Wrestling for Fighting: The Natural Way (Paperback)

~ Randy Couture (Author), Erich Krauss (Author), Glen Cordoza (Author), Eric Hendrikx (Author) "In wrestling there are two stances that will serve you well; the square stance and the staggered stance..." (more)
Key Phrases: high single position, right underhook, left underhook, Chuck Liddell, Pulling Glen, Keeping Glen (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Randy "The Natural" Couture is the most respected and celebrated MMA combatant in the history of the UFC. A UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion, and a UFC Hall of Famer, Randy Couture’s reputation and fighting style are among the best in the world.
Now, with Techniques of a Champion: The Sport of Mixed Martial Arts, Couture presents the techniques and strategies that allowed him to devastate the world’s best strikers and grapplers time and time again. His unique fighting system, a mix of martial arts, wrestling, boxing and jiu-jitsu, is broken down clearly and concisely for amateurs and seasoned veterans alike. Couture also includes important information on nutrition, cardio workouts, creating fight game plans, and a variety of training tips you won’t find anywhere else.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Victory Belt Publishing (June 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977731537
• ISBN-13: 978-0977731534
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #170,895 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #27 in	Books > Sports > Individual Sports > Mixed Martial Arts
  #63 in	Books > Sports > Individual Sports > Wrestling

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work by "The Natural", September 4, 2007

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

Randy "The Natural" Couture has recently shocked the MMA world by winning and then defending his UFC Heavyweight Title in two fights where he was an underdog. One of the major keys to his victories is his incredible use of wrestling inside the Octagon. In this book, he shares his best wrestling techniques, and how to use them in MMA competition.

After an introduction that chronicles his career in wrestling & MMA, Randy beggins to delve into the techniques that have won him five UFC titles. The book is devided into three parts: wrestling basics, Greco-Roman techniques, and wrestling for MMA. Randy teaches you how to wrestle first, before anything else. Each section beggins with an overview of what will be learned, and is color-coded.

The first section is on wrestling basics, and goes over the four basic takedowns (double, high crotch, low single & high single), then focuses on ways to finish the high single-leg possition. After that, Couture goes on to the basic tie-ups for the upper-body and how to execute takedowns from those possitions. Learning these setups are crucial to successful takedowns. He finishes the first part up with takedown defense.

In the middle section, on Greco-Roman wrestling, we are introduced to the skills that Randy excels at. Greco-Roman wrestling concentrates exclusively on upper-body wrestling, and Randy feels it's better for MMA compared to Freestyle & Folkstyle. This part beggins with basic pummeling, which enables one to gain control of your opponent's body, then moves on to some basic Greco takedowns. The next part is on armdrags, a favorite of mine, and includes drills and various entries to get the takedown. The second section finishes up with underhook defenses, but not before "The Natural" introduces the reader to some of the most crowd-pleasing Greco throws, including the arm spin, headlock throw, and bodylock suplex.

The third and last section is on utilizing the skills in the previous two sections in the MMA environment. This section shows the reader how to combine takedowns and clinch work with strikes and strike defense, and how to take down someone who's against a cage. It also includes some of Randy's favorite ground 'n' pound techniques and a few submissions from the headlock possition.

If there's any negative side of this book it's that Randy doesn't cover basic striking, striking defense, or ground possitions. This might sound like a large gap, but the purpose of his book isn't to teach a full MMA curriculum, but to show basic wrestling techniques and how they're used in MMA.

On a side note, I've been very pleased with the quallity of books that Victory Belt Publishing has put out. This is my fourth book from them, and they consistantly do great work. This book, like most of the others, has quallity photos, step-by-step instructions, and multiple camera angles of a single step. I look forward to their upcoming publications by Couture, Eddie Bravo, BJ Penn, Dave Camarillo and Marcelo Garcia.

