Knucklepit's book review

Knucklepit’s Book Reviews

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KARO PARISYAN

Judo for Mixed Martial Arts

with Erich Krauss & Glen Cordoza (Victory Belt)

Foreword by Neil Melanson

available through www.budovideos.com

What an amazing instructional book by Karo Parisyan, who at 14 years and weighing just 140 lbs was competing in open-division judo and defeating experienced adults twice his size.

Incredibly, Karo also entered and won battles in Mexican cage fighting whilst still 14. “At that point, competing against older, stronger opponents was something I had grown accustomed to,” says Parisyan.

Judo for Mixed Martial Arts is yet another colossal publication from Victory Belt, which clearly illustrates every move from Karo through multiple shots, leaving nothing to interpretation for the reader.

Parisyan was the first athlete to adapt his style of judo to big-time cage fighting, and in this book he covers everything from control positions to throwing techniques, grappling, and g’n’p.

To quote from legendary UFC and Affliction referee, Big John McCarthy: “Karo Parisyan’s ability to use his opponent’s strength and momentum to his advantage has made him one of the elite fighters in the world today. If you want to learn from the best, Karo Parisyan has to be on your list.”

Here is a unique opportunity to roll with Karo, knowing you are throwing down, pounding and submitting with the best judoka in the business.

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
– THE BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE

by BJ PENN

with Glen Cordoza & Erich Krauss (Victory Belt)
available through www.budovideos.com

BJ Penn is the grand sorcerer of ultimate fighting who blends together a lethal brew of strikes, takedowns and submissions, making him the true alchemist of mixed martial arts.

This former UFC Welterweight Champion is not only one of MMA’s most respected practitioners, but BJ captured the imagination of all martial artists around the world in 2000 when he became the only non-Brazilian to win the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships.

“BJ Penn is one of the most talented athletes I’ve ever had the honor to train with. Any techniques you learn from this book will be time well spent,” says Randy Couture.

In Mixed Martial Arts – The Book of Knowledge, Penn divides his publication into two parts: ‘The Stand-Up Game’ and ‘The Ground Game’, thoroughly explaining both areas clearly to his apprentices.

One of the main features of the book is that BJ doesn’t try to convert people to any particular fighting style, but works with the reader “Meshing techniques from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing, and wrestling… that beginners and experienced practitioners can follow,” says Penn.

And while The Prodigy encourages athletes to develop a well-rounded game he also encourages them to work primarily from their home base, whether that be stand-up or ground warfare.

“If you’re already an accomplished grappler or kickboxer, you don’t have to go searching for your base. It is important that you rely upon the techniques that have been ingrained into your DNA… Now, if you’re entering the sport of MMA without a background in wrestling or kickboxing or jiu-jitsu, you’re going to have to find what aspect you gravitate toward.”

BJ also presents a number of different programs for circuit training that are MMA sport-specific, and after providing a wealth of knowledge on offensive techniques, Penn then supplies the antidote for these techniques to his readers/students.

A superb book from this incredible master of the fighting arts.

Mastering Mixed Martial Arts – The Guard

by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

with Glen Cordoza & Erich Krauss (Victory Belt)

available through www.budovideos.com

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is to grappling what Las Vegas is to deserts. The idiom used to be, ‘One man’s meat is another man’s poison’, but in Nogueira’s case it’s ‘One man’s poison is another man’s bread and butter’.

When it comes to fighting, most competitors – particularly wrestlers – avoid being on their backs like the plague. However with Antonio Nogueira, not only is he at home in the guard, but he turns the hell’s kitchen of MMA into his own private torture chamber, welcoming adversaries like a spider to a fly.

“Fighting off my back allowed me to use both of my arms and both of my legs to attack, while my opponent on top was restricted to using just his arms. Four limbs against two – how could you not like those odds?” asks Nogueira.

And no one submits from the bottom better than Antonio, who covers everything in Mastering Mixed Martial Arts – The Guard, including position control, double arm controls, inside hooks guard, half guard and the downed guard.

After studying and practicing Nogueira’s 226 pages of crystal-clear lessons, you can’t help feel not only extremely confident fighting from your back, but like Antonio, you’ll feel compelled to seek out the guard during training and competition.

Antonio Nogueira provides his readers with a complete fight plan that resembles Rubik’s cube: From start to finish, everything flows, with one move connecting to the next. “Unlike most books, I haven’t offered a random group of techniques. I’ve sequenced the moves together based on an opponent’s most common reaction to your position or previous submission. If your goal is to develop a guard system where everything is interconnected, I suggest studying this section sequentially. ”

The autobiographical introduction to Mastering Mixed Martial Arts – The Guard makes this a value-for-money publication even before the instruction starts. An amazing book by an amazing man.

