Hatchet Kick - Volume 8 of the Achieving Kicking Excellence Series by Shawn Kovacich

What exactly is a hatchet kick? It is not as well known as your common side kicks and popular roundhouse kicks. Nor is it as self-descriptive as a front kick. So how do you describe it? Guinness World Record holder, black belt, and author Shawn Kovacich describes basketball hatchet kick like this, "A properly executed hatchet kick performed by a man (or woman), can be compared to a hybrid combination of a turning wheel kick and an in-to-out axe kick." If you are still uncertain just what a hatchet kick is or how to execute it properly, Kovacich's eighth book of his impressive Achieving Kicking Excellence series will ensure you have every component to master this kick.

Hatchet Kick by Shawn Kovacich is similar to the others in the series in that it is a stand alone volume that focuses on all aspects of performing the hatchet kick and ten of its main variations. Like the other volumes, this book contains short chapters on anatomy, warm ups, stretching, strength training, speed training, and power training.

The meat of the book however is the detailed descriptions of how to execute the hatchet kick and the variations. Kovacich breaks each kick down into its parts and illustrates these components with detailed photographs. I have not seen any other text illustrate kicking with such detail. The kick variations that Kovacich includes are: Step-Back, Spinning Hatchet Kick, Hop/Slide Forward, Hop/Slide Backward Hatchet Kick, Front Leg, Back Leg Hatchet Kick, Switch Hatchet Kick, Off-Setting Hatchet Kick, Jump Turning, 540 Degree Jumping Hatchet Kick, and the Spinning (with the left leg).

The book is full of notes and illustrations to assist you with mastering this kick and to be able to use the kick in various situations. Kovacich includes some of the applications for the hatchet kick near the end of the text, right after he addresses some common problems with the kick in his troubleshooting guide.

This volume is another exceptional book on kicking and as I said is the eighth of a ten book series on what Kovacich calls the basic kicks. This book and the rest of the series makes a superb resource for anyone who practices a kicking art. Even if you perform kicks a bit differently than Kovacich's style, you will learn things to make you better. If you teach kicking, Kovacich's books will aid you with imparting kicking knowledge to your students. I highly recommend this book and the entire set to all martial artists.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He helps people discover the warrior's edge as he writes and speaks about a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety basketball He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional dvds, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com or http://www.bennettlawofficepc.com

So Who Really Has the Best College Basketball Conference in the Nation?

This article is meant to start a water cooler discussion among workers who are basketball fans that will last well past their allotted lunch hour. So who really has the best college basketball conference in the nation?

Let us start where the rubber meets the road, with Jeff Sagarin's NCAA Basketball Ratings. Sagarin is an American sports statistician whose ratings have been a regular feature in USA Today since 1985, and have been used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee for March Madness seedings.

In this analysis, only Sagarin's ratings are used because basketball is the best barometer for forecasting what lies ahead. I am only concerned with Sagarin's current Top 25 teams as of Feb. 28, 2009.

For openers, here are Sagarin's Top 25 followed by their season record:

1 North Carolina (24-3), 2 Connecticut (27-2), 3 Pittsburgh (25-3), 4 Duke (24-5), 5 Memphis (26-3), 6 Oklahoma (26-3), 7 Louisville (22-5), 8 Michigan State (22-5), 9 Missouri (24-4), 10 Kansas (23-5), 11 Wake Forest (22-5), 12 Purdue (22-7), 13 Gonzaga (22-5), 14 Clemson (22-6), 15 West Virginia (19-9), 16 UCLA (22-7), 17 Illinois (23-6), 18 Villanova (23-6), 19 Washington (22-7), 20 Marquette (23-5), 21 Xavier (23-5), 22 Arizona State (21-7), 23 BYU (21-6), 24 Syracuse (19-8) and 25 Utah (20-7).

So which conference claims the most teams among Sagarin's Top 25? That would be the Atlantic Coast Conference with 7-North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Villanova, Marquette and Syracuse.

Second is the Big East with 4-Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Louisville and West Virginia. Tied for third with 3 teams each are the Big 12, Big Ten and the Pac 10. The Big 12 has Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. The Big Ten has Michigan State, Purdue and Illinois. The Pac 10 has UCLA, Washington and Arizona State.

