Rating: 
Summary: low budget
Review: Bad editing and poor production values mar what otherwise could have been a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Required reading for any martial artist
Review: Coming from a traditional martial arts background for almost 15 years my instructors always scorned martial arts that broke with tradition and gravitated towards "sports." After many years of learning various styles of fighting I was finding that most schools were teaching techniques that seemed to not work well against resisting opponents. Further I found the traditional methods of practice lacked the hard physical attributes necessary to perform well in a stressful situation against someone resisting forcefully. Although I was aware of Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) and other mixed martial arts (MMA) styles, It was only recently that I decided to begin studying other systems of combat where their successful application was proven in actual competition against opponents who were often much bigger and stronger. As part of this research I came across this book which provides far and away the best explanations on: 1) Why traditional training fails to teach combat realities.
2) Why traditional notions of combat (controlling the distance) are fiction.
3) How combat systems adopted to sporting competition are actually more effective than supposedly "deadly" techniques that are never practiced. The above may sound obvious to those who have studied BJJ for a while, but to the average public observer or traditionally trained fighter this is completely counter to what you've always seen and been told. This book provides not only insights into why the way you've been training all these years is probably wrong, but explores with examples why it is so. The tactics, philosophies, and techniques (there are few techniques in this book) are all proven in hard competitive situations by individuals whose training dwarfs that of an average street thug or bully. This book does not go into how techniques and philosophies "should" work and what a deadly technique "would" do as many other martial arts claim. This book explores the techniques that *will* work and tells you exactly what they *actually* do because they have empirical data (which many other systems seem to lack) from modern combat usage. If you are a traditional martial artist and are looking to truly study ways to make you more effective this is the book to get. Beginners may find the theory and application a little daunting if you've never had any training, but the concepts and history are easy to grasp. Every martial artist should own this book. I've read my copy several times as I learn this new art and find the information not only very informative, but incredibly realistic as it applies to Mixed Martial Arts training. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: high-level jiu jitsu/MMA book!!
Review: Easily the most in depth anaylsis of jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts I have ever seen. The history section at the start of the book is awsome!! It reads like a textbook, full of insights - it will change the way you think about and understand MMA. The technical drills and moves are great also.
Rating:
Summary: simply excellent
Review: Especially division of a fight into phases is very good. Well prepared and easily read book. Alhtough rather an advanced practicionner I am, I have found very good tips. There are not many techniques but I think the purpose of the author is rather giving tactics. Consider that the book does not cost much either.
Rating:
Summary: Best grappling/MMA book out there!
Review: Finally a book that breaks down the whole MMA game into a cohesive and well written form. The central idea is the "theory of phases of combat" that is at the center of the books discussion. There is also a good selection of contemporary MMA technique. An interesting and original account of MMA/jiu jitsu technique for self defense. This book is light years ahead of anything else out there.
Rating:
Summary: Truly excellent work!!
Review: I just read this book and all I can say is- WOW!! Great effort! Gracie and Danaher really take the book market up a notch with this one. Easily the best written and researched jujitsu/MMA book on the market. Great stuff!!