I would recomend this book to anyone who wants to learn wrestling moves and apply them to the MMA environment.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cardio and Nutrition?, September 14, 2007

By	C. Dolly - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I like to start off by saying that the techniques in this book were excellent. It explains in great detail some basic wrestling/Greco/MMA techniques. The contents of the book were great. However, it advertised 272 pages, mine had 212? Also, I did not see a section on cardio and nutrition in this book which was one of the main reasons I bought this book over other instructional books. Besides that I was very pleased with my purchase, the techniques alone make it well worth the money.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As the title suggests....., June 7, 2008

By	C. K. Mccracken "Jiu Jitsu Guy and One Time P... (Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Randy Couture has been one of the poster boys for Mixed Martial Arts competition in recent years - and a good one at that. His words are well thought out, he's articulate, hard-working and talented. A lot is made of his age, as well. However, I don't think it means a great deal except to say he's an example of what hard work and good attitude can acheive.


Erich Krauss and Glen Cordoza do a great job of getting these qualities to shine through in this publication. The book's dedication speaks of work ethic and self-reliance, as well as the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people and influences. One can only say that this is as much a recipe for success as any. It's worked in Couture's case, anyway.


The book is - like most Victory Belt publications - a large format book. It's 11" x 9" and has 214 pages. It's a glossy book on high quality paper. It's also generous with photos and the photos are detailed and clearly show the techniques presented. I was critical of a couple of Victory Belt's publications in the past for proof-reading. This one does a lot better. It is very unfortunate that one of the very few errors that slipped through happened to be in a very noticeable place. Nonetheless, the writing is excellent and gets better with each publication. I'd be a real jerk if I said it took away from the book.


As seems to be the Victory Belt template, the book opens with an introduction which spends twelve pages chronicling Randy's career. Erich and Glen are getting better at this every time. It's the best written of the Victory Belt intros by far and the one I enjoyed the most, as well. Take note, though, it may be that I simply enjoyed Couture's story more than the others.


The technical portion of the book is broken up into three parts. The first talks wrestling, the second focusses on Greco-Roman wrestling and the third on adapting the wrestling game for Mixed Martial Arts. Each part is broken up into six to seven chapters concentrating on different aspects of Randy's game. As far as the techniques go, this is clearly the game of Randy Couture. The book also shares a lot of information with his earlier video series from Century. That makes this a great adjunct to the series, as well.


The wrestling section starts with a comprehensive chapter discussing wrestling basics. This is followed by a look at four basic takedowns. This is followed (quite naturally) by a chapter on finishing the single leg. Clearly this is and area Randy considers key. Following this is a long section on tie-ups. Here, you really start to make the connection between the Randy you see in the cage and the one n the book. There are two defensive chapters in the wrestling section - Sprawling and Defending the Single Leg.


The section on Greco is shorter, with a two page introduction followed by a chapter on pummelling and then basic takedowns. I enjoyed this section a lot as I picked up several of details that (as a Jiu Jitsu guy) I didn't know before. There are then chapters on armdrags and on more advanced takedowns. All are effective techniques, well photographed and captioned.


The last part of the book is called "Wrestling for Fighting" and is obviously the crux of the book as far as the authors are concerned. It starts with an introduction (as for all the book's parts) and then jumps into the relationship between strikes (especially the overhand) and the double-leg takedown. There is then a chapter on closing the distance. Following this, come the chapters on the most famous parts of Randy's game - The clinch and cage tactics.


The clinch chapter concentrates on Couture's much hallowed "Dirty Boxing" technique while the chapter on cage tactics provides invaluable pearls on how to use the fence to your advantage. I'm not sure Randy has given up all his secrets here, but the book certainly describes much of what I've seen the man do in the cage.


From here, there are chapters on ground tactics and submissions. The tactics here are simple. There is a good deal of time devoted to "Ground 'n' Pound" and two basic choke submissions. Both should be a big help for wrestlers looking to make the change.


All-in-all, I think there's something in here for everyone. Wrestlers making the jump to MMA will obviously benefit the most as it shows precisely how the wrestler's game translates. People like myself, who don't have a strong wrestling background will be able to add elements to their game they had previously not been exposed to. And, I don't think there's out there who couldn't benefit from the clinch and cage tactics chapters.


The book brings the good points of all Victory Belt's previous publications together. It's shorter, more basic and easier to navigate than the already excellent 'Book of Knowledge' from BJ Penn and more articulate and mature than 'Mastering the Rubber Guard'. This one takes pride of place on my bookshelf and will join the Best of the Best category on this site.