I check out a book at school called karate for idiots and i have been practicing some of the moves from the book, i was told from friend that doing so is very retarded and a bad idea.
Pretty much. Unless you have actual experience, using a book won't really help you. With some experience, a book might help you correct something or give you a new way of looking at things, but without the experience you won't have any practical application.
Learning from a book and then practicing on a bag, or kicking, etc. is not retarded. It's just a step on a staircase. You will need more.
Have some lessons first, then read the book.
books are excellent for fine adjusting/tweaking what you already know. Real experience is the key: sparring, kicking, punching, drilling, training, following commands, repeat until your knuckles are bleeding and you cant walk and youve lost all contact with friends and family because you dont have time for anything else. Also kung fu flicks. kung fu flicks is mandatory lol.
