KickBoxing- Muay Thai - The Art of Siamese Unarmed Combat
Author: Hardy Stockman
Cover price $2.95 US - I paid about $20 after shipping.
96 pages
Yes Virginia there was a Muay Thai before the late 90's. Okay we all know there was but it seemed that there was a boom in popularity in North America then. Maybe it's just me but there seems to have been a huge influx of books and tapes on the subject recently. Anyhow it nice to see something from before the boost in popularity. Way back in 1976 this, now out of print, book hit the market.
As this book was published before the rest of the western books I've seen so far I guess I can't say it follows the trend of chapter order. In this case it may be the trend setter. Anyhow, the familiar History, Tradition,Basics and Combos formula makes an appearance. There are a few extras though.
An interesting section on the economics of Muay Thai is found early in the book. Found here is an interesting insight to the tiny amounts of money Thai fighters get paid for professional bouts. The numbers are from the 70's so I won't quote them here. They are outdated but I can imagine that adjusted for modern times there are kids in the ring for less than 5$ US even now.
Another interesting section is called Muay Thai vs. the rest. These 5 pages near the end of the book relate stories of Thai boxers beating pretty much everyone else no matter the styles practiced. Now I am sure there is truth to these stories and I don't question the effectiveness of the techniques having been on the receiving end enough times. I think though the rise of the Internet and the Internet/Keyboard Warriors that espouse these style vs style arguements and create their own demi-gods have desensitized me to this type of discussion. Too bad really, as I imagine in 1976 these stories may have made for better conversations than what is found out there in cyberspace now. Probably these anecdotes form the basis of the myths passed around now.
This book is well made, mine is like new though I got it used from EBay, so it was built to last. This was the first time I saw this volume offered for auction but I don't go there everyday looking so I am sure another could be found if someone is willing to try. The book is mostly text, for a thin volume there is a lot to read. The pictures are black and white, mostly decent except for a horrendous set depicting a Ram Muay that pappears to have caught the performer in between every move of any real note.
For interest sake alone I stick this in the middle of the pack of Muay Thai books I have. There are some interesting bits not found in the more modern tomes, including a pretty darn good glossary. Really the presentation, though basic and brief, is in some cases better than newer books.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Saturday, March 11, 2006
MuaY Thai Kickboxing:
The Ultimate Guide to Conditioning, Training & Fighting
Author: Chad Boykin
207 Pages
$28 US / $34 Canadian
I like this book. It does not cover a huge range of techniques. The basics are well covered and clearly demonstrated. The strength of this book is in the amount of training drills provided. Only one spot near the back in the conditioning section had any typos that I noticed. It starts describing a squat thrust, runs into a unrelated picture and then skips to a new exercise. Other than this small error the layout is well done. The pictures are, black and white and easy to follow.
The book starts with a thankfully small history section. I say that as it offers nothing new compared to all the other history sections of Muay Thai books I have read. Matter of fact this book references the others. Nothing original here but I think that is ok.
Chapter 2 is the basic strikes. As noted nothing extravagent here either. Once very nice thing in theses 55 pages is the inclusion of a basic defense move following each demonstration of the strike. I like this format a lot. Also this section includes a decent intro to the plamb clinch. I always like to see that.
Chapter 3 is the money well spent. It starts with the basics of pad hitting. (Authors listen up: we need a good section on holding, it is an art) The it moves to page after page of ideas for combos to train on pads, bags, alone , with a partner, drills for every occassion. Really as a person who runs a class I have lots of experience thinking up decent drills (some not so decent too) but it is nice to have a resource of things to try out. Now these weren't all new to me but with over 200 combos listed I will be looking here for fresh ideas when I need them. If you need help thinking up drills, buy this book now.
I could have stopped reading the book at this point and been happy. The Thaiboxing for the street section is too small to be worthwhile and though the conditioning section was very well done I could just rip out the weight training. I am no expert but I don't see how tricep kickbacks belong in a serious weight trainer's program. There are good exercises too; the squat, deadlift, powerclean, it's just that in my eyes a beginner won't know which are which and treat them all equally. The bio in the back credits Mr Boykin as certified personal trainer, I just don't put much stock in those courses unfortunately as they are designed to train the casual gym goer/soccer mom, not a fighter.
Still I liked the book. I put it number 2 on my list behind, the tied for first, Distinguished and Legacy books. It does cover lots of good info, even in the sections I scored lower. Chapter 3 really is worth the purchase price for reuse value.
The Ultimate Guide to Conditioning, Training & Fighting
Author: Chad Boykin
207 Pages
$28 US / $34 Canadian
I like this book. It does not cover a huge range of techniques. The basics are well covered and clearly demonstrated. The strength of this book is in the amount of training drills provided. Only one spot near the back in the conditioning section had any typos that I noticed. It starts describing a squat thrust, runs into a unrelated picture and then skips to a new exercise. Other than this small error the layout is well done. The pictures are, black and white and easy to follow.
The book starts with a thankfully small history section. I say that as it offers nothing new compared to all the other history sections of Muay Thai books I have read. Matter of fact this book references the others. Nothing original here but I think that is ok.
Chapter 2 is the basic strikes. As noted nothing extravagent here either. Once very nice thing in theses 55 pages is the inclusion of a basic defense move following each demonstration of the strike. I like this format a lot. Also this section includes a decent intro to the plamb clinch. I always like to see that.
