New book - your help needed!

Yes, timing and distancing drills will come under the "kicking footwork" chapter.

Hopefully I'll address each topic in depth and with accuracy so that it's as useful as possible to the reader(s).

Thanks I did a rough estimate and I reckon it's going to be 400+ pages. At the very least you'll be able to use as a prop if your dinner table is wonky!

 

I'll absolutely be including it in there - wouldn't be much of a kicking book without the Thai round kick!

It's a bit of a pipe dream, but I'm hoping this book will promote cross-training between kicking arts. TKDers learn from Thai boxers and vice versa, etc.

I'll be drawing on footwork from kickboxing, MT, TKD, Savate, Taekkyon, Pananjakman, Tang Soo Do, Capoeira, and Wushu, among others.

 

You raise a very good point and you might like to know I've already covered this in Chapter 1 of the first draft ("Anatomy, Physiology, and Kinesiology of Flexibility.")

A great book that was ahead of it's time and one that inspired me a long time ago to be a writer. Hopefully this book will benefit athletes just like Bill's DS&K did for you.

Never get tired of seeing that video. You are a superb athlete sir

 

I am sorry to hear you are plagued by an injury and I hope you recover soon. It may be of interest to you to note that I'm writing this book to specifically address hip injuries (as well as all the other points raised in this thread so far). I had hip replacement surgery a month ago and my goal is to use this book as a medium to prove my flexibility methods really do work.

Even though the book is not yet published drop me a PM and I'd be happy to share some of the hip exercises with you.

 

Fantastic, I'll definitely buy a copy.

Do you have any other flexibility books that differ from yours that you'd recommend?

 

One thing I'd caution is aiming too high with this book.
By that I mean trying to fit too much in, diluting the basic premise and maybe failing to complete it.
It seems to me that it has already developed from a book about stretching for martial arts to now include a personal treatise on kicking methodology too.
I know personally I've messed up many a venture by trying to include far to much (especially in the early days) when a more streamlined and focused approach would have worked better.

Don't get me wrong...I think this sounds a great book idea and would fill a niche but I'd rather you aimed at producing something managable and actually get it out than aim for a big all things to all people book that stays on your PC.

 

That depends on what you're looking for. If you want an encyclopaedia on the science of stretching, then "Stretching Scientifically" by Tom Kurz will probably never be bettered. If you like your stretching with a twist of sarcasm then "Relax into Stretch" by Pavel Tsatsouline is very good. If you want more of a total-body conditioning approach then "Elastic Steel" by Paul Zaichik will be more to your liking.

They all offer something different to one another, as I hope my book will do too!

 

The main theme of the book has always been about developing the ability to do splits and high kicks. The difference between this book and others is that it tells the reader specifically how to do x, y, and z, rather than "now you can split, go learn how to kick from somewhere else." And rather than focus exclusively on kicking-based flexibility I provide room for grappling flexibility, such as improving your rubber guard. But kicking was always my main focus and I think the new outline is a natural evolution

I absolutely appreciate what you're saying. It's like me grandpappy used to say: If you don't keep your feet on the ground your ideas will never take off!

 

Your beginners guide to flexibility was really helpful to me. I can't wait to read this! Any predicted date of completion?

 

Hopefully it will be ready for release in the autumn.

 

Cool, thanks.

Relax into stretch and elastic steel sound good, what are the main differences and do either book require equipment to get the most out of?

 

They promote very similar methods to each other, and to Kurz. You can find explanations of these methods in the "Beginner's Guide to Flexibility" in this forum. Further differences are that Pavel is funnier and he can spell. Paul's requires the use of resistance bands. Pavel's has lots of advertisements for his other products, and Paul seems to sell 5 products for the same purpose!

 

Thank you!

 

Have you considered using short youtube clips to give ‘stretching tips’ to help promote the book?

Elastic Steel/Paul Zaichik seems to have used this method quite well.

 

Hi Andy, it's a great idea and I'll hopefully get round to doing something similar. I think the difference between Paul's and mine (if/when I do them) will be that mine will have more of an MA approach. Paul's seem to be more about general athletic conditioning.

 

i didn't read most of it. but ill put in my quick bit

im 16, i started tkd training at 8, stopped at 13, only recently come back.

now, i remember we did alot of passive stretching, followed by dynamic stretching and such.

and even now, after coming back, i can do knee raises with absolute ease, i can touch my knee to my shoulder with minimal effort.

the thing that i think made the difference, and this is just from my point of view. is that, i had friends my age training at the same time, and there was an element of competition. even in who could hold each stretch longer and who can stretch further.

Ill note, during those 3 years with out tkd. i did 0 activity.

no sports at all...

 

I only have one problem when doing any kind of high kick, is that I get a viscious pain in the side of my hip from time to time, mainly on side kicks, but also happens when going from chamber to round kick position.
I can do high knee raises, touching my knee to my shoulder easily, but lateral movement can cause this pain.
I used to do Capoeira, and never had this problem with some of the more crazy kicks

 

Rotate your pelvis by pushing your bum to the rear more.

 

Things like this would be good to have mutible pics of from diffrent angles. I think that is why I like video. Alot of times you can see more than the person can explain.

Let us know when this book is out. I will suport it.

Is it going to be an E-Book, or will you have it published (or publish it yourself)?

 

Not a big fan of e-books, so definitely a paper version. Already got a publisher lined up