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTION
MANUAL/ STRIKING

by Anderson Silva

with Erich Krauss & Glen Cordoza (Victory Belt)

available through www.budovideos.com

Through consistently delivering top-shelf products, Victory Belt publications have become the Rolls Royce of MMA and MA books. And when they are co-authored by the dynamite duo of Erich Krauss and Glen Cordoza, well that’s just another brass-knuckle endorsement. Their collaboration here is certainly no exception to the rule.

Anderson Silva is the most dominant MMA middleweight in the world today, to the point where the UFC appears to be having trouble finding challenging opponents for “The Spider” rather than victims for him to toy with.

One aspect of Anderson’s game that places him head and shoulders above the rest is his unpredictability: Adversaries don’t know if he’s going to be facing them in southpaw or orthodox position, and he’s constantly changing from a towering posture to a crouch, with his transition from one stance to another always being so deceptively smooth.

“During most fights I’ll spend a good portion of the time with my left foot forward and my right foot back… By switching back and forth between southpaw stance and a standard stance, I’ll often confuse my opponent… I strongly recommend learning how to fight with your opposite foot forward because it will open different attacking and counterattacking options,” says Silva.

Thankfully, for the majority of Anderson’s techniques demonstrated in Mixed Martial Arts Instruction Manual/ Striking he shows both the orthodox and southpaw positions to avoid confusion. He also prepares the reader for facing opponents in both the same and the opposite stances.

Areas covered in this book include: stance, footwork, parries and blocks, kick checking, feints, and of course, Anderson Silva’s diabolical strikes, including his lethal knee-strikes.

Two hundred and seventy-two pages of uncut TNT.

Commiserations to Rafael Feijao – Anderson’s training partner.

JIU-JITSU UNIVERSITY

by Saulo Ribeiro

with Kevin Howell (Victory Belt)

available through www.budovideos.com

Saulo Ribeiro became a six-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and a two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club champion under the tutorage of Royler Gracie. Of Ribeiro, Royler says, “Without a doubt, Saulo is the best black belt I ever graduated in these 24 years of teaching!”

Jiu-Jitsu University sums up Saulo Ribeiro’s offering perfectly: It’s more of a correspondence course than just a book. Saulo takes his readers/students on a journey from white belt through to black belt, explaining the significance of each grading under his expert tuition.

Word of recommendation: When you purchase a copy of Jiu-Jitsu University, be sure to start reading from the beginning and don’t flick through pages. Saulo Ribeiro is not a man to waste words, so every sentence is important.

What makes Ribeiro’s book stand out is that his BJJ is thorough and a complete grappling system rather than just a collection of submission techniques. “Most instructors do not spend enough time talking about the importance of keeping the position and defeating your opponent’s defense. I see submissions as the result of certain situations where you are in a completely advantageous position and you can choose the proper way to make your opponent give up,” says Ribeiro.

Royce Gracie used Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to dominate the early UFCs and no fighting system featured more strongly than BJJ at UFC 91. Saulo Ribeiro is a grappling grand wizard, and Jiu-Jitsu University leaves no thunderstone unturned.

Here is an opportunity to study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the best and know that your training in BJJ is second to none.

FEDOR

The Fighting System of the World’s Undisputed King of MMA

by Fedor Emelianenko

with Glen Cordoza & Erich Krauss (Victory Belt)

available through www.budovideos.com

The beauty of our modern age for anyone interested in combat sport or self-defense is that ultimate fighting has revealed which are the world’s best fighting systems and which disciplines and techniques are impractical.

This high-tech age also enables MMA enthusiasts to be personally coached in their own homes by the best competitors and instructors on the planet – all for the price of a book or DVD.

Fedor is a classic example: Here readers have access to Fedor Emelianenko, the “Undisputed King of MMA”. And his book definitely delivers the goods – without being pretentious or flowery. “Many of the techniques might not seem as fancy as the ones demonstrated in other books, but I guarantee that the ones on the following pages have all been tried and tested in battle,” says Fedor.

Emelianenko covers striking techniques, counterattacks, clinching, throws and takedowns, ground techniques (top and bottom), submissions and escapes… On each occasion he also explains what separates his techniques from those of other combatants, e.g., “With most of my punches I turn my hand over more than most fighters.”

Fedor is an elaborately illustrated book with every move shown clearly through multi-angled photos and graphic type so nothing is left to the reader’s interpretation. What could be better than having Fedor Emelianenko in your corner?