Chapter 3 is the money well spent. It starts with the basics of pad hitting. (Authors listen up: we need a good section on holding, it is an art) The it moves to page after page of ideas for combos to train on pads, bags, alone , with a partner, drills for every occassion. Really as a person who runs a class I have lots of experience thinking up decent drills (some not so decent too) but it is nice to have a resource of things to try out. Now these weren't all new to me but with over 200 combos listed I will be looking here for fresh ideas when I need them. If you need help thinking up drills, buy this book now.
I could have stopped reading the book at this point and been happy. The Thaiboxing for the street section is too small to be worthwhile and though the conditioning section was very well done I could just rip out the weight training. I am no expert but I don't see how tricep kickbacks belong in a serious weight trainer's program. There are good exercises too; the squat, deadlift, powerclean, it's just that in my eyes a beginner won't know which are which and treat them all equally. The bio in the back credits Mr Boykin as certified personal trainer, I just don't put much stock in those courses unfortunately as they are designed to train the casual gym goer/soccer mom, not a fighter.
Still I liked the book. I put it number 2 on my list behind, the tied for first, Distinguished and Legacy books. It does cover lots of good info, even in the sections I scored lower. Chapter 3 really is worth the purchase price for reuse value.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Muay Thai Basics: Introductory Thai Boxing Techniques
Author: Christoph Delp
Blue Snake Books
211 Pages
Cover price 26.95 Canadian.
I happened to pick this up at a Chapters store in Moncton, NB while passing through. My wife rolled her eyes as I got back into the car toting yet another Thaiboxing book, especially another marked basics. Oh well I am a sucker.
This book follows the all too common progression of martial arts books. Part 1 is background and tradition, Part 2 is basic skills and so on. You won't find too much new in these sections if you have other Muay Thai books but the author does have some interesting presentation.
The quality of the book is A-1. Pictures are all clear, in sync with the text and relevant to the flow of the work. In so many book yoiu get a picture of a person in mid move that really could be a shot of any technique. Not so in this book, good quality photos throughout.
Parts 3,4 and 5 are the meat of this book. Again it is an introductory text so nothing too exciting. If you are a beginner though the techniques found in these pages will lend you an understanding of the moves you should be working on first and gives you a taste of more advance items like the spinning heel kick and jumping round kick. Something I really liked about these sections are the big bright yellow boxes at the end of each weapon section. These boxes have a good amount of wisdom on common mistakes made during the preceeding attack types. It is worth the chapter just to read those.
Part 3, Chapter 7 is a nice find, a chapter in a Thaiboxing book on the plamb clinch. Many books leave this valuable set of techniques out all together, so if it is important to you, you may want to pick up this book for these 10 pages of explanation. It covers the basic stance, offbalancing and a series of knee strikes. More than enough for a beginning clincher.
Most of the rest of the book covers some simple combinations to use to train the basics covered. Again nothing too fancy but the point is to kick thousands of times to get the technique right not to learn some fancy thing you can't really do. The book goes over different combinations on pads and against a person, lots of variety should keep the boredom away.
One highlight right at the end is a small section on historical training. I always like these bits. It helps remind me that I get to do this sport for fun. Some people, historically and presently put themsleves through hell for what I would consider little recompense but to them is a treasure and a way to keep their families alive. Practice, have fun but remember the roots of the art and if you are new to it, this book would be helpful to you overall. Though I think the Legacy book is slightly better.
Author: Christoph Delp
Blue Snake Books
211 Pages
Cover price 26.95 Canadian.
I happened to pick this up at a Chapters store in Moncton, NB while passing through. My wife rolled her eyes as I got back into the car toting yet another Thaiboxing book, especially another marked basics. Oh well I am a sucker.
This book follows the all too common progression of martial arts books. Part 1 is background and tradition, Part 2 is basic skills and so on. You won't find too much new in these sections if you have other Muay Thai books but the author does have some interesting presentation.
The quality of the book is A-1. Pictures are all clear, in sync with the text and relevant to the flow of the work. In so many book yoiu get a picture of a person in mid move that really could be a shot of any technique. Not so in this book, good quality photos throughout.
Parts 3,4 and 5 are the meat of this book. Again it is an introductory text so nothing too exciting. If you are a beginner though the techniques found in these pages will lend you an understanding of the moves you should be working on first and gives you a taste of more advance items like the spinning heel kick and jumping round kick. Something I really liked about these sections are the big bright yellow boxes at the end of each weapon section. These boxes have a good amount of wisdom on common mistakes made during the preceeding attack types. It is worth the chapter just to read those.
Part 3, Chapter 7 is a nice find, a chapter in a Thaiboxing book on the plamb clinch. Many books leave this valuable set of techniques out all together, so if it is important to you, you may want to pick up this book for these 10 pages of explanation. It covers the basic stance, offbalancing and a series of knee strikes. More than enough for a beginning clincher.
Most of the rest of the book covers some simple combinations to use to train the basics covered. Again nothing too fancy but the point is to kick thousands of times to get the technique right not to learn some fancy thing you can't really do. The book goes over different combinations on pads and against a person, lots of variety should keep the boredom away.
One highlight right at the end is a small section on historical training. I always like these bits. It helps remind me that I get to do this sport for fun. Some people, historically and presently put themsleves through hell for what I would consider little recompense but to them is a treasure and a way to keep their families alive. Practice, have fun but remember the roots of the art and if you are new to it, this book would be helpful to you overall. Though I think the Legacy book is slightly better.
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