Product Description
Los Angeles has been regarded as one of the greatest boxing cities in the world for more than a century. With a large fan base, Los Angeles has also been the home of many of the best and most exciting boxers. In Boxing in the Los Angeles Area, authors Tracy Callis and Chuck Johnston provide an overview of one of the greatest pugilistic hotbeds in the world from 1880 to 2005. This comprehensive history covers the top boxers of the area who became famous both locally and worldwide such as Jim Jeffries, Solomon "Solly" Smith, "Mexican" Joe Rivers, Armando Muniz, Oscar De La Hoya, and "Sugar" Shane Mosley. Boxing in the Los Angeles Area also reviews some of the areas most notable bouts such as Tommy Burns winning the heavyweight title from Marvin Hart in 1906, Shane Mosley winning the welterweight title from Oscar De La Hoya in 2000, and Ad Wolgast retaining the lightweight title in a bout with "Mexican" Joe Rivers in 1912. Written by boxing historians and members of the International Boxing Research Organization, Boxing in the Los Angeles Area includes many photos while providing a thorough history of the boxing world in one of the greatest boxing cities. ... Read more

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"This is a must-have for every martial arts book collection."-Rick Faye, senior instructor under Dan Inosanto

Customer Reviews (6)

Fitness
If you have no idea about fitness then this book is for you. If you realize that jogging, weight lifting, and crunches can make you healthier then you already have the knowledge obtained from this. I was hoping for some more specifics to train certain portions of the body, you don't really get that here. For my purposes it was useless, but I can see where someone in need of motivation to get fit period (not just in a boxing state of mind) might like this book.

Great book to start with.
This little handbook is a great help when starting out.
I've been boxing for fitness at the Printing House Gym in NYC and this book coincides well with what I've doing at the gym.

Great book for boxing basics and conditioning
This is a great book, mostly for amateur boxers/beginners or anyone who wants to get 'boxing-fit'. This is what I like about the book:

- It's a very honest book. The authors explains everything from a very practical point of view.

- It covers topics like basic boxing skills, drills, weight training, cardio (running, jump rope etc), core strength, flexibility, nutrition and boxing equipments in reasonable detail.

- The authors pays attention to the detail. Small topics, like how to wrap your hands, aspects of using different kinds of boxing bags (including, price, installation etc), types of jump ropes, things to carry in your gym bag and the price aspects of it, outdoor running vs treadmills. It shows that the author was careful enough to consider issues encountered by people in real life while learning something new.

- The book has complete information for a boxing beginner (like me), whether you are training alone or with a partner.

great book for the basics!!
I really enjoyed this book! It is a good basic boxing for fitness book. I was hoping it would have a bit more detail about workouts but really there is so much information it would be impossible to set a workout for everyone. I would definitely reccommend it for someone who was just starting out and wanted to get fit.

Terrific Supplement for the Fighting Man
This short guide to keeping fit for the fight game is as good as it gets.Great pics, easy-to-follow instructions for drills makes for a hassle-free supplement to anyone's training regimen.It isn't geared to pros or novices as there aren't much tips for improving punching or strategies in the ring; in reading through this book, the reader must keep in mind that the content is primarily focused on building or prepping one for the rigors of boxing training.So for those looking to get a headstart to prepare themselves for intensive boxing training, Oliver suggests you get in proper shape.This book will undoubtedly help you. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Jabs and gab from the 5th Street Gym
The Miami Herald May 23, 2010
[...]

BY JOHN HOOD
Special to The Miami Herald

In the long and colorful history of boxing, there was no place as singularly important to the game as the 5th Street Gym. Located on South Beach between the area's heydays, the gym was a sort of ground zero for a good two decades of the mid 20th century, where hard-nosed Cuban fighters such as Luis Manuel Rodriquez and Florentino Fernandez ended up after fleeing Castro, where everyone from Kid Gavilan to Joe Louis would come to train for their championship bouts.

Mostly, though, the 5th Street Gym was known as the home of Muhammad Ali, who continues to be considered the greatest of them all. Chris Dundee ran the place like a minor fiefdom; handling all the action in the manner of a potentate. And in Ali's corner was Chris' brother Angelo, Cuban ex-pat Luis Sarria and Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, all of them on hand for -- and instrumental to -- Ali's rise to the top.

Pacheco, who appears Tuesday at Books & Books in Coral Gables, has just released an oral history, Tales from the 5th Street Gym (Florida, $27.50), that has enough first-hand accounts and on-scene photos to bring back all the glory. Pacheco, most famously known as ``The Fight Doctor,'' was in the champ's corner for ``The Thrilla in Manila'' and ``The Rumble in the Jungle,'' and he recounts those episodes with great charm.

The book tells the story of a place graced with unparalleled character. An integrated place, the first of its kind in Florida, where fighters learned to fight, trainers perfected their game, and celebrities hobnobbed with old-timers like Evil Eye Finkle, Sam the Mumbler, Raincoat Rabinowitz and Tip Toe Tannenbaum.

We visited Pacheco in his Bay Point home and asked him about the book, the gym and about his place alongside ``The Greatest.''

Q: You say in your intro that this book is primarily to ensure the legacy of Chris Dundee, without whom there wouldn't even be a gym. What did he bring to the fight game?

A: He brought a consummate professionalism that we didn't have here before. Plus he brought substantial underworld connections, which you had to have if you were gonna have boxing. He had Frankie Carbone in his pocket -- or Frankie Carbone had him in his pocket. So when you've got the mob, and you've got the location, and you've got the fighters, you needed someone to coordinate all that, to make sure it worked.

Q: Would it be fair to say that there might not even be an Ali -- or at least an Ali as we know him -- were it not for the efforts of Chris Dundee?

