This book is written by and associated with a high calibre of expert martial artists (the vast majority of whom being American) and places itself on a very high pedestal before you even read the first page. Judging by the accolades given on the book’s back cover from such martial arts quality as Patrick McCarthy (8th Dan), Christopher Caile (6th Dan) and British author Goran Powell (4th Dan), not forgetting Laura Weller - the guitarist and singer with the international band, The Green Pajamas! But throughout reading this book, one could not help but question the following: how did we manage to bodge our way through our black belt gradings before this book was published? And does Laura Weller wear green pyjamas while she’s training?

Putting the funnies aside, one risk of extolling the book’s accolades before reading the text is that you have massively high expectations of the book before you have even opened it, leaving you to feel especially critical in your approach to any flaws that this book may possess. The text is a decent read and offers lots of useful advice, but it is not the definitive guide to getting your black belt and has some time to go before it can be called a classic textbook.

The authors Kane and Wilder have written this book to apply to any type of martial art and attempted to extract the key features that a martial arts student may encounter during their training for either a grappling or striking art. This works on most levels and they offer some constructive and detailed advice, putting martial arts training into its place. “Even significant challenges, like earning a black belt, are relatively mild when put in the proper perspective.” The chapters are divided up into further sound bites from various experienced black belts, one of the best being from our very own Martial Edge contributor Phillip Starr about “Understand Strength versus Skill.” Further essays at the end of each chapter also give interesting personal stories that illustrate the lessons given in the chapters, also with solid book and website recommendations. However, the weakest chapter was “Know How You Learn” which offers interesting ideas at the beginning but gets lost in a sea of educational newspeak that most people will promptly forget as soon as they have re-entered the training hall and are being punched in the face.

This kind of theory-based martial application works best in the chapter “Understand the Strategy to Master the Tactics” where academic ideas of conflict construction are offered with the best section being “The Decision Stick”. This slims down the ‘decision tree’ idea to a useful martial situation where speed of thought and a small but useful arsenal of techniques are best. When in a self-defence situation, “You must be engaged in the moment of now,” which seems to state the theory most succinctly.

Whether you are on your way to getting your black belt, or if you have already earned it there are some very useful references and ideas here. As the authors rightly say, “Pass or fail, it is important to remember that rank is always earned, never given.” Use this book as an interesting read during your training, but don’t rely on it as your only reference bible to getting your black belt.