No Holds Barred Fighting: The Kicking Bible: Strikes for MMA and the Street (No Holds Barred Fighting)

Mark Hatmaker series on submissions have been brilliant, practical, and informative. Unfortunately with this "Kicking Bible" he has crossed into a realm that he intellectualized but does not teach very well. Having trained under powerful kickers like Malaipet, Kongtalanee Payakarun, and grappling under Gokor Chivichyan, I think this book will cost many to develop bad habits in low kicks. He modifies the trademark low Muay Thai kick to lessen its power in the hope of increasing speed and avoiding over-rotation. Sounds good conceptually. However, looking at Cro-Cop, Anderson Silva, Chris Horodecki, Bas Rutten, Duane Ludwig, and other Muay Thai based fighters in MMA, they may modify the stance a bit to facilitate level changes in takedowns and takedown defenses, but they deliver the Muay Thai kick for the substantial power as intended. Perhaps Hatmaker felt the need to modify a proven technique in order to "originate" it or to make it fit his paradigm of "non-Eastern-thus Western" form of fighting (since without modification, Muay Thai is Eastern and doesn't really fit with what he describes as his "ESP" [Western-art only system]). Some people just feel the need to improve what is already proven in order to emphasize their contribution. However, to do this they should prove their new form in actual competition, not just in the form of a scientific analysis and countless demos on their students. I share Hatmaker's views on many of the wrestling principles from previous books and DVDs, which he understood very well. Unfortunately, on this one, I'd go with the more proven kickers and learn the low Muay Thai kick as it was intended. Wait for Anderson Silva's book or other fine books available from proven strikers if you want to learn it in the context of MMA or Muay Thai. Leave this book alone - you will cheat yourself of necessary power and learn a very bad habit. On the plus side, there are some useful coverage of foot stomping.

This review was based my opinion and experiences only. I am not a Hatmaker hater; in fact, as I said before, his previous works were brilliant. I just really disagree with this one - and low kick is the one subject that I believe I really understand. Would you learn how to run from a triathlete or a runner? Sometimes you just have to pick the expert over the jack of all trades when you want to improve a certain skill. Hatmaker tried too hard in this one to be a jack of all trades. At this pace, he'll probably come out with an encyclopedia on combat in fighter jets next.

mark hatmaker did it again. another very good book on NHB. mark is a credible author who can share his knowledge easily and practical. a 5 star rating was given for a very good author and NHB practitioner. hoping for more books to come

When I notice Mark Hatmaker had another NHB book out I had to read the review and I almost passed on buying this gem but I took a chance due to the fact that I have read his savage strikes, and his clinching book. Needless to say you will NOT be disappointed if you enjoy his other endeavors. Let me preface that this book is true to its title and is a kicking bible for MMA and street strikes. Mr Hatmaker is very clear in the intro that he has a bias in unarmed combat disciplines and its not toward the flashy kicks of the Eastern arts. I personally am not an "Martial Artist". I'm a fairly educated minimally trained City Cop who depends on this type of material to put down guys who experiment with street pharmaceuticals, are dangerous mentals, or the worst just plain cold blooded murderers. I can't afford the ten years of artistic training with my feet and Mr Hatmaker does not waste your time but goes straight to the goods giving what statistically will save your butt and he does so with some weighted agreement.

Someone with only a year of training in boxing and wrestling could easily defeat a martial artist of twenty years experience. -Bruce Lee

In my humble opinion I think this is a fine piece of work and if you read the full NHB title without any preconceived ideas you will walk away happy.

I feel that I must start this review off by first stating that since I myself am not only a martial artist, whose primary arts are Tae Kwon Do and Karate, but also the author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series of books which focus solely on kicking that I may be a bit too critical of other authors who write on the subject of kicking. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, so I will leave that to you, the reader of this review to decide.