A: No, I don't think that's right. Ali was gonna be Ali no matter what. Whoever's there was going along for the ride, just holding on for dear God. Whoever it was. It doesn't make any difference. There were a lot of boxing guys who would have been thrilled to get a hold of Ali. You didn't have to do anything. Somebody handed you Ali, and you just sat down and counted the money.

Q: There are scores of stories about Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee, but corner man Luis Sarria seems to be a bit forgotten.

A: He was hugely overlooked because he didn't speak English. He was like a serf in a medieval castle. He was the guy that they called in the middle of the night to massage the king.

Q: But was he instrumental to Ali's career?

A: Oh yeah, because Ali listened to him. He wouldn't listen to anyone else, but he'd listen to Sarria. Sarria got him in shape, and Sarria was a very, very smart boxing guy. And he'd say what Angelo said, Angelo would say what I said, or vice versa. We had a unified corner.

Q: What are some of your fondest memories working with Ali?

A: Fondest memories are beating Liston here, for the first time. Beating Frazier in the Philippines was the best fight of my life. I've never seen anything that big. And beating Foreman in the jungle at four in the morning. Those were the three big, big occasions. I mean, you couldn't get any bigger than that. You cannot express the absolute thrill of being right next to the guy in those days.

Q: Why did you stop working with him?

A: I thought he was being mismanaged into oblivion. He was already a basket case, and they kept putting him in against better fighters. Finally they put him in against Holmes, who was then the champion, and that was a disgrace. That was murder. So I walked away. [His Parkinson's:] would not be as bad had he quit when I told him, after the Frazier fight in Manila. He would not be good, but he wouldn't be as bad.

Q: Who are some of the other top-notch fighters who came out of the 5th Street Gym?

A: The main one, the best one, was Luis Manuel Rodriquez. He was the welterweight champion. He taught Ali how to fight. Florentino Fernandez too; he was just a devastating fighter.

Q: For many years you ran a clinic in Overtown. Can you please tell us a bit about that?

A: For 20 years I ran a clinic on [NW:] Second Avenue and 10th Street, and I never took a dime. The neighborhood was like Porgy and Bess then. It was all black, but there were no race riots or anything like that. It was terrific. I used to go to the Sir John's Club, and The Harlem Square Club was right across the street from my place. I caught everyone. I'm a jazz fan. You walk across the street, and there's Lester Young blowing; Billie Holiday; the whole Ellington Band. At 12 a.m. they threw them all off the Beach, so they'd come right over, and they'd jam till 5 in the morning. Boy, those were the days.

John Hood is a Miami-based columnist and correspondent.
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Kasia Boddy's book is a knock-out!
Kasia Boddy's book is the most thorough, entertaining, and informative book on boxing I've ever seen.The color illustrations are dazzling. She is a marvel.If you'd like to hear my WPKN interview with Kasia from last year:
[....]

Enjoyable and Fascinating
This is not a book for detailed fight histories of Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson; it is probably more "cultural history" than "boxing"; it is somehow both heavily-footnoted and fun reading.It turns out that boxing provides a fascinating lens through which to view the past.The author shows boxing affecting every level of society and appearing in seemingly every form of art.It has come and gone from mainstream fashion more than once.As the author puts it at the end of the first chapter, boxing seems to contain a "mixture . . . which has made it for so long and so productively a way to imagine conflict".

Blood, Culture, and Glorious Prose.
I was given this--wouldn't have imagined that I was interested in boxing.After reading the section on Dickens (the reason I was given the book), I started the preceding chapter, then started from the beginning, then had to read the end.Boddy's writing is so witty and interesting and her bits of information so thought-provoking that I kept wanting to read it to friends.(I had to explain all my references to 'claret,' Regency slang for 'blood.') Everyone I've shown it to has found a different reason for wanting to read it.It's a bit like an encyclopaedia and provides the same pleasure as the Oxford Companion to Food.The illustrations are wonderful.
This book makes a wonderful present, even to oneself. ... Read more

Product Description
This first nationwide study of boxing regulations in the United States offers an historical overview of the subject, from the earliest attempts at regulating the sport to present-day legislation that may create a national boxing commission. It examines the disparity of regulations among states, as well as the reasons for some of these differences. The work features interviews with boxing officials, analysts and boxers, and includes the results of a national survey of state athletic commission personnel.In-depth case studies of boxing regulations in Nevada and Kansas provide a close look at different states' methods, and Argentina's centralized system of regulation is presented as a comparison to the U.S. approach. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Waste of time and money
Although I purchased this book in Books-a-Million, I wish I had bought it from here as I would have saved $12-13. When I looked at it in the store, I ignored the foolish title (muay thai and kick-boxing are two completely different sports) and merely gave it a quick overview instead of sitting down and actually reading parts of it. Upon futher inspection of the book, I immediately knew it was a mistake when reading the "About The Author" page in the back. Exactly how does one hold a black belt in a combat sport?

As I flipped through the pages, I noticed that the step-by-step instructions were ALMOST perfectly written out, but severely lacking in the photo aspect of the book. All I saw were pictures of the result, be it on an opponent or just in the air. Overall this book was really not worth it's money, and I HIGHLY recommend "Muay Thai Unleashed" and "Muay Thai: The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting" for anyone serious about learning/training/competing

Awesome customer service-great book!
This book is awesome. Absolutely great pictures. What's better than that? Getting it for a lot less than in the big book stores. The book was in great condition and I received it very quickly in the mail.

