Ultimate Dim-Mak: How To Fight A Grappler And Win [Paperback]

Erle Montaigue (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996

Grappling is not superior, just different, says Erle Montaigue, a former pro wrestler himself. Here he takes you inside the mind of the grappler and reveals his strategy, thus taking away his edge. Learn to target the most vulnerable points and apply foolproof dim-mak sleeper holds to counter the moves grapplers will use in any no-holds-barred fight.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Erle Montaigue was the first Westerner to be granted the degree of "Master" in taijiquan and dim-mak. In 1995 Erle was invited to study with Liang Shih-kan, the leader and "keeper" of the now almost extinct forerunner to taijiquan, the Wutan Shan System of Boxing, thus becoming the only Westerner and one of a handful of people to be taught the nine qi-disruptive methods. He serves as head of the World Taiji Boxing Association (WTBA), which has schools in more than 30 countries. He is highly regarded internationally as one of the leading instructors of the internal martial arts, including taijiquan

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Press (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873648781
• ISBN-13: 978-0873648783
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,480,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, April 12, 2003

By 

"scrapfighter" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Dim-Mak: How To Fight A Grappler And Win (Paperback)

This book is very good...in my opinion. I only have 3 stars because I'm very picky in order for my review to be taken seriously. It's not the BEST book out there, but it definitely is not a bad one either. It shows some common basics such as punching with REAL and TREMENDOUS power...a skill often overlooked by many stand up fighters, because if they could hit harder, then all they would have to do is hit a grappler once. "When in doubt go for the neck" is one of my favorite quotes from this book. It tells of how to really take an attacker out, which is why this is such a good book. It is also very specific about how to do each technique in the book...which is good if you know nothing about this art. I train in the Japanese form of this Dim Mak, called Kyusho-Jitsu, and I have tremendous respect for the Chinese form after reading this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Montaigue lacks fundamental understanding of grappling, December 26, 2008

By 

Joseph M Burtner (Kennesaw, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ultimate Dim-Mak: How To Fight A Grappler And Win (Paperback)

I am actually a tremendous fan of Erle Montaigue's other books, so I was very disappointed upon reading this one. Though he claims to have a background in amature and professional wrestling, he demonstrates no knowledge of even the fundamentals of grappling in this text. He even calls the sleeper hold (which to him includes the rear-naked choke, the guillotine choke, the cross-collar choke and pretty much any other choke) "new" and "exotic", despite the fact that they have existed in formal Eastern and Western fighting systems since Medieval times, and also claims that a grappler would like to be underneath Side Control position. His "grapplers" that he demonstrate on also clearly have no knowledge of grappling: they stand far too upright in general, bend at the waist instead of the knees when going for a takedown, and throw out the most ridiculous feints. I also find it laughable that he advises one not to grapple with a grappler, then proceeds to demonstrate just that. Incidentally his demonstrations of "sleeper" holds are also laughable. He gets it right when he focuses on the carotid arteries, but his actual applications are quite loose and inefficient. There's also an awful lot of text devoted to the supposed differences between NHB contests and street situations. Experience and observation has led me to believe that this difference is minimal; nobody actually pokes out their opponent's eye in a bar fight, they throw some punches, clinch, and possibly end up on the ground, not unlike an NHB match. He also claims that there were no strikers in these early events who actually knew how to strike, which simply isn't true, as you had kickboxers and boxer such as Maurice Smith, Art Jimmerson, Bas Rutten, Kevin Rosier and so on in them. It looks to me like Montaigue saw some highlight clips of Royce Gracie and suddenly decided that he knew how to beat him without actually training with any grapplers.

The book also contains things such as the small san-sau drills, explaination of how certain points work, the beneficial principle of aiming for the neck, and an interview that is interspersed throughout the text. Though these are decent additions to the book, they are a bit redundant with his other books, and don't really have anything to do with defeating a grappler. He also makes the claim that most karate and kung fu classes aren't taught in a way that prepares people for real fights; this at least I can agree with him on.

If you want to defend yourself against grappling techniques, go take a grappling class. There's really no substitute, certainly not with this book. My primary background is the striking arts, but I'm smart enough to realize that grapplers have the best defense against grapplers. Mr. Montaigue's other books are very good, and it's a shame that this one is barely useful when it comes to striking, and actually harmful when it comes to defense against grappling. I'm telling you from experience that if you try most of this stuff against a skilled grappler you'll end up on the ground.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT STUDY !!!!!, July 12, 2002

By 

james e green (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Dim-Mak: How To Fight A Grappler And Win (Paperback)

This book is great, and I just cant overstate that enough! This book has really good training techniques that can easily be learned from unlike many other books! how to develop your "eagle vision" improve accuracy etc. also shows 5 sleeper holds that will leave them lying! definately a good companion to add to any library. like many of mr. montaigue's books this book would be a great training guide whether a novice or advanced martial artist this book would be most benificial! know how to deal with a grappler by understanding his game and defeating him with your own by beating him before he can get you to the ground! or if he is lucky enough to have gotten you there learn dim-mak points that are easily managed from the ground by merely pinching! does not show you subnission holds, or grappling possitions. but rather how to avoid the ground in the first place. sounds to good to be true, or like someone thinking "im to good to be taken to the ground!" i know submissoins, and how to grapple. i know a little dim-mak, but i also know that if you study this book, then you will never be at a loss against a good grappler agian. A MUST READ!!