TITLE SHOT

Into the Shark Tank of Mixed Martial Arts

by Kelly Crigger (Victory Belt)

available through www.budovideos.com

Title Shot is to mixed martial arts what Jack Kerouac’s On the Road was to bebop, with author Kelly Crigger taking readers on an up-close tour of some of America’s most successful MMA gyms, where they encounter very colorful coaches and competitors.

Crigger is a lieutenant colonel in the US Army, and served in the 1^st Special Forces Group and the 3^rd Infantry Division as well as completing the Army’s Ranger School. His military career has included trips to the holiday destination of Afghanistan. Knowing firsthand about action, Crigger takes a trek across the US on a quest to see what makes mixed martial artists tick.

Title Shot opens with a visit from BJ Penn who “wants to do something for the troops” before he hooks up with Crigger. Of BJ, the author says, “He was gracious, humble, and genuinely happy to spend time with soldiers of Fort Lewis, Washington.”

Like Kerouac’s Dean Moriarty (Neal Cassady), Kelly Crigger then commences his yearlong journey across America, starting at Matt Lindland’s Team Quest in Portland, Oregon, then travels to Cesar Gracie’s, David Terrell’s and Ivan Salaverry’s gyms in Northern California, before cruising down to spend time with Greg Jackson in Albuquerque. Kelly leap-frogs up to Somerville, Massachusetts, to take in Mark DellaGrotte and his Sityodtong Muay Thai Academy, where Crigger plays some very amusing mind games with Mark using a stone dragon ornament that adds a lot of humor to the book.

Readers get more firsthand experience of MMA when they’re escorted to IFL finals in Florida, and Coconut Creek’s American Top Team gym. But probably the highlight of Crigger’s tour is his arrival at UFC 79 in Las Vegas, where there are cameo appearances from such names as Georges St-Pierre, Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva. The experience is capped off with the author’s interview of Dana White, which is both enjoyable and an extreme eye opener.

There are encounters with too many big names of ultimate fighting to list them all, but I can say you won’t be disappointed.

This book is very satisfying reading and a must for all MMA fans.

WRESTLING for FIGHTING

by Randy Couture

with Erich Krauss & Glen Cordoza
(Victory Belt)

available through www.budovideos.com

Wrestling for Fighting is jam-packed with powerhouse coaching from one of MMA’s most successful gladiators.

Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture has blazed more boundaries than any other fighter on the planet, including holding the UFC Heavyweight Championship Title, then the UFC Light-Heavyweight Title, before snatching back the UFC Heavyweight Title in swashbuckling fashion.

Now 45 years of age (another boundary crossed), Randy is putting his UFC World Heavyweight Title on the line against Brock Lesnar, and most critics are tipping The Natural to take his belt home on November 15.

In Wrestling for Fighting Randy Duane Couture splits his book into three sections: Wrestling, Greco and Wrestling for Fighting. And this Bobby Fischer of MMA provides his readers/students with hands-on tutorage. From the start, Randy makes you feel like he’s right there in your corner. When he’s explaining how to set up your opponent, Couture whispers in your ear, “I’ll send you along this path by demonstrating the basic ways to tie-up an opponent, and then showing how those tie-ups can be used in tandem with movement to set up your various takedowns.”

Randy also keeps his students in the loop by running through all his moves and then constantly referring to when these moves were used in past UFCs by himself and other MMA stars.

Although the title refers to wrestling, The Natural also covers his cage tactics, g’n’p-ing, and his legendary ‘dirty boxing’ techniques.

A masterpiece by MMA’s mastermind.

For more on Randy Couture:

http://www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-randy_couture.htm

INSIDE THE LION’S DEN

by Ken Shamrock
with Richard Hanner (Tuttle)

© Marc Wickert October 26, 2008
www.knucklepit.com

Inside the Lion’s Den is the life and submission fighting system of Ken Shamrock, who first caught the attention of America’s public when he fought at the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993. Shamrock then went on to become one of the most successful pioneers of the UFC.

In this book, Ken retraces his steps to when he was Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick and his home was a juvenile lock-up, before he was given a second chance at life through his new father, Bob Shamrock.

He then revisits his pre-UFC days where he fought on the street before progressing to Toughman competitions in California and North Carolina, then traveled to Japan to become their first King of Pancrase.

As well as being an autobiography, Inside the Lion’s Den takes readers on a guided tour of Shamrock’s world famous gym, and provides plenty of instruction in MMA, with chapters such as “Getting Strong, Flexible and Callused”; “Drills to Make You Quick and Agile”; and “Strikes, Kicks and Devastating Chokes”.

Although Inside the Lion’s Den was the predecessor to some of the great instructional books now available from more recent MMA stars, this book stands the test of time amongst the best of them.