Mastering Muay Thai Kickboxing
While not a student of MMA, but an avid follower, I've recognized these techniques as used by such greats as Anderson Silva and others. I've been a student of muay thai for over a year, and I feel this is one of the very best on the market that adheres to strict muay thai technique. One of the few I've read that doesn't bastardize or compromise the explicit technique involved in the tradition of true muay thai. All Photos are explicit, large, and in color, well demonstrated, and the format is excellent.

Not Bad, But Could Have Been So Much Better
After reading this book I was really torn on how I was going to rate it. I seriously considered giving it a 3 star rating, but then again I didn't want my rating to seem overly harsh since this book isn't really bad, just incomplete. Therefore, I decided to go with a 3 star rating and a 4 star rating with an explanation on both. First, the 4 star rating...

This book shows pretty much the entire arsenal of offensive and defensive techniques in Muay Thai in very clear full color photographs.

The layout is easy to follow and didn't present any problems for me as I was reading this book.

If you, as the reader, look at this book as a basic reference manual for the beginning student, then it really has served its purpose and lived up to its name.

And now the 3 star rating...

However, if you are buying this book with the intent to learn all the ins-and-outs of a particular technique, then you are going to be very disappointed. On almost all of the techniques shown, the only photograph you see is one showing you the end result of that particular technique. For example; when the author shows you a left roundhouse kick and a right roundhouse kick, the only photographs you have are one for each technique where the individual modeling the technique is standing there with their leg fully extended. This type of photographic layout is predominantly throughout the entire book.

The amount of text describing each technique is minimal and is really detrimental to anyone trying to learn how to correctly execute a particular technique. There seemed to be plenty of space available and had the author/publisher used the space available more wisely and perhaps used smaller photographs and a few more pages, might have really made one heck of a good book. Sadly, this is not the case.

Not that this is a horrible book by any means, it simply fell short in several areas when it came to providing a detailed description of the techniques being shown.

If you are looking for a basic reference book to show you the various techniques and a brief description of each, then this is definitely the book for you. However, if you are looking for a book to teach you in great detail the correct way to execute a particular technique, then you need to look elsewhere.

Here are a couple of books that are worth taking a look at.

Muay Thai: The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting (9th Re-Print, Revised Edition)

Muay Thai Unleashed: Learn Technique and Strategy from Thailands Warrior Elite

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

Old time boxers
The book is good for short descriptions of boxers and some of the most memorable fights.
I was not that interested in British fighters but overall it is a good read.
Recommended for those interested in the history of boxing.

Flawed
This book has some valuable information, but as others have suggested it does indulge in a bit of historical revisionism:

Sam Langford did indeed carry Stanley Ketchel. Take a look at the LA Times historical archives for verification. It's almost unanimous amongst the writers that Langford seemed to be "holding back".

According to the Times, Harry Greb lost 4 of the first 5 rounds vs. Kid Norfolk. The next 5 rounds were all Greb as he gave Norfolk a sound beating. In their famous disqualification bout it was Norfolk who was ahead when the bout was halted.

The LA Times also reported that Greb, in his first fight with Tiger Flowers, won 8 out of 10 rounds, completely taming the Tiger. It wasn't until Greb was battle-worn(he'd had close to 300 bouts)and in decline that Tiger was able to beat him, the first time by a close split decision.

The author really needed to do his homework on the no-decision bouts.

The most informitave boxing title i've seen
The boxing register is a must have for any true boxing fanatic.The book has information of every inductee from the IBHOF, from the pioneers of the bare-knuckle era to "The Greatest", all of them have at least a page dedicated to them in the great book.

rock em....then sock em...
A really invaluable referance guide to the sport of boxing.If you are a real afficiando of the sport or like myself, just a casual fan it doesn't really matter.This book has all the information that you could want.All the champions from the various weight classes are here.Each boxer has a record of all of his fights, and a (surprisingly) entertaining overview of his career.Wether you are checking out a specific fighter for a specific fight, or just want a few moments of reading.This is the book for you.From the heavyweight super stars that we all know, to the 98 pounders that could tear the most 'macho' of us apart before breakfast, this guide has them all.Informative and VERY intertaining.But it, read it, and revel in the history of the "manly art"You won't be dissapointed.

Outstanding reference book on boxing history & records
The authors and the International Boxing Hall of Fame based in Canastota, NY deserves a lot of credit for this excellent contribution to boxing - "the sweet science". This is a treasury chest of information on boxing history, fighters records and inside stories in a handy book format with lots of great photos and illustrations. Whether you want to know about the sanctioning bodies or the weight divisions, the records or the biographies of the fighters inducted into The Hall of Fame, you will find it all right here.

Content data, records and biographies about the fighters are divided in three main sections: 1- the early pioneers from bare knuckle brawlers to the Boston Strong Boy; 2- the old timers when the sweet science becomes an American passion; and 3- the modern era when boxing waxes and wanes but the grear stars shine. Names like James Figg, John L. Sullivan (The Boston Strong Boy), Max Baer, Jack Dempsey (The Manassa Mauler), Jack Johnson (the first african-american heavyweight champion from 1908-15), Gene Tunney, Joe Louis, Archie Moore, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali (The Greatest) and many other great fighters, they are all here. You will also find information about boxing's supporting cast with names like Gil Clancy, Cus D'Amato, Angelo Dundee, Lou Duva, Don King, Arthur Mercante and others. Additionally, there are short essays on the governing bodies ruling the sport, the seamy side of boxing scandals, the influence of television in the sport, etc.

