Product Review: Everything you wanted to know about Side and Hook Kick DVD (part 2)

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading. Here is part 2 of the review. For part 1 go HERE

General thoughts.
Ok, where to start? First thing to be said is that some of the info presented on the DVD is available free from Paul on his youtube channel. This is a good idea for him as it is obviously advertising for his products but it also gives an you idea of the type of material you can expect from his DVD's. As I mentioned in the first part of the review, paying out $100 for 1 DVD is going to be quite an investment for some. My suggestion is to go and watch the youtube stuff and see if you like his type of exercises and the way he explains his method.

The actual footage on youtube is not the same as on the DVD, don't worry you aren't paying $100 for youtube videos. Its almost like the youtube filming was a practice run of ideas for the DVD's, while most of his youtube stuff is done in what looks like his apartment, the DVD material is filmed in a studio (no bedside tables in the background :D )

More importantly while he does touch on a few of the same concepts on youtube, he goes into a lot more detail on the DVD and there is a lot of material on the DVD that isnt on youtube. The DVD is over 2 hours long, there is a LOT of info on it. I would have to agree with his advertising claim that it is the most extensive instructional on kicking techniques ever made....well at least that I have ever seen...although I'm sure I haven't seen everything. I actually cant think of anything glaringly obvious that is missing from it, although I don't recall seeing any info relating to spinning side or hook kicks on it, maybe thats another volume for the future?

I cant just sit and watch the whole thing in one go, its just too long and has too much info. I usually watch one or two sections make notes and go from there. I've watched it now a couple of times and still pickup something new each time. I still haven't had a chance to try every drill yet.

Specific Sections of the DVD.
1. Kinesiology
The section on kinesiology goes into a lot of detail on each muscle used and its role in the side and hook kick, great for those that like that sort of thing but really most will just come away with a better understanding of how important the muscles of the supporting leg are, in particular the hamstring. I was always more focused on the muscles of the kicking leg so this was great info for me. As I mentioned previously, for $100 I thought you might get some CGI in this section but instead you get Paul with a pointer in front of a poster/chart.

2. Basic Technique
 In my days of Tae Kwon Do I was fortunate enough to have an instructor that was very technical and really broke down the kicks so you learned precisely the correct position of every stage of the kick, from the pre chamber positioning of the supporting leg through to the chambering of the kicking leg, the correct path of the kick, which part of the foot to kick with, returning the kick to the chamber and then finally to returning the kicking leg to the ground (if you weren't throwing multiple kicks). No other style I have trained in has ever gone into this much technical detail on how to throw a kick so I guess I was lucky. So while this section of the DVD wasn't as useful for me, I'm guessing that a lot of martial artists could benefit from this as he breaks down the kick and shows precisely how it is thrown.

Grrr this post is starting to drag on already, looks like I will have to extend the review to next weeks post...

Product Review: Everything you wanted to know about Side and Hook Kick DVD (part 1)

Hi Guys,

Its product review time again. This time its the Elastic Steel Everything you wanted to know about Side and Hook kick DVD. It's one of 3 DVD's in the series, the other two cover Roundhouse kicks and Front Kicks.

This is the promo video.



What you get.

At this time I only have the Side and Hook Kick DVD (both covered on the one DVD) so all my comments refer to that DVD only.

First up, its not cheap by any means. I paid just under US$100 and believe it is still going for that price. That makes it the most expensive single DVD I've ever bought. It is the most expensive of the series with the other 2 going for about US$70, but they only cover 1 kick each.

First off production quality is pretty good, although for that price I kind of expected more computer animated CGI for the anatomy sections, instead we get Paul in front of an old anatomy poster with a pointer stick.

That out of the way, the DVD does cover a lot of areas:

Kinesiology of the two kicks.
Basic Technique of the two kicks.
Specific warm up.
Endurance Training.
Focus, Precision and Control for both kicks.
Balance and Stability for both kicks.
Antagonist Training.
Strength and Power for the two kicks.
Speed and Timing for both kicks.
Height and Flexibility for both kicks.

