Rating: Summary: Truly Illuminating... Review: Alright, I have been won over. I have been practicing the de-fanged form of jiu-jitsu known as judo for quite some time now and always thought it was an effective martial art. But after being bested in tournament after tournament by novices in the devastatingly effective South American art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I decided to buy this book to see what all the fuss was about. I was blown away.Though it doesn't really include techniques (there are many other books by Royce, Ralph, Renzo, or Cesar that do), it did inspire me with tales of the first family of vale tudo fighting. Each chapter detailing the exploits of a Gracie family member makes me wish I wasn't suffering in this bleak Michigan landscape, but learning from the originators of no holds barred combat in beautiful Brazil.
Rating: Summary: Worth 2 .. add 1 for the name of Gracie Review: As a fan of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, I have been longing to read the history of the Gracie. And by history, I mean "history" not the recent and current stuff. But this book only devotes the first chapter on the gracie history and spends the other four fifth of the book advertisng the younger well known Gracies.
Rating: Summary: Terrific history of the larger than life Gracies. Review: As an admitted Gracie fan and BJJ practitioner, I couldn't get enough of this book. The history, photos, and inside stories are terrific and make this book impossible to put down. What really surprised me is how much my wife and non-martial arts friends loved it too. Whether you appreciate the Gracies and Jiu-Jitsu or not, you will be inspired and astonished by the exploits of this large and famous fighting family. These are extraordinary men who have lead remarkable lives.
Rating: Summary: Terrific history of the larger than life Gracies. Review: As an admitted Gracie fan and BJJ practitioner, I couldn't get enough of this book. The history, photos, and inside stories are terrific and make this book impossible to put down. What really surprised me is how much my wife and non-martial arts friends loved it too. Whether you appreciate the Gracies and Jiu-Jitsu or not, you will be inspired and astonished by the exploits of this large and famous fighting family. These are extraordinary men who have lead remarkable lives.
Rating: Summary: Beautiful Pictures. However, stories seem a bit fabricated.. Review: Despite ranking the book 3 stars out of 5, I will go ahead and say that this book is a must have for anyone practicing brazilian jiujitsu. I have been into the sport for years, and I truly value my copy of this book. The pictures are beautiful, and I love how the chapters are broken down into each of the brothers/cousins. However, I believe the stories on each of the brothers seem a bit fabricated. They may be real, but the diction employed by the author seems to exaggerate and stretch the truth. Peligro is a great writer. With his skills, I believe he could have done a better job on this book.
Rating: Summary: Beautiful Pictures. However, stories seem a bit fabricated.. Review: Despite ranking the book 3 stars out of 5, I will go ahead and say that this book is a must have for anyone practicing brazilian jiujitsu. I have been into the sport for years, and I truly value my copy of this book. The pictures are beautiful, and I love how the chapters are broken down into each of the brothers/cousins. However, I believe the stories on each of the brothers seem a bit fabricated. They may be real, but the diction employed by the author seems to exaggerate and stretch the truth. Peligro is a great writer. With his skills, I believe he could have done a better job on this book.
Rating: Summary: This book is a joke Review: Don't believe the hype. Don't believe the text. Buy Marco Ruas's book or tapes instead. You won't regret it!
Rating: Summary: So far so good. Review: I bought this book to find out history of Gracies and I 've read it in one breath. We can talk about some things like that Gracies used martial arts even there wasn't situation for self-defense but still very interesting book about Gracie dinasty.
Rating: Summary: Written with loving care...and exceptional bias. Review: I fully echo what J. Steele has said in an earlier review. The production on this book is fantastic. If you are a Gracie fan, you will be in heaven. For the layman, this is a really interesting read...if you heed the warnings. For the martial arts historian or fan, this book is severely lacking in the credibility department. Kid Peligro does indeed have unparalleled access to the Gracie family, and the quality of the family photos and interviews reflects this. The reporting of some of the more controversial events is where the problem lies. An outsider reading this book would not believe that Sakuraba had beaten half the Gracie family soundly in MMA. Gracie losses are mere footnotes, or passed off as no-contests. Similarly the report of Helio's historic loss to Kimura spends more in describing Helio beating Kato, then insinuating that Kimura was bigger, younger and stronger than Helio - well maybe Helio shouldn't have challenged him then. After Kimura breaks Helio's arm, there is the ridiculous suggestion that the whole thing was a ploy for Helio to glean knowledge from Kimura, and in some way this was a victory - Helio had "learned everything he could from Kimura." Sadly the text is riddled with such obvious and disappointing bias. Just a little less rhetoric would have made this book outstanding.
Rating: Summary: Great book about a great family Review: I've been training with the Gracies for about 3 years now and have always been reading about them online. This book has tons of information and great pictures that I had never seen before. It really is a great book that brings you into the Gracie family. It's a testament of what human beings can do when they are passionate about something and put their minds and hearts to the task.
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