In conclusion, this is an outstanding source of reliable information on boxing as well as on individual fighters in a handy, manual, illustrated book format for a very reasonable price. ... Read more

Product Description
Perfect for people of all ages and nearly any level of health, Chinese internal boxing does not depend on muscular strength. Instead, its power is drawn from the cultivation and practical application of internal energy, or ch’i.
Chinese Internal Boxing: Techniques of Hsing-I & Pa-Kua is an in-depth guide to the practice of two styles of Chinese internal boxing. Through clear, concise instructions, photos and diagrams, it invites readers to experience and
understand the traditional, authentic methods of this once secretive art.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Volume
This book is an excellent, in-depth examination of the Chen Pan Ling method of Hsing-I Chuan and the Wang Shu Jin method of Bagua Zhang. Very clear step-by-step photos and written instructions together with valuable information regarding the deeper aspects of both of these excellent Chinese internal martial arts.

forms forms forms
Has forms and they are good forms.Both of the authors are respectable master of their styles.I just wished that there would have been applications with the forms mentioned. ... Read more

Product Description
On September 23, 1957, Carmen Basilio moved up in weight class to challenge Sugar Ray Robinson, pound for pound the greatest boxer, for the middleweight championship of the world. Basilio, the ultimate warrior, set the stage for a classic matchup between great fighters. Leading up to the fight, Robinson had angered his opponent with his arrogance and one-sided demands. Basilio entered the ring with one goal in mind: the destruction of Sugar Ray Robinson. This matchup was much more than a battle for a world championship. This fight was "personal." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Simple errors not caught
This book contained many quotes and passages by deceased people from earlier carmen basilio articles from boxing magazines. It also contained some glaring errors that should have been caught easily if the book had simply been proof read. The errorslisted in the book have Joey Maxim as a lightweight champion when he was the light-heavyweight champion. The author also misspelled emmanuel steward as "stuart", and he had "Sugar" Ray Robinson knocking out Gene Fullmer in round one, when the actual round was five. This book gave little insight into carmen basilio, the man, as it makes no mention of what happened to his first wife, or insight into his more noteable fights.

Very disappointing
A very disappointing effort. Although a book on the remarkable Carmen Basilio has been needed for some time, this is not it. Gary B. Youmans hasn't really written a biography of Basilio; he has merely compiled the raw materials for one. A few short passages of narrative are consistently followed by a long series of quoted remarks in the style of oral history. After his 600-word account of the second fight with Tony DeMarco, for example, Youmans shifts to this:

"CARMEN BASILIO: 'After the seventh round, when he hurt me I could see that he was getting tired and it was a question of time until he ran out of gas.'
"DONALD HAMILTON (Boxing Historian): 'When Carmen fought Tony DeMarco in Boston, the place was packed. . . .'"

From the eighth round we are jerked back to the pre-fight attendance? This is typical of the book's method. Hamilton's comment follows upon Basilio's only in the author's notes. Youmans does not even try to put his interviews in any kind of order. Nor is any attempt made to knit these free-standing quotations, which constitute about 70% of the book, into a coherent account. The result is less a narrative than a scrapbook. Basilio's story must be pieced together by the reader, because the book does little of the work.

And who knows? Perhaps that is for the best. Youmans is a superficial writer when left to his own devices. "These two great fighters had fought an epic battle of determination and grit," he says of Basilio and DeMarco.If there is a cliche or unreflective phrase in the vicinity of his desk, Youmans snatches it before it can flit away.

Written with Carmen Basilio's help and cooperation, the book is a testament to Youmans's affection for the great champion. Most readers will share that affection--before and after reading this book. "The Onion Picker" might have been improved, though, and Youmans's personal relationship with Basilio might even have survived, a slightly more critical account of a unique and sometimes difficult man.

For diehard boxing fans, especially those fascinated by Basilio's story, in and out of the ring, this book is worth the new information and photographs it provides. Perhaps it will provoke a better writer into tackling the onion farmer's biography.

Great read
I was a teenager durning the 50s. Part of my spare time was spent in a gymnasium for amature and pro boxers. I gained my enthusiasm and love of the sport from my dad which I still carry to this day. This book was a throw back to a simpler time and what a treat to read of the men that made the sport what it was. Sure, there were shady characters around the game just like today. But when all of that is said and done two guys get into the ring and make it right. Starting in about 1952 I saw every fight ( on TV) described in the book. To read about them and what went on behind the scene was pure enjoyment. I'v read lots of boxing books but this one is special. To me the names are magical. Louis, Marciano, Walcott, Charles, Basilio, DeMarco, Robinson, Moore & Olson just to name a few. This book is money well spent.

The onion picker
I ordered this book for my husband and he loved it. He will read it more than once. He has already shared it with two other fellas his age,who remember the boxers and they loved the book also.

great item on a worthy subject !

Boxing has long needed a careful and literate treatment of Carmen Basilio.I was delighted to fine this one.Dr. Kelly Nicholson ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

Good instructional
This book shows mma from a wrestler's standpoint. It is a wonderful addition to a more traditional background. Plus, wrestler's will enjoy the familiar starting points. Overall, a very refreshing mma book even if it doesn't cover as much "dirty boxing" as the title would indicate.

www.knucklepit.com
MATT LINDLAND
DIRTY BOXING for Mixed Martial Arts
with Glen Cordoza & Erich Krauss
(Victory Belt)
© Marc Wickert October 11, 2009
[...]

An All-American and silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Matt Lindland debuted in MMA in 1997, along with US World Greco Roman Wrestling Team buddies Randy Couture and Dan Henderson.In 1999, this elite trio founded Team Quest Fight Club in Portland, Oregon - one of the most successful training camps in mixed martial arts history.

This same trio also formulated the devastating "no frills" style of stand-up combat adapted for cage fighting known as "dirty boxing".

