thighs.

Good book.

This is a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their fighting skills/knowledge, whether it be self defense or professional fighting.

What I like about Loren W. Christensen is that he's the real deal: He's been both a military and civilian policeman and has had plenty of violent encounters. Unlike many non blooded martial arts experts, he tells you the truth of actual combat i.e. forget all the flashy moves and keep it simple. As a student of Krav Maga, that's a philosophy I can wholly relate to.

In this book Christensen lays out a wide variety of exercises and techniques to bring power to your martial arts moves. I liked very much that he points out that not every exercise is likely to be beneficial to you, and that he encourages experimentation to see what kinds of variations you might come up with. There's quite a bit of valuable information related, everything from an expose of martial arts "superhuman" feats, to sections on shin toughening and even Bruce Lee's legendary one inch punch. The writing is clear and concise. A few times I wished for more photos, but with effort you can work everything out from the words alone.

There are a few things I wouldn't try and I wouldn't advise anyone else to try, but to his credit Christensen does give warnings of exercises that can be damaging. As another reviewer noted, much of the information is old, but it's still valuable in my opinion to have it so carefully and clearly brought together in one book. I'm a firm believer in muscle confusion, and this is the kind of book you can flip through and easily find something new to add to your training which will keep your muscles challenged and guessing.

My only quibble with the book is the author's attitude in regards to forearm training. Bruce Lee believed that forearm development was a vital ingredient in powerful punches, and worked at it accordingly. Christensen says that forearm training is important, but insists they needn't be trained more than any other muscle group. I think one need only look at Mr.Christensen's forearms in comparison to Bruce Lee's to see a decided difference. I would have to side with Mr.Lee on the question of how much to train the forearms.

All in all, this is a great book for the martial artist looking for techniques to improve his/her power. Much of the material really got me excited and has certainly put some variety in my training sessions. I also love the way how at the end of the book Christensen reminds us that ultimately we study the martial arts for self defense, and shouldn't get too lost in the pretty moves and flashy nuances. Something we should all keep in mind.

There are a lot of martial artists out there who think their fists and feet are dynamite. Well, they are in for a big surprise when they have to defend themselves and find the attacker still standing and looking at them. Follow the advice in this great book and you will make your techniques powerful. Christensen explains and demonstrates dozens of exercises that will make your techniques powerful. In one chapter he discusses how various systems develop power and in another he discusses many ancient exercises as to whether they are still valid today. I've been training for a long time and I highly recommend this book.

Buy this book! Its well written, down to the point. This guy knows what he is talking about. And I really like the thing that he looks like an average beer drinking martial arts teacher who spends lots of time with his family. He doesnt claim to be a champion or anything, he is just great!
The knowledge you get from this book and the results you will get from training these exercises are invaluable!!!