Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great Book If You Already Know What You Are Doing
Comment: This book does contain a wealth of information on various aspects of kickboxing with its primary focus being on how to utilize the various pieces of training equipment that you would find at your disposal at pretty much any local gym.
If you already know the basics of boxing or kickboxing, then this book is well worth the price you paid for it. If you don't already know the basics and are just starting out, then this is probably not the book you want to spend your money on. If this is the case, I would recommend the following book by the same author.
Training and Fighting Skills
My only real complaint and it isn't so much a complaint really, but more like I wish there had been some detailed text provided along with the numerous photographs demonstrating how to use the various pieces of equipment that are featured in this book.
Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This Primer Does Exactly What It Aims to Accomplish
Comment: Benny "The Jet" Urquidez's book is a very good primer. Often, primers sometimes forget the small things, not in this book. Benny even covers different ways for entering the boxing ring. The photos are of average quality, but he details, with large photos, how to use thai pads, kicking shields, focus mits, punching bags, and double end bags.
These photos are from his Van Nuys gym (destroyed, if I recall correctly, in the 94 earthquake). The book is more concerned with use of equipment than proper placement of technique since it is a primer on "gym equipment", not techniques.
The written material is good as well. Short and sweet, however, the advice is solid. Benny has always been a gracious sportsman, true teacher, and world class person and I'm glad to finally provide one of his books with a better than average rating (both his other books got three stars from me).
Customer Rating:
Summary: King of the Ring: How to Use Your Gym Equipment and Other Tricks of the Trade
Comment: This Book is Brillant.
In my opinion Benny Urquidez has done a wonderful job in producing this book. It is an encyclopedia of knowledge. If you want to learn how to punch & kick the heavy bag the speed ball Padwork etc this book is for you.
Benny Urquidez is the Undefeated World Kickboxing Champion. In my opinion he was the Bruce Lee of Kickboxing in fact he would have beaten Bruce Lee in the ring or in the street.
Buy the book and learn what it takes to become a World Kickboxing Champion.
Muay Thai Kickboxers, Full Contact Karate Students, Kickboxers, & People of all the striking arts will find this book very useful. Ignore any bad references made regarding this book.
Buy it read learn & put to practice your techniques will improve.
Customer Rating:
Summary: an ego trip for Mr Urquidez
Comment: Want to learn how to throw a punch? This isn't the book for you. Want to learn how to hit a speed bag? This isn't the book for you.
Want to learn how to throw a kick? This isn't the book for you.
But if you want to hear about how wonderful Benny Urquidez is, this is definitely the book for you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Short on Detail
Comment: This book, written by martial arts legend Benny Urquidez, consists mainly of pictures of Benny using various boxing and martial arts equipment. But there is very little detail provided: a typical page might show, for instance, the author about to throw a side kick, and then a picture of him landing a side kick, but there is virtually no supporting text or pictures to tell a beginner what happens inbetween. In short, the book shows A and shows B, but nothing about how to get from A to B. This would be a worthwhile book for someone who already has a firm knowledge of the basics and who is looking for some additional drills: I found that the section on using focus gloves and Thai pads was worth the price of the book.
The book ends with a longish description of Urquidez's extraordinary ring record.
A final note: the book is "blurbed" on the back page by virtually every significant American martial artist, all of whom positively gush in praise. It seems clear to me that none of them actually saw or read the book before "blurbing" it: it is very far from being "a guide to living" as one reviewer put it.