That's a pretty thorough list of technical skills, I cant really think of more areas that could be covered.

Each of the sections is a separate chapter which can be accessed by the menu at the start of the DVD so it is easy to navigate to whichever specific exercise type for either of the kicks.

Part 2 of the review will go into what I thought of the DVD.

Think I'm back to normal

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading. Sorry I've been quiet the past 2 weeks but its just been boring rehab. The positive news is, it looks like things are pretty much back to where they should be now. I went back to training this week, lots of high kicks and while I took it a "little" easy, i was pleasantly surprised that there was no real pain in my hip during or the day after. I still have some painful trigger points on the side of my hip so I will keep doing a ball massage on them (the foam roller isnt firm enough to really get deep enough to hit them).

So with dynamic movements not appearing to aggravate the injury, time to try some static stretches. I plan to hit some light isometrics this week and see how I react. I'm going to do side stretches one day and front the next so I can more easily gauge if one type aggravates more than the other.

On another note, for anyone that is a UFC fan. I came across this video the other day. Basically its UFC stick fighting. The group is known as the Dog Brothers from California I believe. While they are absolutely insane, full contact stick fighting with virtually no protective gear! Its awesome to see guys out there pressure testing their skills.

Its a real shame the UFC decided it was too brutal to become an official offshoot as I think its much more dynamic and exciting to watch than a lot of the UFC matches today that merely end up as wrestling matches.

Slow Kicks

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading. The rehab is going well...although slower than I had hoped. The hip isn't really giving me too many issues now, its mainly the hamstring holding me back. So after yet another torturous session with my sadistic osteopath things are looking better.....slowly.

I'm still to avoid isometrics for the time being (I really feel like the blog should be called training with injuries) but am slowly re-introducing kicks and more focused work on my hamstrings, still only light stretching though.

The exercise I am finding the biggest benefit from are slow kicks.  This is a big thing for me because I hate slow kicks.....I've hated them for over 20 years. While there is nothing better than a fast strong head height kick, there is nothing more demoralizing than slow kicks.

My hatred of slow kicks dates back over 20 years to my early Tae Kwon Do days. My instructor at the time loved them...and why wouldn't he?...he was awesome at them. He would routinely stand and teach the class about the finer points of a side kick while holding one leg out at head height. He had such an enviable combination of flexibility and strength....just picture Bill Wallace in his younger days, but Anthony (my instructor) could do it with either leg!!

While it was a great inspiration to train under someone so good, the focus of any leg exercise became (for me) to just get my leg as high as possible...and doing so I pretty much cheated myself out of any real benefit of the exercise and just grew to hate it..so started avoiding it, and have done for way too long.

Fast forward to today and while I am still terrible at them, I am finding them very beneficial. I had previously done them using some sort of support (a chair, a wall or partner) for balance but find doing this really takes away the biggest benefit of the exercise...developing strength in the supporting leg.

Now I do them freestanding and find them much more beneficial.

What the hell, I just made a quick video of what I mean. See below.




While I wouldn't go so far as to say I love them, I can definitely see the benefit in doing them. They are great to use as part of a warm up for a kicking session as well.

90% of fights go to the ground

Hi Guys,
Thanks for reading.

I'm still just doing some light therapeutic workouts for my hips, so no splits progressions for the time being. I am looking at a new training location for when I get back into things though.

One of the better options is an MMA gym in Sydney that also offers some Japanese Jujitsu taught by a former world ranked #1 full contact shooto champion. Sounds very promising.

If I do decide to start training there, they also offer Thai and BJJ which I will try and do 1 each per week...thats the current plan anyway.

This got me to thinking about the mantra of every BBJer that I know...90% of fights end up on the ground. Don't get me wrong I think BBJ is a fantastic ground art and they have solid training protocols, however in my opinion as an option for self defense, I think any art that focuses primarily on going to the ground has some fundamental issues. THE last place you want to be in any self defense situation is rolling around on the ground with either multiple or armed attackers.