Although I am not a huge proponent of MMA (as most people view it), it isn't because I don't think there is a need for mixed martial arts (I am actually an outspoken advocate of cross-training in the martial arts), but more so because I don't believe that any one art is superior than another, although I do concede the fact that under certain circumstances and situations one art may be more appropriate than another. With this in mind, I find that the author has produced a fairly decent series of books that attempts to focus on those techniques which are most common and also most useful when fighting in a sporting contest that takes place between two willing combatants under restricted conditions in a caged arena, and for this I give him many kudos. However, when it comes to this particular book, I find that the author has left a lot to be desired concerning his take on the subject of kicking.

To start with, any book (regardless of subject matter) that purports to be a "bible" had better be the sole outstanding literary treatise on that particular subject. I would categorize "bible" in the same manner as "ultimate" and "complete," only more so and to a much higher standard. If you are using these words in the title of your book, you had better make sure that the contents live up to the title. In this case, the contents don't even come close.

The second problem I have with the title and its related contents, are with the words in the subtitle; "Strikes for MMA and the Street." Well anyone who knows anything about fighting for real compared to fighting for sport, knows that there is a HUGE difference between the two. Now I am not implying that the techniques you use in the ring or in the dojo aren't effective on the street, quite the opposite in fact. Most techniques that you learn in the dojo will work on the street, if they are executed and applied correctly under the appropriate circumstances.

Now I am not going to go into the specifics of this in this review, but suffice to say I feel that the author should have left out "and the Street" from the title and just stuck with "Strikes for MMA." It would have been a lot more accurate.

Now I do have to commend the author for the information and insight he provides the readers in his "Kick Start" section of this book which runs from pages 7 to 14. He provides a lot of solid information on kicking and the effectiveness of kicking at a high section level compared to kicking at a low to lower midsection level. Very good information and with but a few minor changes, I would have to agree with pretty much everything he states in that section.

The next section in the book deals with a variety of different kicks that are shown being used primarily to the hips, groin, and legs. If these are intended to be a basic overview of the techniques then I would say that the author has done a fairly good job in that respect. However, if these examples were intended to teach someone all of the subtle intricacies that are so important to proper kicking, then it has not lived up to its purpose.

Now as far as the self-defense aspect of this book goes, it should not have been included in this book at all. What is being shown is not appropriate for this book and, for the most part, should not even be bothered with. If you are interested in a book that focuses solely on low kicking for self-defense, then I would highly recommend this book Low Kicks: Aiming Low For Maximum Punishment In Unarmed Combat as it is perhaps one of the best books that I have seen so far on the subject.

I was extremely disappointed in the kicking combinations section as it consisted of only three pages and had no pictures whatsoever demonstrating any kicking combinations. There were only two pages of written combinations that were used to give you an idea of what to do. Horrible section! There should have been some actual photos to go with the routines so that the reader could have a better idea of exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Now the next section, which focused on the use of hand and foot combinations together, did use a series of photographs to describe each combination, but there really wasn't any accompanying text to go with it. And I had to actually question a couple of the combinations that were shown.

The next section was interestingly named, "The Axe Murderer Series," and was a tribute to Vanderlai Silva. This section basically covered the use of kicks and stomps against a grounded opponent. Not a bad section, but like I said before, the self-defense aspect should have been eliminated entirely from this book.

The remaining sections of this book dealt with defenses against low kicks, training routines, etc., and were fairly well put together, although it was very brief and basic.

If this book had taken "bible" and "and the Street" out of the title and put in "A Basic Guide" in the title, while eliminating the self-defense portions out of the contents, then I would have happily given this book a 4 star rating. If the author had been more detailed with the explanations of the correct execution of each kick and provided a better kicking combinations sections, then I would have more than likely given this book a 5 star rating.

If you are looking for a basic overall guide for low kicking in MMA, then this book would probably be your cup of tea. However, if you are looking for a book on low kicks for self-defense or books on how to really improve your kicking skills, then this book is definitely not for you.

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.