Karate Countdown

Sport Stories

by Jake Maddox, Sean Tiffany (Illustrator), Eric Stevens (Contributor)

When Kenny's anger problem gets out of control, his father signs him up for karate lessons. But even in karate class, Kenny can't get a grip on his temper. He's getting a reputation for being angry. With help from his karate teacher, will Kenny be able to calm down long enough to focus and win? .

Genres: Sports

73 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 19, 2008

About the author

Who is Jake Maddox? Athlete, author, world-traveler–or all three? He has surfed in Hawaii, scuba-dived in Australia, and climbed the mountains of Peru and Alaska. His books range from the most popular team sports to outdoor activities to survival adventures and even to auto racing. His exploits have inspired numerous writers to walk in his footsteps–literally! Each of his stories is stamped with teamwork, fair play, and a strong sense of self-worth and discipline. Always a team-player, Maddox realizes it takes more than one man (or woman) to create a book good enough for a young reader. He hopes the lessons learned on the court, field, or arena and the champion sprinter pace of his books can motivate kids to become better athletes and lifelong readers.

Reviews

[Nick C · Rating 5 out of 5]

So i am reading karate countdown by jake maddox and it is about a kid who gets mad really easy and gets in trouble at school because he gets so mad so his dad signs him up for karate classes so he could get help with his anger troubles and finally he gets his troubles behind him and gets past it.


He adds so many details and it makes you feel like you are there and he gets mad a lot and the author adds so many detail and that when i was reading it i felt the madness too because there was so many details in it i the madness that he was feeling this is why i think this book is really good because you can feel what the character was feeling witch i think is a author.


I think this is a good author is good because he really drags you into situations that make you feel like you are there and you are the character in the story and you are feeling want the character is feeling and it was an easy book but there might be some words that just pop out of nowhere and i might not be a word you have heard before which is good because it making you good at reading first and second it lets you learn new words and the ending was really good i enjoyed it a lot and my favorite part was when he made him sit at the window and count all the people that get off the bus and that part was the answer to his anger.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is our second in a row from Maddox and once again - he's definitely got a talent for giving an entertaining and thoughtful and funny sports-related story that just might be able to sneak in a 'teachable moment' without young readers realizing it.

(And if you took karate as a kid and decades later had your own kids take classes... this will definitely resonant with you as well.)

Kiai! Oos!

[RobertH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Karate Countdown is about Kenny's anger problems getting out of control and is making school work difficult for him and getting him frustrated. All because from his mom dieing, his father signs him up for karate lessons. But even in karate class, Kenny can't get a grip on his temper. He's getting a reputation for being angry. He goes to the Karate lessons every saturday,then he gets angry at his sensei for whatever reason and yells at his sensei, by this point sensei has had enough and makes Kenny go look out the window and count how many people come off the bus.Kenny uses this trick every time he gets angry and frustrated because this calms him. The tournament is finally here Kenny is in the last round vs the kid that punched him in the chest…. Kenny wins the tourney and has solved his anger problems.

The lesson of this book is to find the solution to your problem on not let it control you. Like how Kenny let his anger get to him,but this is his solution when sensei told him he has to sit at the window and count how many people get out of the bus and it calms him so every time gets angry and frustrated he counts the first three people get off...Old Lady...Mom with 2 Kids...Teenager.He was calm right after he was done he was happy again.

I think it is a very good book I recommend this book,the reason why I like this book it shows more intensity and shows more of him progressing into a better person and he’s learning a lot of things while working on his anger problems. It wasn't to confusing it was straightforward and didn’t really confuse you.It was kinda easy to read you just need to understand it more.It was pretty predictable but really cool.My favorite part was when the sensei slammed him into the ground.

[Will]

While i might have chosen both "Karate: Japanese Empty-Hand Combat" by Garrison Wells and "Karate Countdown" by Jake Maddox for mostly superficial reasons, after looking over both, I think that they are a potent combination for any youths, but particularly for young boys struggling with anger issues. Originally, i saw "Karate" and thought that was something I was really into as a kid, so it is sure to appeal to other young readers, and with a simple search I found "Karate Countdown". However, after reading the synopsis to "Karate Countdown", i knew that this book was a perfect choice. It touches on many typical experiences that children may go through growing up (in particular, young boys) ranging from topics like moving, bullies, and anger issues. Using karate as a form of self discipline, Jake Maddox is able to explore this issues while also providing an interesting backdrop. Also, by pairing this book with "Karate", the students can learn the fine details about karate as well as many terms that might not fully be explained during the story.

[Gemma Duling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction:
I liked this book because of the plot. It was different than other books I have read and I think some kids can relate to the story.

Purpose:
I would use this book for second graders because it is a chapter book and has limited pictures. This book talks about the loss of a parent, so it would be helpful for children who can relate to this story. The boy in the story has anger issues and his dad puts him in a karate class to help deal with it. Kids can read this and it will help them realize that they are not alone.

[Ben Stiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because it has a important lesson about patients. You should check out this book!

[Alex Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

It teaches a really good lesson.