The few guys I know that do BBJ don't think about this, they spend 90% of their time training on the ground and still think they are learning self defense. If they are just doing it for sport/fitness/fun thats fine, but a lot of BJJers believe that what they are doing is the best option for self defense available.

Anyway, back to the topic.

With some time on my hands I thought I would do a little research. It seems that the figure, now famously (or infamously) declared by the Gracies at the start of the BJJ phenomenon comes from a 1997 LAPD study of arrest data. (see link at bottom).
The first thing to note is that this study is looking at arrest data, not fights. In-fact the report clearly shows that only 25% of incidents included the offender actually attacking the officer. The other 4 of 5 responses in  95% of cases was:

33% pulled away from the officers arm grab
19% refused to assume a search position
10% ran
6% took an offensive "stance" or posture but didn't attack the officer.

Of this only 62% of incidents ended with the officer and the offender on the ground. Again, it important to note, this is not a fight, its an arrest. Even if you did think you could draw a correlation between fight and arrest data (which I don't think you should), the altercation only ended on the ground in 62% of cases, thats a long way from 95%.

This is a huge issue and the debate will rage for years to come. No doubt that BJJ has changed the way people look at fighting and probably for the better. I still think that a decent stand up fighting art should be the base of any realistic self defense system, even if only because it allows you to run away if necessary. I also think cross training in a ground fighting system is a great thing to do...and fun! Grappling is an incredibly complex art and if you haven't done any, I recommend you find a good local instructor and get a few lessons even if you only learn the very basics.

I am also aware of the irony of someone that is focusing on training for splits and kicking to the head talking about how unrealistic BJJ is for self defense. This is a purely personal goal for athletic and artistic reasons, not for practical self defense skills.

LAPD study

Isometrics plan

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading.

As I mentioned previously, once I'm given the all clear to start back on isometrics (hopefully soon), I plan on using the strength progression plan outlined by Dan Van Zandt from the Martial Arts Planet website, the plan is also outlined on his Blog. You can fnd a link to his blog in my useful links section.

Basically this is a cut and paste from his Blog. I have also mocked up a spreadsheet that I will use to track my workouts, find a download link at the bottom of this post and feel free to use it yourself.

From: Here


Saturday, 25 September 2010
Isometric split progression

This method is based on the principle that total time under tension is key to building strength in extended positions, and therefore increasing flexibility. (Remember, a stronger muscle tenses less as it tries to support itself in an extended ROM.) An individual starting at the beginning of this schedule could reach full splits in as little as 6 months. Some people may achieve such results even quicker. Your overall progress will depend on your starting strength.

Note that this method is tough and not for the faint of heart. It requires you to hold strong, steady tensions for up to three minutes. Anyone who has tried standard isometrics in the past may very well be crapping their pants right now. Some people may very well be reaching for a bottle of aspirin and prayer book when they find out the later stages involve holding such tennsions while lifting as much as 30 kilos. Like I said - not for the faint of heart. But it does work. This method is the most successful with my clients.

The process of increasing ROM during each rep is simple: get into your front or side split and extend your leg(s) until you feel like you can't increase it any further; hold this position until you feel the tension start to dissipate. Don't stick around for too long - 30 seconds is enough for most folks. Extend further into the split. Hold, and extend further still. Ideally you should keep repeating this cycle until you reach your absolute maximum, but by that point most people will have no interest in tensing for up to three minutes. Yes, the worst is still yet to come! I usually do around three extensions before tensing. Tense the target muscle(s), building the tension up over 5 seconds, reaching its maximum by the fifth second. Hold steady, unwavering tension. You should be contracting at 100% maximum effort at all times.

When it comes to holding weight you can insert barbell plates into a tough rucksack or wear a weight vest. I prefer the latter.

The sets below are listing in ascending order. The numbers in brackets indicate how many workouts you should perform that training load. For example, 5 sets x 1:30 + 12.5 kg (6) means you should do five sets using tensions lasting one minute and thirty seconds, carrying 12.5 kilos, for six consecutive workouts. Six workouts usually take around two weeks to complete, going off the assumption you leave a full day of rest between workouts and you aren't overly sore afterwards. Note that, occasionally, you will be extremely sore following the use of this method. If you are very sore for several days after every workout, you need to reduce the intensity a bit. If you are very sore after just the first level, you should leave isometrics for the time being and focus on building overall lower body strength using exercises such as squats, deadlifts and lunges. In terms of order of exercises in your workout, do your isometrics at the very end, after your normal weight lifting routine.

