Book review: “Dynamic Stretching and Kicking” by Bill “Superfoot” Wallace
Bill Wallace is one of the big names in American martial arts. He was a successful Karate point fighter and then turned to full contact competitions. He’s most famous for using only his lead leg to kick with and doing so with great success. You can also see him in a few older martial arts movies, usually playing the bad guy.
This book is another one of those “oldies”in my library (first published in 1981). I used the information in it to enhance my kicking skills when I just started competing. As a heavyweight, I often fought opponents who were perhaps strong but not that skillful because they relied on their strength too much. I wasn’t the strongest fighter around, but I often managed to be a bit faster than the others, especially with my kicking techniques. Part of the success I enjoyed in these competitions is due to this book. As time went by, I was confronted with the limitations of this method, but more on that later.
The book starts out with a short introduction to basic anatomy, physiology and kinesiology of stretching. These topics are covered very briefly, but they do give some useful background information. At the end of this chapter, some useful pointers are given: Keep your back straight, don’t bounce, etc.
Next are some warm-up exercises covering the major joints and muscles. The format in which they are presented is one of the best I have seen so far, but it has sadly not been copied much in martial arts books. Each exercise is presented with several pictures. On the opposite page is an explanation of the physiological benefits, the number of repetitions to be performed, Martial arts benefits and some pointers. This way, you know exactly what to do, why it is important and what mistakes to be attentive to.
Even though most exercises are good enough, there are some that would be considered advanced or not good for you these days. E.g.: certain hip rotations, lower back stretches and bridging exercises. Besides these few, the exercises certainly have their use.
The next segment covers a series of stretching techniques. Most of them are very useful, but nothing all that impressive either. In addition, the author shows some exercises to improve balance and footwork. Nothing groundbreaking, just some basic techniques.
This concludes the first part of the book, the next deals with kicking techniques.
First some background: If you’re not familiar with the story, Mr. Wallace injured his knee in a judo accident and from then on he could only use it as a support. So he developed a personal style of kicking, using only three kicks (roundhouse, side and hook kick) using the left leg only.
In this next part, Mr. Wallace explains some important factors for making his style of kicking work : Chambering all kicks into the same position, snapping kicks instead of thrusting them and emphasizing speed over power. He demonstrates his 3 kicks (side, roundhouse and hook kick) with many pictures and with sufficient explanation. He also shows several typical mistakes.
Once the basics are covered, he goes into different combinations, how to fake an opponent, how to train with a partner, using hand techniques to prepare kicks, distancing defensive techniques and jamming. All these topics are well documented with pictures and explanations. In the end, you get a good overall view of the Wallace kicking system and you’ll be able to train with it correctly. Whenever in doubt, there are enough pointers in these chapters to guide you toward mastering this system.
The last pages contain a short summary of Mr. Wallace’s career and some pictures from movies and competitions.
The major disadvantage of this book is again it’s age. Disregarding the few exercises that are outdated, this way of training is less interesting these days. Martial arts have turned towards full contact fighting with as few rules as possible(UFC, Vale Tudo, etc.). You may not like this turn of events, but it is nevertheless true. Bill Wallace’s system of kicking is almost useless in these types of competitions. You don’t even have to go to the extremes of UFC. Any full contact competition which allows leg kicks will show the limits of the system. The side stance makes the lead leg very vulnerable when your opponent is allowed to strike it. Even more, a couple of low kicks will hurt your lead leg enough to slow it down, leaving you with insufficient speed for using this system.
In all fairness, the author does not claim to have a foolproof system. He states clearly that you should experiment with it and use it if is valuable to you. If not then you can just disregard it. My experience is that you can surprise opponents with the techniques of Mr. Wallace. My personal preference these days, goes toward Muay Thai type kicks because they have both speed and power. I use them most of the time, but I still switch to the way Bill fights to confuse an opponent who is used to my personal style.
Interest:
I recommend this book without question, only if you have some up to date information on stretching techniques. This will give you the necessary insights to avoid certain exercises and complement the information in the book. As for the kicking techniques: If you are looking to start as a point fighter, do not hesitate. You will find a very effective system for the type of competitions you enter. For full contact fighters, the answer is more difficult. The information Mr. Wallace gives is interesting, but you must be willing to spend time studying a system that may be useless to you or offer only minor improvements to your arsenal of skills and techniques.
Quality:
The book offers excellent quality. It is written in a clear and organized fashion with good lay out and very clear pictures. An example for others to follow.
Buy it here:
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Weyland Billingsley says
Being an old guy, I have seen him fight, both non-contact and full contact and even had him at one of my schools for a seminar. No one had better kicks in the day and few could kick harder at any weight. Bill fought in the first televised full contact matches using karate and tae kwon do type rules…and things started changing after that. His theories about relaxing and stretching helped me train my students for many years.