Rather than spreading his wealth of cage knowledge too thinly, in "Dirty Boxing for Mixed Martial Arts", Matt Lindland addresses the first aspect of fighting: the stand-up game, and he covers standing control positions, striking, off-balancing techniques, takedowns, throws, takedown defense, and the dirty boxing clinch."With all MMA fights starting in the stand-up position, it is important to master this realm of combat before tackling the ground game, which will be the focus of my next book," says Lindland.

Part One: Basic Skills
Includes stance, positioning, controls, control setups, underhook setups, and transitioning to control positions.

Part Two: Takedown Setups
Deals with two-on-one techniques, where you latch onto one of your opponent's arms with both of your hands as a form of control or for executing an arm drag.This section also covers underhook control and head control.

Part Three: Finishing the Takedown
Illustrates double-leg finishes, single-leg finishes, and back control finishes.

Part Four: Takedown Defense
Demonstrates takedown defense 101, double-leg defense, and single-leg defense.

Part Five: Striking
Includes striking into the clinch and reestablishing the clinch.
Part Six: Clinching Techniques
Here Matt takes the reader through off-balancing techniques, dirty boxing techniques, takedowns, throws, and double collar tie defense.

This book is a real gem for anyone wishing to improve their game dramatically under the tutorage of one of the game's best.As Matt Lindland states, "The techniques that you'll find over the coming pages are the ones that I have used to defeat top MMA fighters in competitions around the world, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship."

What a cracker!

Excellent training manual
Matt Lindland's Dirty Boxing for Mixed Martial Arts is surprisingly good.I didn't expect as much as I do from some Victory Belt manuals perhaps because I've got a bias against wrestling, perhaps because Matt Lindland comes with a lot of baggage.

Let's get that out of the way up front. Yeah, yeah, Lindland is the guy who put together a documentary about how he was being blackballed from the UFC because they fear him and then went out and got KTFO'd in under a minute in his very next fight. He got run out of the UFC in a dispute over a sponsor and he's funny looking. He got his position on the U.S. Olympic team by going to court to appeal a loss in the qualifiers.

All of that said, the guy won a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 2000 Olympics and has won more than 20 MMA bouts. In his twelve year MMA career he's beaten top fighters like Pat Miletich, Carlos Newton, Jeremy Horn, Ivan Salaverry, Travis Lutter and Mike Van Arsdale.

As one of the founders of Team Quest, along with Randy Couture and Dan Henderson, Lindland pioneered the path of elite wrestlers entering MMA. He also was among the first to prove that wrestlers could expand their game and successfully incorporate submissions and strikes into their MMA games. The even split of his wins between decisions, submissions and TKO's testifies to his well-rounded mastery of MMA.

Now let's talk about the book.

There have been some complaints that the book is misnamed. The critics are saying that it's a wrestling manual for MMA, not a text book on how to use Dirty Boxing in MMA. To some extent that is a fair criticism. The book's original title was "From Wrestling to MMA" and that might have been a more apt title. But at the same time, this is easily the best book how to apply Dirty Boxing in MMA, bar none.

Sure, only somewhat less than a third of the book specifically discusses striking. But the key thing is the context in which that discussion of striking takes place.

Matt Lindland's Dirty Boxing for Mixed Martial Arts details a complete MMA system for the standup game. Where Randy Couture's Wrestling for Fighting is a primer that outlines the basic techniques of getting and defending takedowns, Lindland's book provides a complete system. The closest comparison I've read would be Eddie Bravo's two books.

Like Bravo's books, this one provides the diligent student with a series of options from every key position. Lindland outlines the key standing control positions and shows how to transition back and forth between them so you can take advantage of your opponent's mistakes and avoid his strengths. The structure of the book is also logical and builds a strong foundation at the beginning that allows him to build a complex but sold system by the end.

Reading this book really reinforced by respect for wrestling as a martial art. It's as much built on skill, science and strategy as jiu jitsu, Muay Thai, Judo or boxing. Lindland's moves are fundamentally predicated on misdirection and deception. He shows how to bait your opponent into moving and then how to use that energy against him. In that, Lindland's approach to takedowns reminds me of nothing so much as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's approach to the sweep.

It's only once he's established the foundation and shown the reader how to use the techniques of Greco-Roman wrestling to thoroughly control your opponent's body that he elaborates on how to take advantage of that control with strikes, throws and submissions.

The book is the usual great Victory Belt production. The sections are color coded for easy reference in the gym. Each move is described step-by-step and each step is illustrated by color photos. I did notice that many of the action shots are a bit blurry, this is an unfortunate distraction but doesn't impact the educational value of the book as the shots that show how to set up the grips and positioning are crystal clear, it's only the mid-air shots of the throws that tend to be blurry. In trying to do my due diligence as a book reviewer, I did conclude that the lack of an index is regrettable, although the organization, color-coding and detailed table of contents go a long way towards eliminating the need for one.

Dont waste your money on this book
Total waste of money.Nothing useful.

Go get your self a Marcelo Garcia or a Saulo Ribeiro book and learn something.

Dry but thorough.
The next in Victory Belt publishing's line of instructional manuals, Matt Lindland's Dirty Boxing for Mixed Martial Arts follows the same format as previously released guides. To use the word "boxing" in the title, but give almost no advice on actual striking is a little misleading. Lindland shows you how to position yourself to deliver strikes, but leaves actual striking advice to someone else. With over a thousand color photos detailing hundreds of moves and set-ups; Lindland with co-authors Glen Cardoza and Erich Krauss cover plenty material without ever getting into striking. The book is a solid, well organized reference for the basics of grappling and clinch work for Mixed Martial Arts.

