Product Description

Ultimate Flexibility is the book you've been waiting for. More than a collection of exercises or an explanation of technique, Ultimate Flexibility is a complete guide to stretching for martial arts, from the very basics of why you should stretch to detailed workout guidelines for every style and level of martial arts practice. Written by acclaimed author and martial artist Sang H Kim, Ultimate Flexibility is your guide to achieving maximum flexibility in your training. Begin with an in depth look at the hows and whys of flexibility and stretching. Learn about the many types of stretching, which methods are best for beginners, when to graduate to advanced techniques and why you should completely avoid certain types of exercises. You'll also find information that you wont find in any other martial art book, including a detailed exploration of how your body works for or against you in your training and how flexibility can make you stronger and faster. Building on this foundation, Sang H Kim teaches you nearly 200 flexibility exercises that he has personally used to achieve the highest levels of flexibility. You'l get detailed instructions, workout planning guides, goal setting tips, difficulty levels, injury prevention and recovery, and over 400 photos to guide you. Special bonus sections: 10 Tips for Full Splits, 20 Tips for High Kicks and 10 workouts for specific martial art types.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18612 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

About the Author
Sang H Kim is an internationally respected author of 8 books. He currently devotes his time to teaching, writing and presenting seminars around the world.

Customer Reviews

Not as Flexible as originally thought
I thought this book was very basic. All the exercises have been performed at some point in my martial arts training. Anyone that has done some form of martial arts or even physical exercise at school would have performed these exercises to some degree. I was surprised NOT have learnt any new techniques. The 10 steps to doing splits are the same exercises your instructor would go through in the dojang/dojo. This book is only for those that have never done warm ups/cool down exercises or do not attend any physical/martial arts classes. The 10 steps is only a selling point and purchasers should not be fooled into buying this book.

Not just for martial artists
I brought this book as I want to increase my flexibility. I'm not a martial artist and basically use exercise DVD's so was a bit hesitant. I headed to this as I have been using the Billy Blanks Tae-Bo DVD's (great!) that involve roundhouse and side kicks and wanted to increase the height of my kicks. However...the book is written in very plain language - no jargon and not intimidating. It talks about what influences your flexibility, and the different types of stretching. It then has sections on different stretches for each body part. The most useful section for me were a range of suggested workouts - each one working all body parts. These ranged from a basic core workout, a warm-up and cool down workout (and I have noticed a difference in my flexibility using these)and a range of suggested workouts for different types of sports. Even better, there is a section focusing on each body part listing page numbers for those exercises to respectively begin, maintain and increase flexibility in each part. This also includes 'shortcuts' for those body parts where you are experiencing short-term tension i.e. in the neck.that have also helped me. Whilst some of the pointers may be said to be basic, as I have forgotten my school days I found these extremely useful. There is also a good section on how your body works and the muscles and how increasing flexibilty works. I think the details in this book can be applied to anyone regardless of their sport, from complete beginners, to those more experienced. If there are any downsides to the book, I was personally not overkeen on the pictures for the stretches - these consisted of two black and white photo's with a brief description on how to perform it with a picture of how to start and how you should look when the stretch is performed, but that is such a minor quibble. I have not regretted buying this book as I think it is relevant, useful, and I am beginning to notice a difference having performed the core workout (15 mins)each day.

Excellent book, would recommend to anyone training in martial arts
This book taught me everything i would want to know about stretching. All i have to do now is actually do what i have read in order to become more flexible !!!