Visual Training Guides Are Useful Until They Weren't Designed For You
I picked up Step By Step An Expert Course On Mastering The Techniques Of This Powerful Martial Art Shown In Over 500 Photographs about three years ago. Was looking for something that could replace at least part of the hand-on correction my instructor used to give during beginner classes. The book covers Muay Thai primarily, with some BJJ thrown in. It's photographed well enough. But there are details in these books that don't get mentioned in reviews. The core premise is straightforward: sequences broken into numbered positions, each one photographed from the same angle so you can trace weight transfer and limb positioning. That format works for 70 percent of the techniques shown. The remaining 30 percent fall apart because the photos capture a perfect moment but not the transition into or out of it. A clinch entry looks clean in the book. In practice, your timing, distance, and the opponent's resistance make it look nothing like the still frame. I learned that the hard way during sparring when I tried to replicate a knee from the book and ended up flat-footed with my balance compromised. What the photographs do well is showing hip alignment on throws and the angle of entry for sweeps. If you're struggling with whether your hip should be squared or rotated on a particular technique, the visual reference is genuinely helpful. One thing most people miss though: the books rarely show foot placement under resistance. The model's feet are always planted perfectly, weight balanced, cooperative. Real technique execution involves a resisting partner shifting their base, which changes everything about how you should place your own feet. I started sketching over the photos with a dry-erase marker to note where my feet actually need to be when someone is actively pushing back. Took me about twenty minutes per technique, but it made the difference between copying a move and understanding it.
There's also the issue of camera angle bias. Nearly every sequence is shot from one side, usually the attacker's right. That means if you're left-handed or training primarily with your weak side, you're working from mirrored reference material and the book doesn't acknowledge that. I found myself flipping the images on my phone while studying, which sounds trivial until you realize you're internalizing the wrong rotational direction for certain entries. After that, I just stopped treating any single-angle sequence as the complete picture and cross-referenced with video breakdowns whenever the photo felt ambiguous. The physical book itself has a binding issue. At page 187, where the section on defensive clinch breaks begins, the spine starts separating under normal use. I've seen this happen with at least two other copies from different buyers. If you're planning to keep it on a mat bag or training floor, get it laminated or invest in a slipcase early. The pages are glossy enough that they resist sweat damage better than matte editions, but the glue isn't holding up past six months of regular flipping. Another thing that trips people up: the book assumes a baseline level of stances and guard positions. There's a chapter on basic posture that reads like it was written for someone who already knows what they're talking about. Terms like "crossface control," "underhook position," and "tie-up frame" appear without definition. If you're newer to the art, you'll spend more time looking up those terms elsewhere than learning from the actual sequences. It's not the book's fault exactly. The author seems to have written for intermediate practitioners who just need visual reinforcement, not beginners who need foundational explanation.
I'd recommend pairing it with a good video series rather than treating it as a standalone resource. The photographs lock in the positional details that video sometimes blurs through motion. But the videos fill in the timing and resistance gaps that the stills can't capture. Together they cover roughly the same ground a solid twelve-week beginners-to-intermediate curriculum would, at a fraction of the cost of a private coaching package. Just don't expect the book to tell you what to do when your partner doesn't cooperate the way the models do, because it won't. Nothing printed on paper can really handle that variable.
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