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Copyright © 2004 by Kobus Huisamen. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Pictures by John Yoo.
To the trainers who made the most impact in my career: Steve Kalakoda, Henk Pelser and Ivan Hippolyte.
In the years that I’ve been practicing martial arts, I’ve made liberal use of books to study from. I’ve studied all my basics from books and friends.
After a few years, however, the time was ripe to move on to more advanced knowledge. I’ve always wanted a book that would show me a higher level of training – better techniques, how to make techniques practically useful and how to prepare for a fight.
We have so many texts that explains the execution of techniques, but I’ve yet to come across one that does it all – from dieting to mental preparation to injuries to gym routines.
As it turns out – I’m the one writing it. A bit ironic – I’ve been searching for this book for a number of years.
So, to you guys out there in this business, I really hope this book is useful to all of you.
This book is for the martial artist who wants to train the way that top competitors train. It is also for the top competitors (and trainers) who need to brush up on some skills.
There are no basics in here – this book is for advanced practitioners. There are enough books out there for beginners.
What I’ve put in here is what I’ve learnt and taught in my career as a fighter and trainer. It covers a basis of everything that I believe fighters and trainers need to know.
I’ve had the privilege to receive training from my friends who are top trainers and fighters in K-1, Pride and Pancrase, as well as the organizations and people who have built my career in the early days – to fight on a top level.
I’ve also had the privilege of helping some of the world’s top fighters prepare for their fights.
I’ve fought well internationally, taking titles and winning accolades from respected organisations. I’ve gained something from everyone – my family, friends, trainers, students and my opponents and even organisers of events and sponsors.
I can’t name names to say thank you – it would need a separate chapter in this book and then I may forget some – only to remember them (red-faced) later. It suffices to say that I’ve traveled the world and met others who did the same in this world of competitive fighting. I’m thankful to everyone who has crossed my path.
I hope you enjoy this book.
Remember to read this objectively. But don’t just believe everything outright – evaluate and crosscheck everything. If you don’t verify, then it’s a matter of “monkey see, monkey do”.
Also, remember, every body’s body is different. Work your routines until they suit you. I’ve trained long enough with lightweights in Muay Thai to know very well that I can’t run 10km per day. My body just can’t take it and try to perform well as a fighter.
Then you learn from study, which makes the information your own and then you can adapt and change things to suit you.
I had to work very scientifically, because I also had a corporate career at the same time that I’ve been fighting professionally. So, I didn’t have the luxury of time-availability to train.
So, I had to take everything I’ve done research on, study it, try it and adapt it. Everything was a matter of trial and error. You don’t have to do all that – this book saves you the trouble of researching for ways to train. Just check the information in this book and use it in your own way.
