DavThew
Level 6 Valued Member
I've had about a week to read and digest this book and I'm pretty darn happy with it.
The author presents his long experience melding martial arts and sensible strength and conditioning training. Although there are plenty of good resources around for GGP training (which is a reasonable place to look for martial artists) it was refreshing to have someone with a wealth of expertise in these areas pull all the pieces together.
Jon Engum is a 7th degree Tae Kwon Do Grandmaster from the WTF tradition, the chief instructor at Flexible Steel and Master SFG - a pretty solid set of credentials for the author of a book which looks at how to integrate S&C into martial arts training.
The book is split into 3 parts which I will look at one at a time:
Part 1: The book of Earth
This is the basic bread and butter of the whole book. The rationale for strength training is discussed as are the tools which you would be using. If you are looking for a program to follow - this is it. The exercises should come as no surprise to a SF trainee - the getup, goblet squat, swing, deadlift and press are the main events in this section of the book.
There is a 25 week program outlined which is an example of how one might go about training a martial arts neophyte in S&C. Although many people on this forum may be more advanced in their journey than this it looks like a really solid program, and one I have started myself on.
There is nothing revolutionary in this part of the book - which is entirely appropriate. The author points to tried and tested programs such as PTTP and builds on them.
I think this part of the book really demonstrates why you might be buying it - having an expert integrate the knowledge of other experts into his own field is really makes it worth reading. That said if you are expecting something new and flashy perhaps this is not the place to look.
At the end of this portion of the book an ongoing block training protocol is outlined which looks perfect for a martial artist to follow. The only downside is that it speaks from the perspective of a trainer who has control over the content of lessons - and not all trainees will have this luxury. That said it is a small thing to overcome, and looks like a sustainable long term plan.
Part 2: The book of Wind
This is what it sounds like. If the last section was about strength you better believe this part is about conditioning. The plan has been outlined in the last section, so this section gives more specific sessions which could be fit into the plan. These include roadwork, stairway training, track work and some other more sadistic training options.
Interestingly it even includes the Force Recon Workout from Pavel for use as an off season plan.
This portion of the book is a lot of fun, and I can see the author's martial arts instructor side really shine through. Sometimes you just need to make the trainees's lungs burn.
Part 3: The book of Fire
This is all about sport specific training and includes stress training, kick and chamber training and specialised pushups. As a Tae Kwon Doist myself I really appreciate this part of the book, as it is focused very much on the striking arts. There are some novel exercises I had never considered here which will be getting added to my repertoire.
Although grapplers might be missing something from this part of the book I think the rest of the content would still make it worth the purchase.
Part 4: The book of Water - directs you to look at Flexible Steel, which seems like a very reasonable companion book (also by the same author).
Overall I think this is a brilliant resource for any martial artist, but especially strikers. The content is good and laid out well. There is a lot to mull over, and years worth of training inside.
I look forward to the days that I can handle some of the more demanding conditioning work in this book, but I have the map in front of me now.
10/10
The author presents his long experience melding martial arts and sensible strength and conditioning training. Although there are plenty of good resources around for GGP training (which is a reasonable place to look for martial artists) it was refreshing to have someone with a wealth of expertise in these areas pull all the pieces together.
Jon Engum is a 7th degree Tae Kwon Do Grandmaster from the WTF tradition, the chief instructor at Flexible Steel and Master SFG - a pretty solid set of credentials for the author of a book which looks at how to integrate S&C into martial arts training.
The book is split into 3 parts which I will look at one at a time:
Part 1: The book of Earth
This is the basic bread and butter of the whole book. The rationale for strength training is discussed as are the tools which you would be using. If you are looking for a program to follow - this is it. The exercises should come as no surprise to a SF trainee - the getup, goblet squat, swing, deadlift and press are the main events in this section of the book.
There is a 25 week program outlined which is an example of how one might go about training a martial arts neophyte in S&C. Although many people on this forum may be more advanced in their journey than this it looks like a really solid program, and one I have started myself on.
There is nothing revolutionary in this part of the book - which is entirely appropriate. The author points to tried and tested programs such as PTTP and builds on them.
I think this part of the book really demonstrates why you might be buying it - having an expert integrate the knowledge of other experts into his own field is really makes it worth reading. That said if you are expecting something new and flashy perhaps this is not the place to look.
At the end of this portion of the book an ongoing block training protocol is outlined which looks perfect for a martial artist to follow. The only downside is that it speaks from the perspective of a trainer who has control over the content of lessons - and not all trainees will have this luxury. That said it is a small thing to overcome, and looks like a sustainable long term plan.
Part 2: The book of Wind
This is what it sounds like. If the last section was about strength you better believe this part is about conditioning. The plan has been outlined in the last section, so this section gives more specific sessions which could be fit into the plan. These include roadwork, stairway training, track work and some other more sadistic training options.
Interestingly it even includes the Force Recon Workout from Pavel for use as an off season plan.
This portion of the book is a lot of fun, and I can see the author's martial arts instructor side really shine through. Sometimes you just need to make the trainees's lungs burn.
Part 3: The book of Fire
This is all about sport specific training and includes stress training, kick and chamber training and specialised pushups. As a Tae Kwon Doist myself I really appreciate this part of the book, as it is focused very much on the striking arts. There are some novel exercises I had never considered here which will be getting added to my repertoire.
Although grapplers might be missing something from this part of the book I think the rest of the content would still make it worth the purchase.
Part 4: The book of Water - directs you to look at Flexible Steel, which seems like a very reasonable companion book (also by the same author).
Overall I think this is a brilliant resource for any martial artist, but especially strikers. The content is good and laid out well. There is a lot to mull over, and years worth of training inside.
I look forward to the days that I can handle some of the more demanding conditioning work in this book, but I have the map in front of me now.
10/10