Wim says
Same for me Weyland. I used a lot of his stuff when I started competing. But when there are throws and leg kicks involved, it didn’t work so well anymore. But I still throw a lead hook to the body-lead hook kick every now and then to surprise my students. :-)
Weyland Billingsley says
Being an old guy, I have seen him fight, both non-contact and full contact and even had him at one of my schools for a seminar. No one had better kicks in the day and few could kick harder at any weight. Bill fought in the first televised full contact matches using karate and tae kwon do type rules…and things started changing after that. His theories about relaxing and stretching helped me train my students for many years.
Wim says
Same for me Weyland. I used a lot of his stuff when I started competing. But when there are throws and leg kicks involved, it didn’t work so well anymore. But I still throw a lead hook to the body-lead hook kick every now and then to surprise my students. :-)
Danny Young says
I don’t know if you will find this useful or not.
http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/docs/rec/stretching/stretching_2.html
Always the Best,
Danny
Wim says
Thanks Danny. This is the guide Brad Appleton did a bunch of years ago. I do’nt know if he’s been keeping it up to date but at the time, it was one of the most complete works on stretching around. I still think it’s pretty good.
Danny Young says
I don’t know if you will find this useful or not.
http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/docs/rec/stretching/stretching_2.html
Always the Best,
Danny
Wim says
Thanks Danny. This is the guide Brad Appleton did a bunch of years ago. I do’nt know if he’s been keeping it up to date but at the time, it was one of the most complete works on stretching around. I still think it’s pretty good.
Alain says
Good review Wim.
I had the opportunity to talk with Bill Wallace a couple weeks ago for an article I was working on for Black Belt. It was a fun conversation.
BTW – I just got the issue of Journal of Asian Martial Arts with the review of your DVDs this week, and had a friend write me today because he saw the review. It’s the one I sent you a copy of a couple weeks ago, but the magazine is now out.
Alain
Wim says
Thanks Alain, I’ll check out JAMA tomorrow!
Alain says
Good review Wim.
I had the opportunity to talk with Bill Wallace a couple weeks ago for an article I was working on for Black Belt. It was a fun conversation.
BTW – I just got the issue of Journal of Asian Martial Arts with the review of your DVDs this week, and had a friend write me today because he saw the review. It’s the one I sent you a copy of a couple weeks ago, but the magazine is now out.
Alain
Wim says
Thanks Alain, I’ll check out JAMA tomorrow!
Lee says
Great review! I found this blog while looking for a copy of the book and it answered many of my questions.
The only place I’d disagree is towards the end where you say, “Bill Wallace’s system of kicking is almost useless in these types of competitions.”
Your opinions have probably evolved over the last decade, and in that time Stephen Thompson and Ryan Hall have used a Wallace-esque kicking system to great success within the UFC. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were directly inspired by him.
Anyway, thanks for the review
Wim says
I have a different site now for my thoughts on MMA, so please go here for that: https://mmaformula.com/
Re. Wallace’s system for MMA: I wrote “almost” useless. There is a very small amount of fighters who use his system correctly and efficiently. Ryan Hall doesn’t qualify IMO. He uses some parts of it, but leaves out most and changed it: the stance, use of the back leg, spinning techniques, dropping to the ground when he encounters resistance, etc. So technically, he seems to be a bit inspired by the Wallace system, but he doesn’t follow it very well.
Wonderboy is the only one IMO who comes close. Yet even he doesn’t fully use it: he will also use the back leg, use shifting footwork, and primarily uses his lead leg to capitalize on his freakish reach advantage. He also rarely doubles or triples up on kicks, nor does he use them at close range like Wallace did.
As for muay Thai: I was around in the 80s when the American kickboxers came over to Europe to fight the local guys with leg kicks allowed. Almost all of them got crushed when they tried to fight Wallace style. Same thing happened in the US, with the best example being Kiatsongrit vs. Roufus. Ever since, there are only a few exceptions who try the Wallace system in the ring at a high level and rarely without massively adapting it.
I’m not nitpicking, the similarities are definitely there, but the differences matter just as much: https://wimsblog.com/2018/04/how-to-never-stop-improving-in-your-martial-arts-training/ Wallace was very precise about his system and there are still numerous videos out there of him a few decades ago teaching at seminars, explaining the relevant details. There were specific reasons why he fought the way he did and those I have yet to see emulated in the cage or the muay Thai ring.
Doesn’t mean it’s a bad system, just not adapted to a different environment. Just like all other systems.