[...] ... Read more

Product Description
"This is a surprising book, a terrific book. It's not about boxing, but about an odd, demanding world in which boxing is the thread, the key to existence. Wiley deftly broadens the delineation of this world and its people. Perceptive reporting is the foundation and perceptive reporting is rare enough. Wiley enhances it with clear, quick writing laced with humor and with a sensitivity that lends brilliance to this impressive work."-Robert W. Creamer, author of Baseball and Other Matters in 1941. "Ralph Wiley, with Serenity, has produced an original book about the ring...He can dig beneath the surface and show us what really happened in a bout: why Thomas Hearns, with too much faith in his powerful right hand, lost to Sugar Ray Leonard in their first match...Or why Roberto Duran was acting out of prudence, not cowardice, when he quit in his second fight against Leonard...Yet the book is not really about boxing. Boxing in Serenity is what T. S. Eliot, speaking of plot, called the meat a burglar brings to distract the watchdog. The book is really about growing up in a world where you had to defend yourself physically to survive."-New York Times."Wiley's rapport with boxers is profound."-Publisher's Weekly. "Wiley is one writer who really knows his way around a boxing ring...[He writes] with passion and understanding about complex, violent men and their oddly redemptive sport."-Booklist. Ralph Wiley is the author or coauthor of several works, most recently Born to Play: The Eric Davis Story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Ralph Wiley Is The Greatest Sportswriter Of All Time...
I was a great fan of Ralph Wiley's regular columns on ESPN's Page 2, and when he passed on (earlier this summer) I decided that it was well past time to get one of his books and see how he did in a longer form.

I'm glad I did. Wiley wrote a vivid description of the art and science of boxing; with every page offering insights that are provocative, disturbing, and important. It's as much about Wiley as it is about Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Ali, and Tyson. That's not a problem as Wiley was an articulate, interesting, and experienced Black man.

Wiley relates that when he was a copyboy for the Oakland Trib, he would type "RALPH WILEY IS THE GREATEST SPORTSWRITER OF ALL TIME, BAR NONE" on the old IBM Selectric from time to time. It's a shame that so few sports fans seem to know him these days, especially now that he's gone. This great little book, which destroys boxing as completely as boxing seems to destroy its greatest talents, is quite an argument for Wiley's place in the pantheon of the greatest sports writers of all time.

If you enjoyed Wiley's columns, or his writing in SI, or his work on other subjects, OR if you have a passing interest in, or disgust over, or passion for boxing, you will enjoy this book. If you enjoy reading about one man's developing views on an activity that he at first approached with veneration and eventually came to see as horrific, you will enjoy this book. If you read Bill Simmons' columns, you will enjoy this book.

It's such shame that we don't have Wiley with us any more; and I'll miss him, but now that he's gone on maybe he's met Joe Louis at the gates and had that talk with him. We can only hope so.

One of the Best Books on Boxing Ever
this was where you truly could appreciate the Greatness of Ralph Wiley.He knew His Boxing&the way He broke down each subject matter is Classic.Boxing has had many Fighters but you know the Guys that you still debate&talk about many years later.Great takes on Ali,HitMan hearns,Sugar Ray Leonard,Mike Tyson&Everyone else mentioned.A Knockout of a Book from start to finish.

The Pain Business
Intellectuals have long had a fascination with boxing, an athletic contest reduced to its very essence-two semi-naked men trying to kill each other for the enjoyment of a crowd. That's about as stark as it gets. A long and varied list of literary heavyweights have fallen under boxing's spell-Hemingway, Mailer, Oates, Earley, etc., etc., etc. Ralph Wiley belongs up there with the best of them. The ideas he expresses in "Serenity" are meaty and delivered in a style that is both clear and artistic. Mr. Wiley can flat-out write and my goodness does he have an eye for detail and an ear for dialogue. His descriptions of knockout blows are downright poetic; one fighter "... went out like a broken light bulb"; another was struck so hard that the blow "... sent his eyes into the top of his head like snapped windowshades". The sights and sounds and smells of the gym all ring true in "Serenity", from the lowliest trainer ("...with a trainwreck of a yellowing smile") to the beatific Ali.

Mr. Wiley defines serenity as "...the inner peace which comes from doing something well enough to understand it". Boxers, per Wiley, can only acheive pugilistic serenity after they understand that pain, and maybe death, are part of the equation. Pain can not be avoided, no matter how skilled the fighter. So why do so many of them continue on, or return for more once they retire, even (or, perhaps, especially) the successful ones? Larry Holmes, one of the best, (whose latest comeback, at age 50, was against a 300 pound sideshow attraction named "Butterbean") is quoted that a fighter has "... gotta enjoy the ones you take just like the ones you give". Sugar Ray Leonard, like Holmes a wealthy man, made more comebacks than Marley's ghost and risked permanent blindness in the process. Bobby Chacon, another champion, "...smiles at the sight of his own blood". The title of a Gerald Earley essay-"I Only Like It Better When The Pain Comes"-is a direct quote from an early '80's crowd-pleasing Philadelphia middleweight Frank "The Animal" Fletcher. (Aside-Frank "The Animal" once fought James "Hard Rock" Green in a brutal, blood-gushing bout, a great nickname bout, where Mr. Fletcher's mother spurred her son on by leading the crowd in chants of "AN-I-MAL, AN-I-MAL, AN-I-MAL".) Do these otherwise intelligent men actually enjoy getting hit? Hardly. Mr. Wiley has delved deeply into the psyches of men who fight for pay searching for motive, for purpose, and he has succeeded. This is good stuff. "Serenity", like Evander Holyfield, is the Real Deal.