The Mountain West Conference has BYU and Utah. Conference USA has Memphis, the West Coast Conference has Gonzaga, and the Atlantic 10 has Xavier.

While it may be easy to conclude that the best conference is the Atlantic Coast Conference, there are some other telling considerations.

One factor is where the best of the best, the Top 10 teams, are located. The Atlantic Coast has No. 1 North Carolina and No. 4 Duke. Sounds pretty good, but the Big East has No. 2 Connecticut, No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 7 Louisville, and the Big 12 has No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 Missouri and 10 Kansas. Conference USA has No. 5 Memphis and the Big Ten has No. 8 Michigan State.

From this perspective, it would seem that the Big East trumps the Atlantic Coast, as least in placement.

To state the obvious, you can be assured the best conference is not the Big Ten, Pac 10, Mountain West, Conference USA, the West Coast Conference, Atlantic 10 or Mountain West. All lack the necessary firepower in numbers to claim that distinction.

Another factor is the strength of schedule. So which conference has the most teams in the Top 25 while playing a strength of schedule that also rates among the Top 25 teams nationally?

Would you believe there are only 8 teams that can claim the distinction of being ranked among the Top 25 in both position and strength of schedule? They are:

West Virginia with 6th best strength of schedule nationally, while Duke rates 7th, Michigan State 8th, Syracuse 11th (this is the reason Syracuse is only 19-8 on the season), North Carolina 15th, Washington 19th (even though the Huskies never get any respect from East Coast pundits), Louisville 22nd and Pittsburgh 23rd.

And who has the 8 worst strength of schedules? Try Missouri at 99, Gonzaga 74, Marquette 68, Memphis 64, BYU 59, Xavier 57, Oklahoma 52 and Wake Forest 50.

So Missouri is ranked No. 9 but has the worst strength of schedule among the Top 25 teams. Memphis is ranked No. 5 but has the fourth worst schedule strength at 64.

Six of the Top 10 strength of schedules are in the Atlantic Coast Conference with Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse, and in the Big East with Pittsburgh, Louisville and West Virginia.

The Big 12 does not have a single team in the Top 25 when considering strength of schedule.

And did I mention the Southeastern Conference this year? The SEC does not have a single team among the Top 25 in rankings or strength of schedule. The Big 12 does not have a single team among the Top 25 in strength of schedule.

Some teams with fancy records may not go deep into the NCAA tournament. One sleeper who may go farther than anyone would think is the Washington Huskies, who rank 19th in position and also 19th nationally in strength of schedule.

So who really has the best college basketball conference in the nation? Given the data presented here, it may be a close call between the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East, but I would give the nod to the ACC because they have the most teams in the Top 25 with 7, and their strength of schedule ratings are clearly better than those in the Big East.

The conference playoffs are just around the corner, followed of course by March Madness, which may prove or disprove the value of statistical analysis. Let the games begin.

Copyright 2009 Ed Bagley

Get a FREE 6-Part Series on Email Resume Management as well as Valuable Information and Updates on Jobs, Careers, Promotions, Resumes, Cover Letters, Job Interviews, Hiring Practices, Online Hiring, Power Secrets on Getting Hired, Salaries, and Career Fairs. Become part of my Personal Email List; subscribe for free on my home page.

Read my articles on track and field, cross-country and distance running, including:

"Updated USA Prep Track & Field Records and the New Best 2008 Top Performers"

"2009 Simplot Games Showcase the Nation's Top High School Track and Field Talent"

"National Indoor Middle basketball USA High School Track Records - What It Takes to Be the Best"

"Several Track and Field Girl Athletes Prove Their Great Sportsmanship and Substance - Playing Sports Builds Character"

"Running: There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Your Weight and Your Cardiovascular Efficiency - Part 5"

"Arthur Lydiard, the World's Greatest Middle Distance Coach, on How to Train Effectively"

"Washington's 2 Freshmen Lead Women to the 2008 National Cross-Country Title"

"Kathryn Martin Dominates on the Track at the 2008 USATF National Masters Meet"

"USA Middle Distance Outdoor Records for Male Super Master Runners Ages 50-74"

Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html