The first thing that attracted me to this book was its cover. Ok, so you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I’m shallow and am swayed by appearances. Its appearance is much more contemporary than any other martial arts books I’ve seen recently and its red cover with black and white eye staring at you screams read me! This is a refreshing book written by a martial artist who wants to give us something to read rather than look at with a very human account of his growth within the martial arts world, specialising in Karate, and the ultimate challenge he has faced, the brutal and full contact 30 man kumite reserved for only the top black belts in his association.

We start at the very beginning of his martial arts training in Judo when he was a child and living with his parents in the Midlands. We then follow his progress to university in London, where he eventually settled, and his introduction to his tough physical training in Kyokushinkai Karate. We read of a young British man at university that most people would recognise and this is what I appreciated most about this book. Mr Powell never claims to be the embodiment of martial arts perfection, his honest approach describes all of the mistakes he has made as well as the successes but what struck me most were his fierce commitment and his love of martial arts and his thirst for knowledge on his journey to the 30 man Kumite. Goran has the ability, probably because he himself is a professional copy writer for an advertising agency, to put over the main points of his story and what he wants to tell the reader; for example when he comments on one of his main themes, that of martial sprit and the ability to keep going even when your body is spent, he describes it as, “like a pilot light, burning inside you.”

Goran also places emphasis the different relationships he forms with the many people he meets throughout his martial arts career (although he does have an irritating habit of calling grown women “girls”) and the different lessons he learns from them but the best part of the book is left to last as he describes his training and lead up to his ultimate test, the 30 man Kumite. It is a pacy and exciting read as we are swept along with his description of the punishing training regime and the psychological battle he forged with himself to prepare for this challenge. When you have reached the end of this book, you will be left out of breath but inspired to train harder as although this unappealing as this brutal 30 man confrontation sounds, we know that if Goran achieved it, so can you.

This is a highly recommended read for any martial artist, there is a lot to learn from this human martial artist along with a comprehensive book list at the end should you want to learn more.

Author Profile: Lesley Jackson

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Lesley Jackson, black belt and Taekwondo teacher is deputy Editor of Martial Edge.

Also by Lesley Jackson:

• TVP – Comprehensive Boxing Techniques
• Jamie Clubb, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Iain Abernethy