Customer Reviews

Beyond the Lion's Den: The Life, The Fights, The Techniques

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having read "Inside the Lion's Den" years ago, I was very happy when this book came out. It makes Shamrock's first book seem like an abridged version of this one.

As in the first book, the first part is autobiographical. In it, Shamrock goes in depth about his troubled childhood, his time on the American pro-wrestling circuit (including a detailed description of the Nasty Boys incident), his time in Japan, and his return to MMA fighting up to his fight with Kimo. Without a doubt, some of the accounts are embellished or one-sided, but I think any fan of MMA, especially the early days, will be pleased at the insights Shamrock gives. My biggest complaint, as a pro-wrestling fan, is the constant misspelling of wrestler's names, but I don't think that'll effect most readers.

The second part of the book is on submission fighting. This is MUCH more detailed, technique-wise, than "Inside", but is noticeably missing sections on training, strategy and nutrition which were found in the first book. This section starts with stance and mobility and moves on to striking, including basic defenses, combinations, and striking from the clinch. Next he addresses takedowns, both offensively and defensively. He covers shooting, takedowns out of the clinch, takedowns off of the wall, takedown defense, takedowns to counter strikes, and many of his techniques end in a submission hold of some sort, allowing the fighter to finish his opponent off. After that is groundfighting, which is really Ken's specialty. He addresses, by chapter, the top guard position, side control and it's variations, the mount, the rear mound (including variations), and the bottom guard. In each section, he gives striking and submission options, proper positional control, and usually a bit on mobility and escapes. Fans of leg locks will love this part of the book.

Considering the length and cost of the book, I'd recommend it primarily for those interested in both the history and techniques of MMA. Though he's lost a few steps in the ring, there's no doubt after reading the instructional section that Ken still knows the techniques that work in an MMA fight. An excellent follow-up to his first book, and a very good book overall.

Where 'Inside the Lion's Den' Leaves off, this book picks up. Beyond chroniciles shamrocks early pro wrestling days along with his reign in the UFC, his move 2 WWF, and finally his return to MMA. Written in first person, Shamrock comes across much more humoriously than 'Inside.' Of the books 278pages, 212 of them R NHB technique instructions. Having practiced MMA on a much more amature level, I can say that the techniques contained in it are both effective and basic. Shamrocks descriptions get to the heart of each move, teaching the most important parts of ever technique, and explaining them thouroughly.
All in all, this has to go on the shelf of any MMA of UFC fanatic.

This book contains a brief autobiography which is 64 pages long which is OK especially if you read "Inside the lions den" because that was a fairly detailed autobiography so this is mostly recap of that with some new details that you didn't get in the first one. The rest of the book is a "How to" guide on submission fighting.

The Good:

The auto biography was better written than "Inside the lions den" which at points made you think you were reading Clark Kents Auto biography instead of Ken Shamrocks. There are clear pictures of the fighting moves along with step by step instructions on how to do them which was pretty cool if that kind of thing interest you.

The Bad:

Nothing memorable. I wish he would have elaborated on where all the lions den fighters are now and whether or not would could expect to see all of them fighting again in the near future.

Overall if you are a Ken Shamrock fan you will enjoy this book and even though it is a little pricey it's worth picking up and checking out.

The biography part is pretty interesting. He mostly talks about his pro wrestling days and after. In his first book, he focuses more on his life before pro wrestling. I liked the idea of a bio/instructional because it adds some credebility to his technique.

The instructional part is good. He provides a lot of techiniques for several different situations. He goes through the techniques step by step in detail so the reader fully understands how to perform the techniques. His first book had some nutritional and exercise advice, however this book does not. Despite that, I would strongly recommend this book for Shamrock fans and people who are interested in training in MMA.

I'm very happy to see a fighter finally show us some mma moves.
The contents are as follows;
1)Striking-21 moves.
2)Clinch work-17 moves.
3)Leglocks and guard passes-13 moves.
4)Top Control Submissions-27 moves.
5)Guard Work-14 moves.
Overall there are 100 techniques plus a biography of Shamrock's life.Sorry for not remembering exactly how the book is organized;but there is indeed 100 moves inside.
My only two problems with this book is that;Shamrock doesn't show how to strike when down on the ground and doesn't cover escapes from the bottom of inferior positions at all.