Anyway, enough of that. Here are the details:

1) 1 set x 0:30 (1)
2) 2 sets x 0:30 (1)
3) 3 sets x 0:30 (1)
4) 4 sets x 0:30 (1)
5) 5 sets x 0:30 (1)
6) 5 sets x 0:45 (6)
7) 5 sets x 1:00 (6)
8) 5 sets x 1:15 (6)
9) 5 sets x 1:30 (6)
10) 5 sets x 1:45 (6)
11) 5 sets x 2:00 (6)
12) 5 sets x 2:15 (6)
13) 5 sets x 2:30 (6)
14) 5 sets x 3:00 (6)
15) 5 sets x 3:00 + 1.25 kg (6)
16) 5 sets x 3:00 + 2.50 kg (6)
17) 5 sets x 3:00 + 5.00 kg (6)
18) 5 sets x 3:00 + 7.50 kg (6)
19) 5 sets x 3:00 + 10.0 kg (6)
20) 5 sets x 3:00 + 12.5 kg (6)
21) 5 sets x 3:00 + 15.0 kg (6)
22) 5 sets x 3:00 + 17.5 kg (6)
23) 5 sets x 3:00 + 20.0 kg (6)
24) 5 sets x 3:00 + 22.5 kg (6)
25) 5 sets x 3:00 + 25.0 kg (6)
26) 5 sets x 3:00 + 27.5 kg (6)
27) 5 sets x 3:00 + 30.0 kg (6)

This schedule is capped at 5 sets carrying 30 kilos because I have never met a client who could not do full splits beyond level 27. Most achieve their maximal flexibility many levels before that. You can go up to level 27 if you wish... and if you can handle it. I said this method is tough; it hurts like a bitch, but it works like the devil. My advice is to cap your progress at one level above that with which you hit full splits, two at most. For example, if you reach full splits by level 18, you shouldn't need to progress further than 19 or 20.

Dan then also provides a Q & A post: Q & A Here

Finally, Here is the link to the download of the spreadsheet for the program that i created, any inconsistencies are mine and not Dans.

Hopefully I can get stuck into it soon.

Advanced Jujitsu seminar

Hi guys,

Thanks for reading.
Yesterday I attended an advanced jujitsu seminar at my school. It was a great day of training split into 3 sessions. The first was some advanced jujitsu escapes and a few reversal techniques. The second was on the basics of MMA, although it was essentially on groundwork and grappling. Some nice techniques for the side mount and arm bars from the ground mount position. Then they ran a 45 minute MMA conditioning session which was fantastic. It was basically a martial arts related circuit, we did each station for 1 minute. We ran it at 5 x 1 minute stations, with 1 minute rest then 5 more stations then 1 minute rest etc . It was exhausting but a lot of fun.

One of my favorite stations that I will definitely introduce my friends too was a ground and pound exercise. Basically one person lays on their back on the ground and holds a large kicking shield on their chest and abdomin. The other person gets in the mount position on top. When the time starts, the person on top starts hitting the bag as hard as they can continuously with  punches, elbows etc. The person on the bottom moves around and tries to buck the person on top off by bridging. Both people end up getting a great workout.

Splits training.
Still holding off isometrics as per my osteopaths recommendation. The hip is definitely feeling better. Despite a lot of plyometric training and a round of chest height kicking on the bag at the seminar, there has been no real pain which is great. I'm feelng pretty confident that I should be back doing them within about 2 weeks hopefully.

Using the foam roller every 1-2 days has been very helpful and I am finding less trigger points almost every session.

Below is a good video showing a few foam roller exercises.

