9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent training manual, September 15, 2009
This review is from: Dirty Boxing for Mixed Martial Arts: From Wrestling to Mixed Martial Arts (Paperback)
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.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Technical MMA Manual Out There, August 23, 2009
This review is from: Dirty Boxing for Mixed Martial Arts: From Wrestling to Mixed Martial Arts (Paperback)
I've purchased a lot of martial arts books that are just a bunch of random moves and strikes. They never show you how to put everything together. This book is not one of those books. Instead of focusing on how to throw a kick or a punch, it shows what Lindland is a master at--controlling his opponent's through it a number of different control positions. Once all the controls are shown, he demonstrates all of your opponent's possible counters. He then shows how to use those counter to transition to other control positions. In my opinion, that is critical. A lot of books make you believe that once you reach a certain position, you can do whatever you like to your opponent. That is far from the truth. Your opponent will always fight you and counter. If you do not know how to counter his counters, you will most likely constantly lose dominant control. Lindland teaches you how to become a master at keeping your control, as well as how to use whatever control you are in to punish your opponent. It's not a book to get if you want a lot of flashy moves. It's a book to buy if you actually want to go through the grueling process of learning how to be an actual fighter. When you watch the UFC, you constantly see guys fighting for dominance on their feet. Transitioning from one control position to another control position, until one guy gets the upper hand. This book teaches you how to always get that upper hand. I looked back at some of Lindland's old fights where he dominated his opponents, and the moves he used in the fight are the exact same moves he shows in this book. Amazing to see something on paper in action, but maybe that's just me. I can't recommend this book highly enough! Personally, I feel it is the best book every to focus on the clinch for MMA fighting. Again, not flash and glam. It's all practical knowledge that any fighter shouldn't be without.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dry but thorough., September 5, 2009
This review is from: Dirty Boxing for Mixed Martial Arts: From Wrestling to Mixed Martial Arts (Paperback)
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.
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