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Martial Arts Book Review - Treating Martial Arts Injuries by Dennis R. Burke

Author: Shawn Kovacich
Date Posted: October 18, 2008

Being the author of several books on the martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it's definitely worth owning. One such book is Dennis R. Burke’s, "Treating Martial Arts Injuries."

This is a really well done book for the most part and should be a wake-up call to everyone involved in the martial arts to start studying so that they can eventually become as proficient as possible at the very least in CPR and basic first aid. I myself have been certified as a First Responder of which CPR is included. I believe that this is an invaluable skill that you should learn as you never know when it might be needed to save another human beings life. If you look at the history of the martial arts in the Orient, you will discover that most of the martial arts masters were also medically trained in one form or another. Ever wonder why?

First off, this book should not be considered as a training manual for administering First Aid. Even though a lot of the information provided in this book is still valid, it should be read and digested as a basic guideline to go by after being provided with current and updated training and certification.

This book starts out with a very interesting philosophy concerning injuries and the martial arts. There is some very relevant information included in this section and some outstanding “food for thought.” This is followed by a brief introductory section that takes a look not only at the actual act of administering First Aid, but also the area in which it is administered.

1. Basic First Aid:

This section starts out with a very good list of the items that should be included in a well stocked and easy to access First Aid Kit. It then covers a lot of the more common injuries that you are likely to encounter, such as; blisters, bruises, abrasions, hematomas, strains, sprains, etc., and how to treat them.

2. Facial Injuries:

As the title indicates, this section covers the most common types of facial injuries that you are likely to encounter and how to treat them. These include such injuries to various parts of the facial area such as; the eyes, nose and nasal area, ears, various fractures to the facial area, and tongue injuries.

3. Head and Neck Injuries:

This section primarily covers initial treatment to such injuries as; carotid sinus injuries and injuries to the neck and upper spine.

4. Shoulder and Upper Extremities:

This section covers the initial treatment of injuries that you are most likely to come into contact with in this area of the body. These are usually injuries to the following parts of the body; collarbone, elbow, hand, wrist, fingers, and various types of joint dislocations.

5. Trunk Injuries:

This section covers the initial treatment of injuries that you are most likely to come into contact with in this area of the body. These are usually injuries to the following parts of the body; the chest, the costo chondral (I will let you read about this one), cardiac, abdominal, and lower back.

6. Lower Extremities:

This section covers the initial treatment of injuries that you are most likely to come into contact with in this area of the body. These are usually injuries to the following parts of the body; the thigh, knee, ankle, foot, toes, and rupture of the Achilles’ Tendon.

7. Rehabilitation Exercises:

This section is rather brief, but it does give you some very basic exercise that can be performed in order to aid in rehabilitation therapy.

8. Stretching and Weight Training:

The only real problem I have with this book is this particular section. I felt that it was way too brief and didn’t really provide that much information in it. However, a lot of the information that is in this section was good information.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This book and the information supplied in it should only be used after you have taken and completed a currently updated First Aid program that is certified by the state in which you reside. First Aid is just that, first aid, it is not intended to be used to diagnose and treat injuries. It is and always has been designed to provide initial treatment and to stabilize an injury to the best of the person’s ability until the proper medical care can be administered.

About The Author

Shawn Kovacich has been practicing the martial arts for over 25 years and currently holds the rank of 4th degree (Yodan) black belt in both Karate and Tae Kwon Do. Shawn has also competed in such prestigious full-contact bare knuckle karate competitions as the Shidokan Open and the Sabaki Challenge, among others. In addition to his many accomplishments, Shawn is also a two time world record holder for endurance high kicking as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. Shawn is the author of Front Kick the fourth volume in the highly acclaimed Achieving Kicking Excellence™ series. of martial arts books, and is currently working on several additional marital arts and self-defense books. Which are due to be released in 2007.

Article Source: JKD Street Combat - online collection of martial arts book reviews.

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