MADE IN AMERICA

by Matt Hughes with Michael Malice

(Simon Spotlight Entertainment)

In Made in America, we’re inside, looking out through the eyes of the most dominant champion in UFC history.

Matt Hughes talks about how, since his early college wrestling days, he has always liked to use techniques first and put strength – farm strength – on reserve.

We also meet Matt’s brother, Mark, and get an insight into how being an identical twin helped stoke Matt’s fire for rivalry and success on a world scale.

When Matt takes his readers on an excursion to a local MMA event that occurred only 10 years ago, it further qualifies ultimate fighting as the world’s fastest growing sport as Hughes recounts how he was competing before a crowd so small that the announcer didn’t need a microphone.

To spice things up, Made in America has cameo appearances by Randy Couture, Mike Whitehead, Frank Trigg, GSP, BJ, Tim Sylvia, Pat Miletich, Tony Fryklund… Then there’s the infamous back-alley brawl between Tito Ortiz and Lee Murray… And a little closer to home – Matt’s wife Audra, son Joey and daughter Hanna all play their roles.

Like all good autobiographies, there are plenty of subtle tips interwoven in the lines of this book. A great read.

WATCH MY BACK

by Geoff Thompson

(Summersdale)

No fight fan’s bookcase would be complete without this classic piece of literature.

Watch My Back cuts straight to the bone, retracing the giant footsteps of an insecure young Thompson, who took up a fighting art to stop being bullied, only to be abused by his instructor, before then signing up for work on the door of some of England’s toughest nightclubs and bars, where Geoff then stood toe to toe with his demons.

This is an incredible journey that, fueled by blood, sweat and tears – and a truckload of guts – turned Geoff Thompson into the world’s most famous doorman.

In his book, Geoff discusses the shortfalls of a dojo-manufactured fighter against the battle-proven street fighter, and shows how Thompson transformed his life by setting hurdles for himself, which enabled him to go from being a victim to later in life confronting the number one bully from his past.

Watch My Back is a true classic.

For more on Geoff Thompson: www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-geoff_thompson.htm.

ICEMAN: My Fighting Life

by Chuck Liddell with Chad Millman

(Dutton Books)

UFC former Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell delivers 303 pages of full-contact writing here, starting from his childhood when he was raised by his mother, Charlene, and his grandparents. Whilst the Iceman calls his father “the guy I would refer to as the sperm donor”, his grandfather ‘Pops’ was the man who initially taught Chuck how to handle himself.

In ICEMAN: My Fighting Life, Liddell reveals everything from how he was inspired to get his first Mohawk haircut after attending a Slayer concert to how he first linked up with John Hackleman and John Lewis, and the impact they’ve had on his fighting career and his life.

Chuck pulls back the curtain and invites the reader to take a guided tour with him into the lifestyle of one of the world’s most successful ultimate fighters. There are also some personal views of MMA’s most successful promoter, Dana White, and how Dana and the Fertitta brothers gathered up the UFC pile of ashes, then picked up the pieces and created the world’s fastest growing sport.

Although ICEMAN: My Fighting Life is regarded as an autobiography, there are stacks of helpful tips from the Octagon legend throughout the book, including ‘My thoughts on how to throw a knockout punch’ and Chuck’s weekly training program.

Chuck even talks about the many, many women in his life and gives advice to young guns on ‘How to impress your girlfriend’.

ICEMAN: My Fighting Life definitely gets Knucklepit’s tick for excellence.

America On Trial
– Inside The Legal Battles That
Transformed Our Nation

by Alan M. Dershowitz

(Warner Books)

This book is literary shock treatment. Although written by the world’s most famous criminal lawyer, the book is easy to read, but hard to put down.

Professor Dershowitz has defended such clients as Patty Hearst, Jimmy Bakker, and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. Dershowitz was also a member of O.J. Simpson’s ‘Dream Team’ defense group.

In his book, he covers cases from the Salem Witchcraft Trials of Colonial America to the Trial of the Lincoln Assassins; from the Shoeless Joe Jackson Case to the Trial of Jack Ruby; and the Trial of the Chicago Seven to the Cases of the Terrorist Detainees – in Guantanamo and unknown places around the world.

If you ever wondered whether Mike Tyson was really guilty of rape, or thought it strange a beauty pageant contestant was innocently visiting the boxer in his hotel room at 2am, then wait until you’ve read Professor Dershowitz’s chapter “The Trial of Mike Tyson”.

“America On Trial – Inside The Legal Battles That Transformed Our Nation” is a knockout book from cover to cover. This book should be in every library on the planet.

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