Seminar with Grandmaster Ji Han Jae

On the weekend I attended one of the last ever seminars by one of, if not the, creator of Hapkido (unfortunately, like in a lot of martial arts , there is disagreements over who actually created what is now called Hapkido). Either way nobody argues that he is probably the most influential GM of Hapkido still alive today. Sadly he is pretty much retiring as of now, that was to be his last seminar.

I had the very deep honor of being his crash test dummy for most of the day, so spent most of Saturday being thrown, standing up, being thrown..you get the idea.

Most of the day was videoed, so hopefully I will be able to get a copy and will post some of the highlights here in a few weeks. Unfortunately, I could only attend 1 of the 2 days, towards the end of the first day I coped a pretty severe crank and knee to the neck so couldn't really train the day after.

The good thing to come out of the day was my hip didn't flare up at all (although I think I did re-break my toe lol). So it looks like I can pretty much do anything training wise as long as it isn't kick related. This is good news as I have an advanced Jujitsu seminar on this Saturday.

Splits progress.

Isometrics are on hold for a few weeks on orders from my Osteopath which is frustrating. On the other hand I have a new plan for progression for isometrics thanks to Dan Van Zandt. You can find a link to his blog in the links page to the right.

He outlines a logical progression of isometric strength training which I plan to follow once my Osteo gives me the thumbs up. I've already mocked up a spreadsheet that I can use to record each training session for the program.

Hopefully it will only be another week or two before i can start.

Osteopath and a funny Video

Hi Guys,

My Hip flared up a bit last week so I took a friends recommendation to go and see an osteopath that does Hapkido with her. He is pretty sure he has identified the issue which is a slight rise and rotation on the right side of my hip. This could very well account for both the hip pain and hamstring trouble I have been experiencing. The prognosis is pretty good and it should be back to normal after a few weeks of deep tissue massage. So for the next few weeks it will be only light isometrics.

This weekend I am attending a seminar with Grandmaster Ji Han Jae who is one of the last remaining original Grandmasters of Hapkido. Should be fun.

I thought I'd leave you with this funny video I found on Youtube called B.O.B's Revenge. I think of this everytime I hit him now.

OK, I lied

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading. I know I wrote yesterday that I was going to have a rest week this week ......looks like I lied. My toe didn't bother me too much and my niggling pull at the back of my knee vanished overnight so I decided to hit the Gym today.

I felt I had an OK stretch, although not as good as Saturdays. The Gym where I stretch on Saturdays has a better floor for it (slightly slippery, but not too much).

Anyway, I took some photos today. Looking at them, I'm pretty sure there has been a definite (but small) improvement. Its hard to compare them to the last set I took due to the different angle of the camera. Anyway considering I only started back with light isometrics a month ago, its not too bad.

Still a long way to go but as long as it is improving I'm happy.

Ahh the joys of training

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading.

I was really looking forward to posting some new splits photos this week but unfortunately some minor niggling injuries are telling me to take it easy this week.

Despite breaking my toe at jujitsu, I did have a great stretch on Saturday and wish I could have taken some photos then, I'm sure I've made some progress since the last set of photos.

Instead, you get a photo of my broken toe. Enjoy......

The good thing about broken toes is there isn't much you can do for them. Just tape it to another toe and away you go....and hope you don't kick it on anything!!

That along with a small pull at the back of my knee I got while chasing my cats up the corridor (gotta love getting older!!)  have convinced me its probably for the best to have an active rest week (I'm over due for one actually).

Instead of strength training I will do some massage and maybe some light relaxed stretches. Despite these minor inconveniences I'm actually feeling really positive about my stretching. It feels like I'm making some progress particularly on my open front split, will need to sort out some photos asap to get an objective view on it.

I've also decided I need to add some harder resistance training for my Hip Flexor into my leg strengthening routine. There aren't a lot of options but I have a few exercises I plan to try out, I will keep you updated on how they go.

DVD review - Stacey Nemour's Secrets of Splits Flexibility

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading.

I recently got hold of a copy of Stacey Nemours Secrets of Splits Flexibility and after watching thought I would do a quick review and post my thoughts.