Rating:
Summary: Required reading for any martial artist
Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK! This is one of the most comprehensive works on the principles behind one-on-one, unarmed combat that I've read. We're not talking one of those "every move in the world" books here, though some are included. No, this is more on principles and theories which reallity fighting, specifically jujitsu, embrace. The book starts out with a rather extensive history of BJJ, going all the way back to ancient Japan. Briefly covered are the different theories of how martial arts developed around the world, which was interesting to read. The book then goes into the different stages of combat; the clinch, the free-movement phase, and groundfighting. I have to admit, I've never really been satisfied with "long, medium, short" or "kicking, punching, trapping, grappling", and I'm a little jealous that I didn't think of Gracie's stages of a fight on my own. His division is based on the different skills needed for each stage of a fight. Further chapters cover the stages by themselves. The free-movement chapter covers basic strikes, blocks, and long-range "shooting" takedowns. The section on the clinch actually goes over the most common clinch possitions (over-under, front headlock, double-underhook, etc.), and includes brief strategy for both. The authors give insights into strikes, takedowns, and submissions from the various clinch possitions. Groundfighting is covered in the next chapter. The focus is on the different possitions/pins, and is covered in a hierarchical manner, from most desirable to least desirable. Two chapters are then devoted to specific aspects of grounfighting; winning from the bottom, and winning from the top. These are probably the most technique-rich sections. Escapes from bad possitions, transitional movements to different possitions, and common submissions are shown. After that is a short chapter on training in general, and competitions that attract BJJ stylists are given a little detail (sport BJJ, submission wrestling, and MMA events). The last chapter is on using the theories of BJJ that have been presented in the book for self-defense. This one chapter is what Royce and Charles Gracie's self-defense book should have covered. Among other things, this chapter goes into the "prayer stance", a seemingly benign possition that enables you to defend yourself efficiently; six general catagories of violent encounters, and how their dynamics might effect the techniques used; and how to deal with common attacks, including a very pragmatic look at group attack. A nice feature of this book is that the authors look to present all views and theories of a situation, even if it doesn't really jive with BJJ's main tenents. I can also see how the style keeps evolving with exposure to different arts; many of the clinch moves are taken directly from amature wrestling, and the only kick presented is the Thai-style roundhouse kick. As I mentioned earlier, this book isn't a mega-technique book, but the techniques that are presented could be best termed "essential". The authors also make no bones about the environment that thier theories best suit: one-on-one, unarmed combat. There is definitely a sense of prejudice towards grappling and groundfighting, and this is where I kind of take issue with some of the stuff said. Early MMA/NHB events are brought in as evidence of "little guy beats big guy using grappling", but in UFC's 1-7, without going into too much detail, of six cases where the winner of a match was greatly outweighed, three were won by striking, and two of the remaining matches ended up with the grappler taking a severe beating, and the last one lasted about 20 min. with little action. In other words, I question the "little guy beats big guy using grappling" theory based on those events. Other than that, no real complaints. Great book overall, and an exelent illustration of BJJ theories and how they're applied. Good for anyone interested in what to expect out of a one-on-one, weaponless fight, or a MMA/NHB event.
Rating:
Summary: Good book for any reallity-based martial artist.
Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK! This is one of the most comprehensive works on the principles behind one-on-one, unarmed combat that I've read. We're not talking one of those "every move in the world" books here, though some are included. No, this is more on principles and theories which reallity fighting, specifically jujitsu, embrace. The book starts out with a rather extensive history of BJJ, going all the way back to ancient Japan. Briefly covered are the different theories of how martial arts developed around the world, which was interesting to read. The book then goes into the different stages of combat; the clinch, the free-movement phase, and groundfighting. I have to admit, I've never really been satisfied with "long, medium, short" or "kicking, punching, trapping, grappling", and I'm a little jealous that I didn't think of Gracie's stages of a fight on my own. His division is based on the different skills needed for each stage of a fight. Further chapters cover the stages by themselves. The free-movement chapter covers basic strikes, blocks, and long-range "shooting" takedowns. The section on the clinch actually goes over the most common clinch possitions (over-under, front headlock, double-underhook, etc.), and includes brief strategy for both. The authors give insights into strikes, takedowns, and submissions from the various clinch possitions. Groundfighting is covered in the next chapter. The focus is on the different possitions/pins, and is covered in a hierarchical manner, from most desirable to least desirable. Two chapters are then devoted to specific aspects of grounfighting; winning from the bottom, and winning from the top. These are probably the most technique-rich sections. Escapes from bad possitions, transitional movements to different possitions, and common submissions are shown. After that is a short chapter on training in general, and competitions that attract BJJ stylists are given a little detail (sport BJJ, submission wrestling, and MMA events). The last chapter is on using the theories of BJJ that have been presented in the book for self-defense. This one chapter is what Royce and Charles Gracie's self-defense book should have covered. Among other things, this chapter goes into the "prayer stance", a seemingly benign possition that enables you to defend yourself efficiently; six general catagories of violent encounters, and how their dynamics might effect the techniques used; and how to deal with common attacks, including a very pragmatic look at group attack. A nice feature of this book is that the authors look to present all views and theories of a situation, even if it doesn't really jive with BJJ's main tenents. I can also see how the style keeps evolving with exposure to different arts; many of the clinch moves are taken directly from amature wrestling, and the only kick presented is the Thai-style roundhouse kick. As I mentioned earlier, this book isn't a mega-technique book, but the techniques that are presented could be best termed "essential". The authors also make no bones about the environment that thier theories best suit: one-on-one, unarmed combat. There is definitely a sense of prejudice towards grappling and groundfighting, and this is where I kind of take issue with some of the stuff said. Early MMA/NHB events are brought in as evidence of "little guy beats big guy using grappling", but in UFC's 1-7, without going into too much detail, of six cases where the winner of a match was greatly outweighed, three were won by striking, and two of the remaining matches ended up with the grappler taking a severe beating, and the last one lasted about 20 min. with little action. In other words, I question the "little guy beats big guy using grappling" theory based on those events. Other than that, no real complaints. Great book overall, and an exelent illustration of BJJ theories and how they're applied. Good for anyone interested in what to expect out of a one-on-one, weaponless fight, or a MMA/NHB event.
