Solo Training: The Martial Artist's Guide to Training Alone [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

für alle, denen das training in der gruppe einfach nicht reicht und die schneller fortschritte machen möchten, kann ich dieses bucht sehr empfehlen. so viele ideen für so wenig geld wird man sonst nirgens bekommen. ich würde das dopelte für das buch bezahlen

This book actually is one of my favourites. The author provides a lot of possible techniques how to make one's training more fun and more rewarding. But he also gives tips how to chose one's training time and makes many additional remarks. His funny way of presenting each technique makes you feel like jumping on your feet, take your fighting clothes and start practising immediately.

This is one of the few books I actually bought but did not finish because it was simply too bad. There are 4 main issues I have with this book:

1. Bad/Useless techniques
About the "Funny kick" he says himself that it is very stressful on the kneejoint but has little impact. After trying it on the heavy bag I would say "little" is overstating it. In my opinion that particular kick has a higher probability to rip your knee apart then to do any real damage. To counter the low impact he tells you to use it against the groin but he describes the technique as circular and connecting with the outside edge of the foot. The outside edge is 10 inches long. Show me a position that opens the groin enough to connect with a 10 inch surface from a circular path (think roundhouse kick to the groin and collapse in laughter).
And this is not the only technique of that type. The book is filled with those kinds of useless stuff. Kicks that do little damage but leave you open to devastating counters (The way he describes an inside knee strike it would bruise your oponents ribs but leave your groin exposed for a hard upward knee strike...My eyes water even at the thought of using that kick).
Another good example of this is the U-Punch (Punching with both hands at the same time, leaving your lower body unguarded, moving your center of gravity to the left of your body and doing no damage because the you basically can't get your hips into the movement for one of the punches without moving them in the wrong direction for the other) and the tai-Chi push (Upward push to the lower ribcage, leaves your head completely unprotected against attacks and is offset by the execution of a forward crunching motion by your opponent which he will, coincidentally, do as part of the attack he is sure to launch to your head).

2. Bad/Uncreative Training ideas
The reason I bought this book was to spice up my training. Doing the same stuff over and over got boring and because of an injury I can't really train with a partner (A counter to the wrong spot could leave me with a permanently screwed hand). And in this the book did disappoint big time.
After every new technique presented the author gives you "training advice" (3 sets of 15 kicks, 2 sets of 20 punches,...) and then, in the "workout plans" it's "Do roundhouse kicks, then back kicks, then ..., 2 minute break, do straight punches,..). So I am supposed to train the techniques I know by repetition? Really? Who would have thought? I really needed this book to tell me because none of my trainers ever told me to "Do it until it becomes your second nature, until every muscle in your body knows exactly what to do."
When I bought the book I hoped for something creative. A trainer once had me do groundfighting in the dark or blindfolded so I could train to feel how the shifting of the weight of my opponent telegraphed his next attack. A friend told me about a trainer who made a tape with random loud noises, music, explosions, construction sounds, car horns and set up strobe lights...and he had them training with that in the background to develop focus for your techniques and not to get distracted. I had hoped for something of that caliber.
Instead his great idea was "kick a balloon around to improve your kicking technique and develop cardiovascular strength. Do not let it get to the ground"..."improve" might be the wrong word here. Most techniques work horizontally (sidekick, frontkick, mid roundhouse) or downward (low roundhouse). I know of only one kick that really works upward and that is a snapkick to the groin. So to keep your balloon in the air would be to either use only upward snapkicks or to do the techniques wrong on purpose. I can't think of any worse advice.

3. Insufficient/Bad explanations.
Some techniques that are complicated are basically not explained at all. A good example is the "Back Kick". "When you have your left foot forward, execute a lead-leg back kick by turning your upper body to the right and thrusting your left foot straight into the target. To execute a turning back-kick, turn your upper body to the right and thrust your right foot into the target. Always look over the shoulder of the side that is kicking." Got it? I had to read it two times. And if you think there is one picture of that in the books, you'd be wrong.
But what got 2 pictures and half a page of explanation was the "bend over side kick". That is a sidekick that you do while being bend over at the hip. That's it. I personally had no need of being told that I could kick to the side while being bend over. I figured that out myself.
And that's not the only example of that either.

4. Stupid, untrue BS
Under "Developing Explosiveness" the author tells you to "approximate the startle reflex". He says (and this part is true) that a reflexivene movement in a real confrontation is much faster than what you do in training. That is true. The adrenaline is mostly responsible for that one.
The next part however is what made me quit the book. He says that you can approximate that by "surprising yourself" by your attack. Instead of thinking "I am going to strike in 3, 2, 1...NOW!" you stand in front of your heavy bag and just at some random moment go "Bang!". Even if the brain was capable of that (And it is not because you can't decide to do something without knowing that you decided), it would not work because without a real or perceived danger you might have problems getting the adrenaline up.

After I encountered number 4 I quit the book. It was the last straw.