Customer Rating:      Summary: should be called how to be a power ranger Comment: this is a piece of junk. dont waste your time or money on this worthless excuse of a book. the pictures of the wannabe power ranger should speak volumes alone for how bad this book is. if you are still unconvinced look at the diagrams done in western form instead of traditional asian style. the dumbest thing in this book has to be where it talks about driving the cartilage of the nose thru the brain causing death. when any person who knows anything about martial arts knows that is impossible to do that. what actually kills the person from that type of blow to the head is the impact causing the brain to slam back and forth in the skull which is what actually causes death. dont waste your time on this book it must have been written by some one who learned their martial arts from watching the power rangers.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Pocket encyclopedia Comment: Very comprehensive of vital, fragile, and pressure points throughout human body. Master Long sprung for a professional illustrator this time and it definitely improves understanding of context. Only complaint is that in all pictures of Master Long versus opponent, they are clad in shiny ninja uniforms that obscure immediate recognition of described technique
Customer Rating:      Summary: An excellent source for those who need to protect themselves... Comment: As always, I will be frank about the book to the extent of my knowledge and not pretend I'm some incredible genius when it comes to the subject, as some reviewers appear to be sometimes...
So you might judge my bias or qualifications for yourself, I am a martial artist and I've been studying it for 6 and 1/2 years, though I don't consider myself the greatest source, but take my word for what it's worth. I am also a student in a pre-medical field (I haven't decided precisely which path I'll take, but I have an idea) and am fairly knowledgeable on the subject of human anatomy. The idea of combining human anatomy and martial arts seemed like an interesting concept to me, so I bought this book and began reading it.
Concerning the content itself, the targets are accurate and, to say the least, very painful if struck. All of the anatomy and results of strikes are as they are stated (as far as I am aware). The pictures usually give one or two ways of attacking a target area and are usually pretty useful ways. Seeing the targets being attacked on a human in a picture is very helpful in locating precisely where the pressure point is when combined with the indication in the anatomy diagrams (if there was any confusion). To be honest, however, if this book was truly for anyone to use for self defense (as it seemed to indicate in the introduction), it might have been useful for Master Hei Long not to use such obscure Kung Fu stances. Such stances are definitely not helpful to those who haven't taken Kung Fu and I don't think they help the reader learn where the targets are and how to attack them. These stances are the only cons I can think of for this book.
The strikes and targets themselves are excellent and, if the reader has any ability to strike, most of the targets would disable most attackers. There are, of course, no guarantees, since the knowledge of the targets will not help someone who does not attack or cannot strike with enough force to damage the target (some targets require substantial force to disable the attacker and some require very little force). These qualifiers are the responsibility of the reader. Nonetheless, if the reader is able and willing to strike, he/she will be able to use at least some of these targets no matter what the skill level or strength level.
To sum up, I highly suggest this book to any girl or woman who fears for her safety in a big city or college campus or any situation for that matter. I would also suggest, if you have no previous martial arts experience, you learn martial arts before, after, or while you read this book because the knowledge of these targets and the skills of the martial art will build off of each other and greatly increase your ability to defend yourself.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Mid-level training manual Comment: Master Long is the Kung Fu teacher you will never have the chance to train with and he is surely more dangerous than "randmeister" from Ohio.
As Master Long says, most school nowadays are run by the moto: A student is a fee, a test is a fee, a rank is a fee. Giving rank to an undeserving student is dishonorable yet I have seen it happen too often. The worst part is the student feels prepared for a violent encounter.
The book focuses on the 43 main anatomical targets. It contains 180 anatomical figures. There is one technique for each target.
Pros: Reminds me of human biology class. I would say this book is the Index of the human anatomy targets. When you know how something is built, you better understand how to take it apart. The 3 frames sequences are fairly simple and easy to understand.
Cons: The techniques have a rigid Kung Fu style. Some techniques involve high kicks, which I do not favor: high gravity level, 100% of the weight on 1 knee, good flexibility required.
To sum it up: if you want a crash course try the "Dirty 12" by Larry Jordan. If you are a serious martial artist then the $12 for this book are well worth it. Whatever your status is, check out "Attack Proof" by John Perkins.
Customer Rating:      Summary: The Black Dragons best work Comment: Mr.Long does not deserve the bad rap that he takes.Dragon Touch was way ahead of its time with releasing this much needed material.I agree he should have never wore those Ultra man costumes and done those techniques ,although the neck breaks are valid. This book along with Dragon Touch 2 are his most complete and comprehensive ones. Loads of info to be studied.The way I look at a book is if I can learn one or two things out of it.Then it was worth it.
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