Solo Training

Most practitioners think that training in the dojo is fun. Many feel that training by themselves bites. Not only is there no one to help you, there is also no one to motivate you. Regardless, while tandem drills (e.g., bunkai, kumite, randori) are pretty much impossible to do on your own, some things are best practiced outside of formal class, especially where you need to focus on improving deficiencies that may not be shared with the rest of the class. If you really want to progress, you need to be able to effectively train alone. Loren Christensen's excellent work provides numerous tips, techniques, and exercises to get the most out of your solo training. A common complaint that my new students relate is that they are afraid to train outside of class for fear of learning techniques incorrectly. They think that unlearning bad habits is far worse than doing nothing at all so they do not practice on their own. Believe me, with this fine text even beginners can benefit. There is nothing earth-shattering here, just solid practical advice. Lawrence Kane Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction

There is no secret to skill in the martial arts. If you want to get better at something, you have to spend time practicing it. In Solo Training, Loren Christensen provides literally hundreds of solo drills and routines for practicing a wide variety of martial arts skills and developing the physical and mental attributes necessary to apply them effectively when it counts.Although many martial artists may be familiar with a large number of the drills and exercises in the book, I believe that everybody will find dozens of new ways to improve their solo training among the hundreds covered, or ways to make their solo training more interesting.If you're not doing extra training on your own outside of your classes, you should be - you lazy slacker. This book will help to get you started, and keep you motivated. Other books by Loren Christensen you should check out are The Fighter's Fact Book and The Way Alone.

Solo training is a quality book that is helpful, useful for street situations, and much needed, especially for those of us who are not in a buyer's market in martial arts dojos. The criticisms about a lack of pictures is really unnecessary. This book is not intended to be Karate for Kids, a beginners guide, and I really don't need another book showing me how to do a front kick. This is also good, because the book can be used by any striking systems and not limited to just one; kung fu, karate, or Tai Kwon Do. I think this book is a must for teachers, motivated students, and especially people like me who are on a tropical island too far away from a choice dojo at the moment, and have no choice but to train solo. Thank you mr. Christensen

This is easily the best martial arts book I have, and I own many. It ranks right up there with Christensen's Fighter's Fact Book. One reviewer said it didn't have a lot of pictures so he couldn't follow. I found the 70 pictures that are in it satisfactory, and his explanations to be absolutely clear. That reviewer may be happier with a picture book, not one that makes the reader think.Christensen is probably the funniest martial arts writer there is. His humor is as disarming as his information is right on and exactly what you want to know. He was an MP in Vietnam and a street cop in Portland, Oregon, so he knows what he is talking about, too. All of his martial arts books are aimed toward the street, meaning his stuff is practical. Solo Training has tons of information that will make your solo workout productive and a real leaning experience. Not only does he give the reader many drills and exercises, but he has provided a dozen complete workouts for you to follow. He shows some techniques that I haven't seen in my 12 years of practice, and he shows subtle variations on the old standbys that makes them even more effective.

Solo Training is a wonderful book that every martial artist, teacher and student, should have in his or her library. In a nutshell, it answers the question "What can I do when I want to workout by myself?" Not only does Christensen answer that question, he teaches you lots of new techniques and fighting concepts along the way, and ways to motivate yourself. I've always thought that if I learn one thing from a book, it was worth the money. In Solo Training there are dozens and dozens of techniques, drills, exercises and fighting concepts to do. There is even a section on mental training and one on cross training in other activities. As he did in Fighter's Fact Book, Christensen presents his material in a conversational tone, with humor that made me laugh out loud several times. His bio says that he used his martial arts in Vietnam and on the street as a cop for 25 years. It shows in his street approach to training and his lack of bravado. It's a wonderful book and as a guy who has been training for a long time and owns lots of martial arts books, I highly recommend it. And Fighter's Fact Book, too.