The Anatomy of Martial Arts: An Illustrated Guide to the Muscles Used in Key Kicks, Strikes, & Throws [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

I started Shotokan Kaate when I was 17. I am 23 now. Been doing it regularly for 6 years. I should probably say first I was a lazy teenager who didn;t get much exercise outside of a quick walk. I didn't do sports. My joints were stiff. 6 years later I still am but have improved flexibility. If only I was told the correct way to stretch. Joint pains and problems are developing now.

This is a good book. It is very broad as some reviewer say. It covers the general muscles that are used in a technique, but they could have broken them down further in steps as the technique is applied which muscles activate too and how it adds power. And when the wrong muscles are used (tense shoulders/ bent arm in a straight punch) they reduce power and speed.

Of course it is a lot more accessible than a medical/university text or primer on physiotherapy, kinesiology, sports science, biology and biomechanics. That's why I bought it. Those other books are really expensive! ;)
The stretching exercises listed in the book relate to the technique it is associated with and can be practiced in moderation or to the limit.

The book doesn't fall into the following trap:
Some inexperienced/uneducated instructors might have beginners (even though they are warm and heart rate is up) do advanced stretches most often seen in Tae Kwon Do. Some of these are old style training methods, some proven to be wrong by sports science students. For example using a partner for weight on the knees in butterfly sitting position. There are right ways and wrongs. Or sitting in kneeling position buttocks to the soles of foot, then lying back to stretch the adductors?/abductors? ( don'ts ask me - just the front of the hips or pelvis). Not a good idea for beginners who aren't elastic children yet to have stiff bones/joints.

This review is more like a rant, but Martial Arts should be for longevity and life long practice, not a short career sport like other sports where the competitor stops after 30-ish and retreats into a flab shell. Karate and other martial artists can practice their art for life. Take Kancho Kanazawa, 80 years old this year, still travelling to Ireland next month to do a seminar/grading.

Train smart, train well.

Except for being a guide into muscle groups employed by diverse martial arts' techniques, this book also offers a general overview of common basic elements in different Martial Arts. Although intended for people who are already practicing them, it can be useful as a suggestion to use any of martial arts as an alternative training for fitness or any other training regimen.

For those already involved in martial arts, this is a reference book, useful on several different levels. The first and the most obvious one is given by the book's title and the content, where text, photographs, and illustrations are finely in tune with each other, giving an insight into muscular point-counterpoint action that underlies all martial arts' techniques. In particular, the combination of photographs and illustrations with some occasional humorous detail makes them memorable and adds to the clarity of the whole. The Appendix 2, with alphabetized muscles' names and actions, as well as the Glossary, serve as additional indexes for easy find and reference.

The second layer is not so obvious, though. It concerns the Key Exercises, which follow each analyzed group of muscles. Although it seems that they have no place in the book that explicitly claims it is not teaching martial arts' techniques, they do have very functional purpose(s). They show in a practical way how to engage analyzed muscle groups. In addition, the same exercises that warm-up and strengthen certain muscle groups for the techniques that have their use in common can not only help with improving multiple techniques, but they can, if difficult to perform, indicate which muscle groups are weak and need improvement. As an additional bonus, these Key Exercises can serve as a part of a warm-up for particular muscle groups before each training session. For that particular purpose, the time-saving and extremely useful is the Appendix 1, which gives detailed instructions for execution of those exercises. This is especially important for averting injuries during the practice - and even more if the injuries occur, as they occasionally do: it can offer a choice of exercises that can help in strengthening particular muscles and give a clear idea which martial arts' techniques should be skipped in practice until the injury heals.

Within the frame of the anatomy, particularly useful is the concept of dynamic versus static muscles and its relation to the concepts of speed, power, and accuracy. Martial arts' practitioners are typically taught that one kick is a "power-kick" and another one is a "speed-kick", and learn to perceive and perform them accordingly. However, the longer one practices any of martial arts, the more one has the need to differentiate the two by some explicit measure(s), and here the authors' idea to give a relative measure of importance to each speed, power, and accuracy provides valuable insight. Not only one gets the description of anatomy involved, but also a measure of that anatomy in action.

My only suggestion concerns the section on Consequences of impact and misuse, and the one on Steroids. They should be right after the introduction, since they give very important warnings and one part of the explanation why this book is really needed: for practicing martial arts in a healthy way throughout a longer period in life.

Every serious martial arts student, teacher, and coach should have this book on his or her shelf. It is a fantastic resource that you will reference again and again.

As a martial arts student myself, I will look up techniques I'm working on to help me understand how my body is functioning. The book's descriptions and illustrations assist me to visualize each technique into its component parts.

As a coach and instructor, this book has changed the way I approach certain techniques with my athletes. The speed/power/accuracy descriptions and key exercises provided by the authors are valuable tools when I'm coaching both novice and elite athletes.

I have been training in various martial arts for over 25 years and hold advanced black belt ranks in taekwondo and hapkido/yongmudo. I have also trained extensively in Brazilian jiujitsu and kendo, with some experience in judo and karate. Currently, I spend most of my time coaching competitive taekwondo athletes. I coach novices, collegiate players, and elite athletes who compete at the international level.

Like all athletics, the practice of martial arts has benefitted from advances in sports science. It is no longer sufficient to simply perform technique repetitions day after day. Rather, through modern training routines students may learn more efficiently and more safely, allowing them to train throughout their lives and minimizing injury rates. It also makes the martial arts more accessible to an increasingly diverse population and range of athletic talents. This book advances and promotes the application of modern training methods.

The authors appear to have deliberately chosen 50 "generic" techniques that have wide application across many martial art systems. Moreover, they make attempts to differentiate between styles or applications of the same techniques, thereby making the book as generalized as possible. For example, as the authors acknowledge there are many different ways to perform a roundhouse kick, depending on the purpose and approach: sport taekwondo versus self-defense hapkido versus mixed martial arts fighting. While some coaches and practitioners might debate the inclusion of some similar techniques (e.g., both the front snap kick versus the front thrust kick are included) and the exclusion of some distinct techniques (e.g., the back kick versus the turning side kick), there is more than enough differentiation contained in the book to provide all levels of athlete with important training data.

One aspect directly relevant to the anatomy of martial arts that I would like to see added to the next addition of this book is balance. Balance and spatial orientation are functions of the inner ear, eyes, pressure receptors in the skin, sensory receptors in the joints and muscles, and the central nervous system. Balance is a skill that can be learned and trained, and the biomechanics of balance vary depending on the execution of any given technique. Given that many students struggle with balance and proper body mechanics, it would be helpful if the authors addressed this topic either for each individual technique or in a stand-alone section. That said, the inclusion of many yoga exercises in the book will accomplish many of the required balance and biomechanical developments.

The book is logically organized, easy to follow, and easy to find techniques. Part 1 offers and overview of martial arts anatomy and a useful tutorial on how to use the book. Part 2 organizes each technique into appropriate subsection for Hand Strikes and Blocks, Kicks, Throws, Groundwork, Rolls and Falls, and Weapons. In the back of the book, several appendixes offer instructional tips and categorized muscle listings. The illustrator used color coding of primary and secondary muscles to make it easy to view and understand.

Within each technique, the authors use clear and concise descriptions and provide useful images of technique applications. This is helpful, since different martial arts may use a variety of names and applications for the same/similar techniques. The authors assign ratings to each technique characteristic. Although those ratings are objective and therefore open to debate, they are helpful to the reader's understanding of the logic the recommended exercises.

In general, this book is a welcome addition to the martial arts literature. It will support students and instructors as they design individualized training plans that target specific skill and technique development.

I recommend it highly!