REVIEW 2 New MMA books (pics)

888Shogun888

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I have seen a few reviews of Martin Rooney's Training for Warriors and Bj Penn's MMA The Book of Knowledge but I haven't seen any with scans so I thought I would throw up my own reviews.

First off is Bj Penn's book.
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The first thing I noticed about this book when compared to other fighters books is this one is really true to the essence of BJ. The book is 100% moves and techniques that BJ uses in his fights rather than a generic set of moves that you can find in any book with "MMA" in the title. For instance in the standup technique section there are no kicks instead it is pure boxing and countering which is how BJ fights.

The book is broken up into 2 main sections; Standup and the ground game. Each section has a ton of sub sections dealing with specific situations such as countering the kick or striking from top guard. The pictures are excellent and show multiple angles of almost everything. There are very detailed panels for moves that can often take up 2 full pages.
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As an avid grappler I can say without a doubt that I learned a bunch of new tricks and techniques from this book. This book has something to offer everyone from novices to seasoned grappler's and strikers.

While I like the way the book focuses on moves and techniques specific to Bj some people may not like the lack of kicks in this book. That is pretty much my only con. Other than that this book is a must buy for only $35.
I give this book a 9/10.

Next up is Martin Rooney's Training for Warriors.
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This book is very well put together and you can really tell that this book was years in the making. For people that think this is a MMA instructional book they are going to be disappointed. This book focuses on training techniques that are specific to MMA. It has everything from barbell complexes, band training, sand bag training, weight cutting and stretching. Much like BJ's book there are great pictures with multiple angles when needed.

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The best part of this book is that no matter what your gym or equipment you can find plenty of workouts in this book to get your ass in shape. The book breaks workouts down into body parts such as "warrior back training" and "warrior heart and lung training". I found it very interesting that there was even a section on weight cutting. It was not the most detailed section but it gives all of the necessary information such as properly re-hydrating.

For anyone who is looking to get into great shape or specifically anyone looking to compete in MMA or other combat sports this book could be a very good investment for a measly $32. I added several workout to my training like the Alligator crawl and the barbell truck drive.

I didn't really find anything wrong with this book. As far is training and conditioning books go this is the best one that I have ever read. I give it a solid 9.5/10.
 
Thanks for the review. Victory Pubs seems to be doing a good job, but I think I'm gonna go for the X guard book before BJ Penn's though.
 
Thanks for the review. Victory Pubs seems to be doing a good job, but I think I'm gonna go for the X guard book before BJ Penn's though.

i have heard good things about that book. That is probably going to be my next choice. That or mastering the twister.
 
Would you say the BJ Penn book is worth purchasing by a pure grappler uninterested in MMA training?
 
Would you say the BJ Penn book is worth purchasing by a pure grappler uninterested in MMA training?

The majority of the book is grappling related. There are some sick ground moves in there. Lots of variations on traditional moves like the scans that I showed. I would think any grappler could benefit from the book. I got this book on a Friday and crammed everything I could get into my brain. Next time I rolled I pulled of some nice moves.

You are in Mass like me so just run up to your local Barnes and Noble and flip through it. That is where I picked it up in the sports section.
 
I'm a pseudo-TMA guy shifting in to MMA. I have only the most elementary of ground skills. (Sprawl, guard, basic armbar, RNC) Would BJ's book be a good buy for me? Is the instruction detailed enough that I will be able to get the nuances?
 
I'm a pseudo-TMA guy shifting in to MMA. I have only the most elementary of ground skills. (Sprawl, guard, basic armbar, RNC) Would BJ's book be a good buy for me? Is the instruction detailed enough that I will be able to get the nuances?

its a very good book covering all aspects of mma-- one of the best books out ther imo
 
I'm a pseudo-TMA guy shifting in to MMA. I have only the most elementary of ground skills. (Sprawl, guard, basic armbar, RNC) Would BJ's book be a good buy for me? Is the instruction detailed enough that I will be able to get the nuances?

i think it will help man. I am very visual in my learning. So when I watch a move or look at good pics I can se it in my head before I try it for real. There is a lot of basic to advanced stuff. Get it at Barnes and Noble or off amazon.com
 
The B.J. Penn book looks amazing. I'm gonna look into buying/renting it. Thank you for the reviews.
 
The B.J. Penn book looks amazing. I'm gonna look into buying/renting it. Thank you for the reviews.

you got it man. I was just skimming through it at a book store and eventually found myself still skimming through it about an hour later. Needless to say once you pick it up you won't put it down for a while.
 
I saw the strength and conditioning book at the bookstore but didn't get it...I might get it this time around
 
I defenitely want to get the training for warriors book.
It looks awesome.

I'll get BJ's book after, everyone who has it has told me that it is a must buy.

Great review TS, thanks for the scans.
 
i just orderd the penn book and cant wait to read through it
 
The Penn book is awesome. It is definitely not a generic book, these are all moves that BJ uses in all his fights. On the UG, after the Joe fight, one of the editors of the book scanned the exact pages where BJ described how to throw the over the top elbow off wrist control that cut Joe, and how to trap the arm for the RNC just like he did to Jens and Joe.
 
Thanks for the review:

I actually have been training with Martin Rooney's book for the last two months and would give it the same give it a 9 or 9.5 out of ten. I've been exercising for over 14 years with some personal training experience and still found a lot of good and new information. Also, I'm in no way affiliated with him or his school. I actually live in Korea and took a gamble on purchasing the book at a slightly higher price than listed. I was planning on doing my own review, but since you had the initiative I'll just post it here.

The strongest points of the book are:
1. It's sport specific: it gives you the kind of strength, speed, endurance, etc. you need for combative sports (wrestling, mma, bjj, etc.) This is SUPER important because "bodybuilding/gym muscle" isn't necessarily the kind of muscle you need for combative sports. Same with endurance; "cross country runner endurance" isn't going to help you as much as intense intverval cardio training. What Martin has done so well is give us guys the tools to make the most of our training sessions.

2. The pictures are good and instruction on the movements is clear

3. The book shows you how to work all muscle groups regardless of what equipment you have on hand. There are bodyweight, partner, free weight, and other types of exercises. I personally think a lot of bjj gyms or wrestling teams without lots of equipment will benefit HUGELY from the different exercises shown.

4. Martin is a highly sought after performance coach as well as a brown belt in bjj, not to mention working with a host of mma fighters. As far as fitness goes I would say he definitely knows what we need.

Some room for improvements are:
1. The nutrition section is good but basic: He doesn't give any guidelines into what someone's calorie ration should be (ie. the percentage of protein, fat, and carbs) That's kind of a bummer because that's really important for guys that need to cut or bulk up in weight. He does give guidelines on how many calories you should take in, but I was hoping for more.
2. Also in the nutrition section he says to add extra calories to make up for the ones you lost during training. It would have been nice if he included a quick reference chart that listed how many calories are burned during different types and durations of exercise.
3. He includes one eight week training program, which is great, but it would have been nice to have a few other programs added in.

So ya, my criticisms are on very minor points which is why I rate the book at a 9 or 9.5 because it is a really good training aid.

Peace,
SZ
 
just picked up mastering the twister and marcelo's x-guard book, great books BTW
 
just picked up mastering the twister and marcelo's x-guard book, great books BTW

I have been skimming x guard the last few time at the book store. Looks solid. I think I'll wait for Fedor's book that is coming out in a few months.
 
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