SERENITY A HARD HITTING NARRATIVE OF BOXING
Serenity, as Ralph Wiley tells it, is a state of mind that all fighters try to find. It's not easy, but then, writing a book about the most personal side of boxing - the fighters - isn't easy, either. Especially a good one. But Wiley has done that here. He includes himself a bit, which works, and uses a sharp, witty style that brings the fighters he writes about to life. Best are the chapters on Larry Holmes, and also a letter he writes to his son, Cole. Wiley is enormously gifted, and he will definitely be a writer to watch in the future. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Fight Medicine is the first book that explains in detail what medical professionals, fighters, trainers and managers need to know about diagnosing and treating combat sports injuries.

Injured boxers, wrestlers and mixed martial artists who ignore injuries or fail to seek optimal health care often pay for it with pain, frustration and lost training time. Fighters require specialized medical care from appropriately trained medical professionals. Although there are many well-qualified physicians who take care of athletes, some may not have the specialized training needed to recognize a serious fight injury that can impact a fighter's career. Many health care providers are unfamiliar with the unique issues of fight medicine, such as hand injury, ocular injury, concussion and chronic traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Kelly has packed Fight Medicine with chapter after chapter of solid information on the diagnosis and treatment of a wide array of injuries and ailments suffered by fighters, including bone, joint and soft tissue injuries; neurological and cardiac conditions; pulmonary conditions; and infectious diseases.

Whether you're a doctor who wants to learn more about fight medicine or a fighter or trainer, Fight Medicine will give you the information you need to make the right call. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good
This book contains a lot of useful information for those wanting to learn about injuries typical of martial arts. I especially liked the information regarding the effects of arm bars on a patient's arm.

Insecure Author
The author is insecure about his education and makes claims that are inaccurate. He operates from a dogmatic and narrow minded window. The picture of his Cervical Spine Stabilization is a reflection of his lack of knowledge. A fighter will be combative when they begin to come around and without stabilization of the shoulders with the head you have zero control of the Cervical Spine and are now further jeopardizing the athlete. ... Read more

Product Description
Many boxers, people involved in boxing such as trainers, and announcers, as well as celebrities, have been interviewed in the pages of this book. Most importantly, they are heard in their own words - meaningful words that need to be taken seriously in order to perpetuate the sport of boxing as the greatest of all competitive sports.

In addition to this, "Bad" Brad Berkwitt's constant fight to finally put in place a mandatory retirement fund for all boxers who have poured their blood, sweat and tears inside the ropes of the boxing ring, is well documented within these pages and, it is his hope that one day very soon, this will be accomplished. Finally, when that day comes, Author "Bad" Brad Berkwitt will have been one of those people, instrumental in bringing it to the forefront. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Who Knew?
For one who has never followed boxing, other than being aware of the big events that anyone not living in the darkest reaches of some cave would hear about, I was surprised that anyone could make the thoughts and comments of pugilists interesting to me. "Bad" Brad is a master interviewer. His questions, though naturally a bit repetitive in a report that covers similar activities, are always pithy and to the point. He has managed to elicit the essence of each fighter and distill it into vivid portraits. I found myself actually enjoying every encounter, even when I didn't fully understand all the "jargon." This is a book I look forward to sending as a gift to pals and kin.

Incredible book for EVERY boxing fan!
Brad Berkwitt's book is a must for any boxing fan's book shelf!

Brad has done an outstanding job in getting some of the current and former greats of the sport to talk with him about their careers and what should happen in today's boxing.

I also enjoy the interviews with noted boxing fans like Al Martino, Vanessa Del Rio and the late Buddy Hackett!

This is an incredible book that you can refer to again and again!

Not "Bad" Brad!
When interviewing, Berkwitt asks much of the same questions to the many different fighters in his book and it was interesting to compare their answers. Yet questions were also asked that related specifically to the particuliar boxer's carreer. This book is a must have for the true boxing fan.

Berkwitt didn't shy away from interviewing female boxers. A sport is a sport and if women lace up the gloves, whether you agree with them doing so or not, you've got to respect them and their opinions.

A small thing ... was George Foreman 44 or 45 when he defeated Michael Moore? On page 36, according to Michael Buffer, he was 44.On page 89, Buffer is quoted as saying that he was 45.

I have a moral objection to the interview of a prostitute / stripper / porn star (AKA: adult movie star). In doing so it legitimizes her profession.

Additionally, I don't think that it was necessary or useful for Berkwitt to include interviews from various singers and comedians in his book.

The interviews were insightful and it was hard to put the book down once I started reading it.

BOXING INTERVIEWS LIKE NO OTHERS...
I just got done reading "Bad" Brad Berkwitt's new boxing book Boxing Interviews of a Lifetime for the fourth time.Each time I pick up this book, I learn something knew about so many fighters I have loved over the years.Fighters such as Sean O' Grady, Chuck Wepner, Aaron Pryor, Gerry Cooney, Gene Fullmer, Ron Lyle, Roy Jones, JR, Ken Norton, Yaqui Lopez and Vinny Paz which are just some.

The other amazing thing this author does is interview celebs such as Jerry Vale, Al Martino, Vanessa Del Rio, Joey Bishop and the late Buddy Hackett.The stories they tell about the sport of boxing which they love are priceless.

This Berkwitt fellow has set a standard for all others to follow on how to conduct an interview by getting all the details out of his interviewee..

I not only highly reccomend this book, but I will guaranteeyou will read it many times over because it's just that informative and entertaining..

Funny thing, the minute I saw his dedication to his late Father in the front and the very moving words he said, I knew this book was going to be Great...