Here is the youtube promo for the DVD.


Firstly you have to say, she seems really nice and enthusiastic and you can't say she isnt VERY flexible.

Unfortunately, thats where the positives of this DVD stop.

She makes some pretty big claims of the video:

"In this DVD, I present my training techniques and proven solutions designed to alleviate back pain, knee problems, and other debilitating ailments. I demonstrate unique stretches and exercises that will enable you to attain a level of flexibility that usually requires years of training; and I will demonstrate to you the correct order in which to do them. This will enable your body to open up faster, thereby allowing you to get into splits more rapidly, safely, and with confidence. You will also discover that this workout provides anti-aging benefits. My techniques will help you overcome stiff joints and that "hunched-over" posture, which limits the activities you are able to participate in."

Considering there are no back or knee strengthening techniques, just a collection of static passive stretches and 2 sets of weighted leg raises, I find these claims to be very misleading.

The blurb should read: "In this DVD you get to watch me in some advanced stretches with me just saying, sink into it...thats about it"

Its pretty obvious that Stacey has always been naturally very flexible, and that she probably never really had to work on her flexibility. The level of "instruction" of the DVD is almost non existant apart from "sink into it" or "point your toes". Basically the youtube video shows the few stretches that actually have her give anything more than that.

If you are looking for anything more than a very flexible in shape 40 something year old woman stetching and doing the splits for 35 minutes, look elsewhere and save your money, for actual educational or training value, this DVD is pretty much worthless.

Sorry Stacey

Spinning Kicks Video

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading.

I've just finished putting together a quick video of my Spinning Hook kick (and variations) and some Turning into 360 turning kicks. I'm still slowly getting back into kicking, still taking it pretty easy now no heavy bag work just yet, all of these are more technical and just on hand targets.

Main things I notice are that I'm not getting much height in my jumping kicks (especially in my jump spinning hook kick, I used to have no issue getting that to head height) and that my knee drops after hitting the target.

My splits training is coming along, did both the sessions in that I planned this week (2 strengthening and isometric workouts).

Anyway, here is the video.

Change to leg training routine

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading. I've changed my leg strengthening routine for a few reasons.

1. Variety is good, you need to pose different stimulus to your muscles to keep challenging them and thus keep getting stronger. I usually find altering my program every 4-6 weeks is a good mix of enough time to allow progression of resistance on an exercise, and you don't get bored doing the same exercises again and again for years on end.

2.Plus I evaluated what muscles I needed to strengthen, in what ranges of motion and decided Squats and Deadlifts while awesome exercises, probably weren't the optimal choices for me at this stage. I've changed Squats to Weighted Lunges and Dead-lifts to Stiff Legged dead-lifts. So still trying to keep basic compound resistance exercises and one Quad dominant(lunge)  and one Hip dominant (Stiff leg deadlift) movement.

The rationale for shifting squats to lunges was I wanted to do an exercise that also helped strengthen my hip flexors, while also strengthening my quads. I also find my stabilizers get a much better workout with lunges than squats. As I am more interested in functional strength and not just building bigger quads, I think I will get better results at this time with lunges....at least until my hip flexor is strengthened and back to 100%.

I switched Deadlifts to the Stiff Legged version because in a  mechanical sense it is placing demands that are closer to kicking than regular deadlifts. In kicking, your supporting leg is usually straight (or very close to it) and your hamstring is activated as a stabilizer in that position.

The rest of the workout will remain the same:

1. Incline weighted leg raises (I plan to progress to hanging soon)
2. An isolated hip flexor raise of the end of a bench that I got from the following youtube video. (I thought I had posted this before.....)



3. Calf Raises
4. Hamstring Pulldowns
5. Adductor Pulldowns
6. I've also added weighted slow turning kicks like from this video


Slow Kicks Help video from TKD_Andy on Vimeo.

Not sure who TKD_Andy is, I think he used to post on the old trickstutorial before the forum was discontinued, but thanks for the video. So I'm doing similar just with adjustable ankle weights on the kicking leg.

Then isometric stretches after that.

Fun Fun