Fedor: The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA [Paperback]

Fedor Emelianenko (Author), Erich Krauss (Author), Glen Cordoza (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2008

In Fedor, the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight MMA champion of the world unveils for the first time his trademark striking and grappling techniques through descriptive narrative and more than 2500 step-by-step color photographs. Detailing dozens of throws, punching combinations, cardio workouts and ground and pound techniques, this book leaves no stone unturned.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The perceived best mixed martial artist on the planet."—ESPN

About the Author

Fedor Emelianenko is the Pride Heavyweight Champion of the world. He lives in Stariy Oskol, Russia.

Erich Krauss is a professional Muay Thai kickboxer who has trained and competed in Thailand. He has written or co-authored fifteen books, including Wrestling for Fighting: The "Natural Way".

Glen Cordoza is a professional mixed martial arts fighter and co-author of Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge.

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Victory Belt Publishing (September 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977731545
• ISBN-13: 978-0977731541
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Mixed Martial Arts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In FEDOR, Fedor Emelianenko, Arguably the World's Best Fighter, Captures the X-Factors of Fighting., October 3, 2008

By 

Jacob Regar - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fedor: The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA (Paperback)

Written by Jacob Regar

There is no one hundred percent fail-proof recipe for unarmed combat. Practitioners must learn all they can to prepare themselves for any possible fighting scenario. Techniques alone do not ensure victory in the modern fighting chess match that is MMA. Subtleties like footwork, combinations set up off of evasive movements and offensive feints, and timing, are the essence of fighting success. These variables are difficult to perceive, let alone define, and the ability to fuse them with game-tested techniques against a skilled and prepared opponent marks the clearest indication of a modern fighting master.

In FEDOR: the Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA, the martial arts public can finally find answers to their ongoing question: how does Fedor Emelianenko do what he does in the ring? He writes in the introduction to the book's section on "counter attacks:"

"The goal in any fight is to constantly remain on the offensive and either rack up enough points to earn a judges' decision or put your opponent to sleep. If your opponent is timid or dramatically outclassed, achieving your goal can be quite easy. You simply beat on him until he drops. However, the majority of opponents you face will climb into the ring or cage with the exact same goal as you, which means you'll have to contend with his attacks. The only way to remain offensive against an opponent who is also offensive-minded is to learn how to counter his attacks. By attacking, evading his strikes, and then immediately launching counterattacks, your opponent will be locked in defense mode even though he is throwing every strike in the book at you. And as long as he is constantly defending, you'll be winning the fight."

The above excerpt is just a taste of the abundant nuggets of world-class fighting philosophy that can be found in FEDOR. His thoughts are expertly drafted into workable instructions with the help of famed MMA writers, Glen Cordoza and Erich Krauss. The book is filled to the limit with clear photographs of Emelianenko displaying the precise body movements necessary to execute each featured technique. Additionally, most featured techniques are accompanied by a section of highlighted "key concepts" to keep in mind.

While studying the book, you will undoubtedly recognize many of the same movements and techniques that have worked for Emelianenko in his fights against the world's best heavyweight fighters. In addition, the book includes many new and exciting techniques like the "Reverse Bridge Summersault Escape" from mount where he literally summersaults horizontally over his shoulders to roll his opponent over to the bottom position.

Widely known for possessing some of the fastest and most devastating hands in the business, Emelianenko presents an in-book clinic on his powerful striking techniques. You will notice in the book's photographs his familiar tendencies to maintain head movement; shift his feet to compensate for his changing offensive angles; and deliver his strikes with his fists rotated beyond the traditional norm. His explanations are not so much a surprise, but they will aid readers in adopting his unorthodox style into their own game.

FEDOR covers every area of MMA: from fundamental striking and slick submissions, to fight-effective takedowns and mindfully defensive techniques. What once could only be ascertained through careful analysis of his legendary fights can now conveniently be learned step-by-step in his first instructional book. FEDOR is both intriguing and brilliant. A must have for any serious martial artist. It is the new standard for MMA instructional books.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fighting Book, March 25, 2009

By 

William Pitts "oldhunter" (Merril, Wi. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fedor: The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA (Paperback)