BOXING INTERVIEWS OF A LIFETIME_A BIG HIT!
If he never writes another word, covers another boxing event, or does another great interview, "Bad" Brad (as my good friend Henry "Discombobulating" Jones likes to call him) has made his mark on the boxing landscape. The great news is that he's not done yet! He loves and cares about this stuff too much! He not only has covered the current main personalities in the fight game, but he has additionally "reached back" and caught readers up on some of the great figures of boxing's past. He covers all of the bases and lets the fighters say it "their way". The fans, the fighters and the "boxing insiders" like myself love it this way! Bad Brad -keep up the great work! I know you will, because like I said . . . " he's not done yet! "

10 Count - I'm Out!
Baltimore-Washington's own Fight Doctor (AKA Jerome Spears) ... Read more

Product Description
No sport offers more allure and repulsion than the inviting and abrasive world of boxing. Starting on the mean streets of 1950s Chicago, this collection of essays moves into a close reflection of the boxing world up through the glitz of today’s boxing circuit.

For Ted Sares, boxing is more than a sparring match between two combatants violently punching each another. It is a visceral experience that reaches in all directions, from his childhood memories of visiting the Chicago rings with his father to today’s all-out-fight demeanor of Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao. At the same time tender and brutal, triumphant and tragic, in the end these pieces are about the last man standing and the hope for fair judgment between the victor and the defeated.

Boxing Is My Sanctuary is a collection of essays that explores both sides of a sport that is colored with paradox. Between the violent and affectionate, the barbaric and the civilized, Sares finds a ringside refuge in the midst of the sights, sounds, and smells that define boxing. ... Read more

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Famed for its clear-minded, unstoppable practitioners, the martial art of Xingyi is known for both its street fighting quality and its spiritual practice. Written in China before World War II and never previously available in English, this is an invaluable illustrated guide for today's practitioner of this traditional martial art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Excellent
China doesn't have these type of manuals anymore.
Taiwan might have a few.
The translator and publisher
did an important contribution to Chinese martial arts
manual preservation.

Difficult Chinese writing, these are truly the old old school writings.
You need a college level course in Hong Kong to understand this.
Or hopefully the yahoo hk dictionary would be enough.

So, be glad the translation is here.

More to this book than meets the eye
At first glance this poetry is straightforward and even boring -- but the details so methodically spelled out here are often those nuances most often forgotten during the early stages of hsing i practice -- this book will bring you back to the basics and move you forward.

First Rate Book
This type of book is perfect for someone really studying the art of Xing Yi Quan. If you know the base material well, you probably also know some version of the key concepts covered here. There are not enough works like this in English. This book, which is not intended as an introduction to the art in the instructional sense fulfills the needs of practitioners who need to commit to memory the art's key principles. Mr. Groschwitz included the Chinese text as well, which is a big plus for those who can read Chinese a bit. Though I don't always agree with his translation exactly, I still think this book should be on Xing Yi practitioner's bookshelves without exception.

Not much to read
This book is less than 90 pages long, and 17 of them are dedicated to forewards.The "meat" of the book consists of short verses regarding the five Xingyi techniques (pi, quan, beng, pao, and heng), and since both the original Chinese text and the English translations appear on the pages, they fill up twice the space than the actual content needs.

This book might be good to have in your collection if you're already a practitioner of Xingyiquan, but it would probably be of little interest to anyone else.

Excellent resource
This thin book in itself contains enough information for more than a few years' worth of study. Even Xing Yi stylists practicing a non-Hebei branch can benefit from it. However, a beginner will be quite lost as to the meaning of some of the poems and words, so first hand explanation by a qualified teacher is needed.

A book that must be in every Xing Yi stylist's library. ... Read more

Product Description
The move&box® training involves perfect physical harmony, suppleness, movement accuracy, coordination, intensive breathing for optimal oxygen uptake and quick reactions - in short: it is all about personal well-being, one of the most important tasks of a leisure sport. All the moves and exercises are borrowed from boxing training. Elements from other sports like kickboxing, karate or even aerobics can easily be incorporated into the training so that it can be adapted within a class to any performance level or expectation. The class structure strictly follows sports-pedagogical guidelines and includes warm-up training, muscle stretching, technique and partner training as well as a relaxing cool down. Boxing is a sport that has always been treated with respect due to its component of athleticism. That is why a chapter is dedicated to the history of boxing up to the present day. The sport of boxing has a frequently misunderstood public image though, often represented as one-sided and only performance-related, this is why an explanation of its principal technical features is provided. The main body of the book features exercise guidelines for boxercise, which can be performed both by groups and by individuals. ... Read more

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In this bountiful collection of his best boxing stories of the last half-century, Mr. Schulberg takes his fans all the way back to an epic bare-knuckle contest in England two hundred years ago; draws a revealing portrait of Uncle Mike Jacobs, the promotional impresario of boxing in its Golden Age; expertly places Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali in the social history of their times; brings fans up to date in the careers of the great names of recent decades-Tyson, Holyfield, De La Hoya, Hopkins, Chico Corrales; and much more. His writing sparkles with authority and insight. Here is great writing on great fighters, laced with a realistic sense of boxing's wrongs as well as its rights. Publication of Ringside is an event in the world of sports literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A T.K.O.
Budd Schulberg at ninety is still punching. In this collection of his boxing writing he brings us back to some of the most exciting moments in his long ring history. He concludes with a lengthy portrait of the famed boxing promoter Lew Jacobs.
Schulberg is a real aficionado of the sport who knows it from inside. And those who love the sport will greatly enjoy the collection. Most touching in it is his concern for what happens to fighters after they leave the ring. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good general history of the lightweight division
There are several fighters featured in this book that were interesting enough in and out of the ring to warrant books of their own. Freddie Welsh, Benny Leonard, Roberto Duran, Barney Ross, just to name a few. But as far as being a general history of the lightweight division this is good. ... Read more

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