Beyond the Lion's Den is an expanded update of Lion's Den, which was published over ten years ago. It's divided into two sections covering Shamrock's life story and a second longer section which is a guide to MMA techniques.

The biography part makes Shamrock sound more like a superhero than a real human being but it's well written and entertaining. On the downside the only pictures are from two of his UFC matches (against Tito Ortiz and Kimo) which is a little strange considering the length of his career and the number of images which must be available. Also the photo on the cover is from his pumped-up WWF days which is a bit misleading considering the content of the book.

The second half is a lot better. The problem with a lot of wrestling (or martial arts) books is that the photos are too small or grainy to see the techniques properly. Here there are lots of large, clear photos which show how to complete the manoeuvres really well.

In short this book may not be worth the cover price if you've already got the old version or are a good standard MMA fighter. It works better as an introduction to the sport and it helps too if you're a Ken Sharock fan :)

Ken Shamrock gives a short autobiography to start out the book. The story of his life is interesting but he seems to overstate many aspects of his life and fighting carreer. His stories are at times not believable and he makes excuses for every fight he has ever lost. Using excuses such as being hung over, bum leg, took fight too soon, other guy on pain drugs etc., Ken comes off as a sore loser quite often. Regardless of his padding his own stories, it is interesting none the less.

The second part of the book is on fighting techniques. This section is well illustrated and worth the price on it's own. This is a good buy for fans of Shamrock and the UFC or anyone who wants to study the Lion's Den Fighting techniques.

Ken Shamrock is a legendary martial artist and fighting champion best known perhaps for his WWF superstar fame: there's no better place to learn about his competitions and the stories behind them than in his autobiographical Beyond The Lion's Den: The Life, The Fights, The Techniques. Packed with color photos throughout, Beyond The Lion's Den captures not just the high points of Shamrock's career, but provides plenty of movement-by-movement discussions of basic fighting techniques which lend to martial arts lessons.

Beyond The Lion's Den is half autobiography half instructional manual. Both have their charms. The autobiography, while very short, is a treat to read as it details Ken's early life and as he simultaneously broke into the MMA and pro wrestling scene during the early 90's long before there was a UFC. Ken even goes into detail on his comeback to MMA after leaving WWE during the late 90's. Some of the stories are surprisingly entertaining and candid; Ken telling a story about getting jumped in a hotel room during the early 90's and Ken talking about leaving the WWE completely broke.

The instructional manual is good, but not great. Anyone who has followed MMA know that the game has passed Ken by a long time ago. So the moves Ken demonstrates in the book are a little limited in their scope. Its not something you want to base your entire game on. But at the same time, if you a trained guy with decent experience the book has a few gems and things you can add into your game that can be effective or at least make you a tougher challenge for your training partners/opponents. Ken actually has a few cool, and sneaky, methods to transition into various leg locks and heel hooks (which were always Ken's bread and butter) including some from the standing position.

So while there are some other books that can probably add more to your overall game, Beyond The Lion's Den is a very fun read and like I said, if you are a trained guy there are a few cool leg lock transitions that you will really appreciate and will feel great about if you land in practice or competition.

While I did enjoy the biography in the first part of the book, the real reason I purchased Beyond The Lion's Den is the techniques. Complete with strikes, take-downs/take-down defense, and probably the best explanation of how to throw a Thai round kick I have ever read. The best part however is the awesome catch wrestling style ground work and submissions, different in many ways from the BJJ style used by many competitors. It goes through all the basic ground positions and gives advice on how to maintain control, move to better positions, and lock in submissions properly. With 23 submission victories currently to his name, Ken Shamrock knows what he is talking about. The only downside to this book is the lack of drills/exercises and dietary advice included in his first book, Inside the Lion's Den.