Rating:
Summary: Good book for any reallity-based martial artist.
Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK! This is one of the most comprehensive works on the principles behind one-on-one, unarmed combat that I've read. We're not talking one of those "every move in the world" books here, though some are included. No, this is more on principles and theories which reallity fighting, specifically jujitsu, embrace. The book starts out with a rather extensive history of BJJ, going all the way back to ancient Japan. Briefly covered are the different theories of how martial arts developed around the world, which was interesting to read. The book then goes into the different stages of combat; the clinch, the free-movement phase, and groundfighting. I have to admit, I've never really been satisfied with "long, medium, short" or "kicking, punching, trapping, grappling", and I'm a little jealous that I didn't think of Gracie's stages of a fight on my own. His division is based on the different skills needed for each stage of a fight. Further chapters cover the stages by themselves. The free-movement chapter covers basic strikes, blocks, and long-range "shooting" takedowns. The section on the clinch actually goes over the most common clinch possitions (over-under, front headlock, double-underhook, etc.), and includes brief strategy for both. The authors give insights into strikes, takedowns, and submissions from the various clinch possitions. Groundfighting is covered in the next chapter. The focus is on the different possitions/pins, and is covered in a hierarchical manner, from most desirable to least desirable. Two chapters are then devoted to specific aspects of grounfighting; winning from the bottom, and winning from the top. These are probably the most technique-rich sections. Escapes from bad possitions, transitional movements to different possitions, and common submissions are shown. After that is a short chapter on training in general, and competitions that attract BJJ stylists are given a little detail (sport BJJ, submission wrestling, and MMA events). The last chapter is on using the theories of BJJ that have been presented in the book for self-defense. This one chapter is what Royce and Charles Gracie's self-defense book should have covered. Among other things, this chapter goes into the "prayer stance", a seemingly benign possition that enables you to defend yourself efficiently; six general catagories of violent encounters, and how their dynamics might effect the techniques used; and how to deal with common attacks, including a very pragmatic look at group attack. A nice feature of this book is that the authors look to present all views and theories of a situation, even if it doesn't really jive with BJJ's main tenents. I can also see how the style keeps evolving with exposure to different arts; many of the clinch moves are taken directly from amature wrestling, and the only kick presented is the Thai-style roundhouse kick. As I mentioned earlier, this book isn't a mega-technique book, but the techniques that are presented could be best termed "essential". The authors also make no bones about the environment that thier theories best suit: one-on-one, unarmed combat. There is definitely a sense of prejudice towards grappling and groundfighting, and this is where I kind of take issue with some of the stuff said. Early MMA/NHB events are brought in as evidence of "little guy beats big guy using grappling", but in UFC's 1-7, without going into too much detail, of six cases where the winner of a match was greatly outweighed, three were won by striking, and two of the remaining matches ended up with the grappler taking a severe beating, and the last one lasted about 20 min. with little action. In other words, I question the "little guy beats big guy using grappling" theory based on those events. Other than that, no real complaints. Great book overall, and an exelent illustration of BJJ theories and how they're applied. Good for anyone interested in what to expect out of a one-on-one, weaponless fight, or a MMA/NHB event.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for Beginner
Review: I myself trained Gracie Jiu Jitsu for many years and know the techniques of this art are effective. This book would be great for a beginner who needs background information on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and insight into the NHB/MMA world. This book is not a techniques book but does have a few good examples of popular and effective techniques. Overall it is a good book. The explanation on Jiu Jitsu's history is amazing. Renzo is a great athlete, teacher, writer and all around nice guy.
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