I have had probably a hundred martial arts books over the years and this is one of the best for "down to earth" nothing fancy fighting techniques that work. I was very impressed with the knowledge of Fedor about strikes, balance, and always covering with the other hand when you strike. I was a boxing coach for ten years and had state champions. If there is one thing I have seen that is the number one flaw I see with mixed martial artists is when they punch they generally drop their other hand. Something basic but of utmost importance. Fedor covers it better than any martial arts books with the exception of "Jeet Kune Do" by Bruce Lee who was light years ahead of those of his time. He spoke of mixing martial arts back forty years ago. This book covers strikes, checking kicks,(which many don't cover) takedowns, throws, ground submissions and just common sense wisdom by a man that has tested these techniques in the fires of real combat. He even states that you have to consider your body frame and use what works best for your type of frame. Which I believe is real wisdom. A tall lanky fighter uses his strength of reach and leverage in striking while a short stocky fighter uses his physical strength and grappling to stay with his strengths. The best part I liked in this book was mixing the techniques and formulating them into a fighting system. Is it the best system? It is for Fedor! Use what works best for you but this book is a sound book no fighter should be without.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Handbook for Beginning MMA, July 28, 2009

By 

Ron Cole - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fedor: The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA (Paperback)

_Fedor: The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA_ is one of the best books I've read in regards to the basics of fighting. It contains over 200 pages of techniques covering all three of the major fight ranges (striking distance, the clinch, and grappling). These techniques are explained both through the use of multiple full-color photographs and informative captions. Together, they do an excellent job of allowing readers to understand what they are reading so that they can duplicate it while practicing. This is the textbook for Mixed Martial Arts 101, and should be in the library of every new student of the fighting arts.

The book's strength as a beginner's guide, however, is also its biggest weakness. The authors devote an entire page to showing readers how to get into the proper stance; two more pages and 12 photos on how to throw a straight snap jab; two more pages and nine photos detailing how to throw a straight long jab; two pages on how to throw a left hook; etc, etc, etc... Beginning fighters should love this, as it will allow them to understand almost exactly how Fedor fights; more experienced fighters with their own styles will find themselves skimming page after page of this book trying to find something that they don't already know. Those nuggets of gold are in there, but they tend to be rare because so much of the book is devoted to the basics. With such a grand title as "The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA," many readers will expect a book that has more uniqueness to it. What they get is an excellent guide to the basics of Fedor's style, but little else beyond a beginner to intermediate technique manual.

The exact contents of the book are 90 pages devoted to striking, 53 dealing with the clinch, and 100 concerning ground techniques. The contents can be additionally broken down as follows:
- 24 pages on punching. Everything from multiple versions of the jab to the stepping in uppercut are covered.
- 8 pages on kicking. The kicks are very basic and do not go above middle-height.
- 9 pages on checking. This is a form of blocking strikes.
- 33 pages on counter attacks. This section puts together what was taught in the earlier striking sections. Strikes that happen after or while the opponent is attacking can often surprise an opponent and result in stronger blows.
- 12 pages on combinations. Multiple strikes thrown together as a combination often lead to a knock-out. My favorite is the setup for the "superman punch" that starts on page 106.
- 8 pages on combinations from the clinch. The short distance between opponents means that strikes must be thrown in a slightly different way to be successful.
- 8 pages on the Muay Thai Clinch. The Muay Thai Clinch could actually be a book in itself. The authors cover the basics of how to throw knees from it, counter it, and escape it. That's it.
- 32 pages on throws. Taking an opponent from the clinch to the ground can win a fight. This section covers throws from wrestling, judo, and other martial arts and applies them to MMA.
- 5 pages on takedown defense. There are only two techniques here: the basic sprawl to rear naked choke and the single leg defense. This section seems a bit empty, but takedown reversals have also been covered in other sections.
- 100 pages on ground techniques. This section is a mixture of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, and other grappling techniques. There are some interesting chained sequences in this section, but there is also one big failing: the basic positions of grappling such as the guard and mount are not significantly explained. Considering that the simple jab got a two-page treatment, I'd have thought something as important as the guard would get at least one - but it didn't. It seems as if the authors just expected everyone to have some prior experience in jiu-jitsu. The moves in this section tend to be relatively advanced, so I'd recommended someone new to jiu-jitsu pick up an additional book if they need to learn the very basics of ground fighting.

My final verdict on this book is: it is definitely worth purchasing if you are a beginning fighter or MMA enthusiast. More experienced fighters may be disappointed with the lack of advanced moves, but they will still take something away from this book if they read it completely.

Note: For those that don't know, Fedor Emelianenko is a professional MMA fighter that, at the height of his career, was considered the best heavyweight in the world. He has fought in organizations including Affliction, PRIDE, Bodog, and Rings, but not in the UFC (at least not at the time of this writing). He has wins over name fighters including Renato Sobral, Heath Herring, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman, Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, Matt Lindland, Tim Sylvia, and Andrei Arlovski.