Complete Kicking: The Ultimate Guide to Kicks for Martial Arts Self-Defense & Combat Sports

by Sang H. Kim

COMPLETE THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO KICKS FOR MARTIAL ARTS SELF-DEFENSE & COMBAT SPORTS is a comprehensive guide to the kicks of Taekwondo from white belt to black belt and beyond. Sang H. Kim shares his expert knowledge of fundamental, jumping, spinning and multiple kicks. You ll get in-depth instruction for over 40 kicks, including the purpose of the kick, key points to pay attention to when practicing, step-by-step execution of the kick, the best targets for each kick, applications for sport fighting and self-defense, plus the most common kicking mistakes and how to fix them. As you progress, you ll also learn exercises designed to improve your kicking flexibility, power, speed and balance. This book goes beyond the basics and explains the concepts behind awesome kicks including how to generate power using your whole body in every kick, how to generate maximum impact, how to use body mechanics to kick higher, and how to get the most out of every practice session. Complete Kicking is the ultimate reference for martial artists of all styles who want to master the art of kicking.

Genres: Martial Arts

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2009

About the author

Sang H. Kim is a martial artist, author, teacher, motivator, and researcher. He has authored over 20 books including the widely acclaimed Vital Point Strikes and the classics Ultimate Flexibility, Martial Arts After 40, Teaching Martial Arts, and 1001 Ways to Motivate Yourself & Others. Dr. Kim conducted clinical research on the effects of mindful movement and deep breathing (MBX-12) for treating PTSD, and published the results in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and was featured in CBS News, Huffington Post, Fox News, and others. He was born in South Korea, moved to the United States in 1985, created over 200 martial arts video programs for YouTube.

Reviews

[Gordon W. Kraft III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

A very nice overview of various kicks including how to perform each kick and use them in kicking combinations. The tips for training and pointers for how to properly execute the various kicks were very helpful.

[Lance Schonberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Marguerite Nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

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Thank you First Reads for winning this free book. I will read and review soon.