Mastering Mixed Martial Arts: The Guard (Paperback)

by Antonio Nogueira (Author), Erich Krauss (Author), Glen Cordoza (Author), Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Author)

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Product Description

Combining wrestling, boxing and ruthless ground-and-pound with world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Antonio Nogueira, current UFC Heavyweight Champion, has developed the most sought-after fighting system on the planet. In Mastering Mixed Martial Arts, for the first time, he unveils the guard segment of that system through more than 1000 step-by-step color photographs and detailed narrative, covering everything a fighter could want to know about developing and utilizing the guard. If your goal is to learn how to haul an opponent to the mat and put him in a world of pain, Mastering Mixed Martial Arts puts you one step closer to achieving that dream.

About the Author

Antonio Nogueira is the former Pride Heavyweight Champion and the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. He will be a head coach on this season of Spike TVÆs hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter, which began airing in September 2008.

Glen Cordoza is a professional Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial arts fighter. He is the author of eight books on the martial arts.

Erich Krauss is a professional Muay Thai kickboxer who has lived and fought in Thailand. He has written for The New York Times and is the author of nineteen books.

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Product Details Paperback: 228 pages Publisher: Victory Belt Publishing (December 2, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0981504426 ISBN-13: 978-0981504421 Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.7 inches Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,364 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #35 in  Books > Sports > Individual Sports > Mixed Martial Arts

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7 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on the guard, from the master of the guard, December 8, 2008 By  Lance D. Freimuth "Student" (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    The first thing I have to say is that this is not a no-gi book. This is not a book of random moves and submissions from the guard. This is the exact guard system developed by Minotauro Nogueira (Big Nog) that he uses to compete in MMA. It's not a bunch of moves he doesn't use, and each move stacks onto of the previous set of moves. It's a complete system to be used in it's entirety. In that respect, I think that it's one of the best books I've read on the market for MMA guard. One pitfall this book avoid that a lot of other books can't is that he stays right on the point. There's no submission grappling or gi specific moves in this book that he simply executed with a pair of MMA gloves on. Everything is specifically tailored to the MMA guard. A lot of the book is geared towards avoiding taking punishment in the guard, something that Nogueira has learned a lot about in his career. The first section of the book is posture control. The main emphasis of these chapters is controlling your opponent your guard to avoid taking damage, but still being offensive. Traditional closed guard and Nog's famous double shin on biceps guard are covered and broken down, showing the reader how to execute sweeps, submissions and gets up in an MMA environment. The hand trapping and head control he shows are actually really key to making the bottom work for you in a fight. A relatively large portion of the book is centered around the half guard. I honestly think this is one of the best half guard sections I've ever seen in any book on grappling or MMA. Second best would be Eddie Bravo's book, and yes I really do think it trumps that. So many great, fundamental moves, broken down in very exacting detail. He also often explains the mistakes and counters available in positions, and then will go on to correct it in the next set of photos. If you have any doubts about the half guard for MMA, just read this book and then watch Nogueira's fights. In this section, he covers the details of his half guard sweeps he used to catch Tim Sylvia, turn Fabricio Werdum, and the infamous half guard sit out he's used on everyone including Bob Sapp. I really think that the half guard section in this book is fantastic. The book rounds out with some of his best sequences from a double wrist control, both open and closed guard variations, as well as a his methods and techniques from the butterfly guard and a couple of key techniques from the downed guard, as if an opponent just stood up front inside your open guard, or you just got knocked flat with a punch. There's a lot of good moves he covers that can turn this potentially bad situation into a potentially great one. So that's it, this really is an awesome book, especially for the price. If you're the market to find a book geared towards being effective, dangerous, and exciting off of your back in an MMA fight, I can't recommend this book enough. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars www.knucklepit.com, December 20, 2008 By  Mr. Marc Wickert "www.knucklepit.com" (Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Mastering Mixed Martial Arts - The Guard by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with Glen Cordoza & Erich Krauss (Victory Belt) © Marc Wickert December 20, 2008 www.knucklepit.com Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is to grappling what Las Vegas is to deserts. The idiom used to be, `One man's meat is another man's poison', but in Nogueira's case it's `One man's poison is another man's bread and butter'. When it comes to fighting, most competitors - particularly wrestlers - avoid being on their backs like the plague. However with Antonio Nogueira, not only is he at home in the guard, but he turns the hell's kitchen of MMA into his own private torture chamber, welcoming adversaries like a spider to a fly. "Fighting off my back allowed me to use both of my arms and both of my legs to attack, while my opponent on top was restricted to using just his arms. Four limbs against two - how could you not like those odds?" asks Nogueira. And no one submits from the bottom better than Antonio, who covers everything in Mastering Mixed Martial Arts - The Guard, including position control, double arm controls, inside hooks guard, half guard and the downed guard. After studying and practicing Nogueira's 226 pages of crystal-clear lessons, you can't help feel not only extremely confident fighting from your back, but like Antonio, you'll feel compelled to seek out the guard during training and competition. Antonio Nogueira provides his readers with a complete fight plan that resembles Rubik's cube: From start to finish, everything flows, with one move connecting to the next. "Unlike most books, I haven't offered a random group of techniques. I've sequenced the moves together based on an opponent's most common reaction to your position or previous submission. If your goal is to develop a guard system where everything is interconnected, I suggest studying this section sequentially. " The autobiographical introduction to Mastering Mixed Martial Arts - The Guard makes this a value-for-money publication even before the instruction starts. An amazing book by an amazing man. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Best Jiu-Jitsu Book Out There, December 5, 2008 By  Muay Thai Student "Josh" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews Nogueira is the best guard player in MMA, and this book gives his entire system. I really like how every move is based on the move that came before it. If your opponent does 'this' to defend your technique, you answer with 'this'. If he defends your second technique, you go to the third technique. It goes on and on like this, providing answers most fighters don't know. And this isn't just in the guard, it is the half guard as well. A very, very good book to understand how you must grapple in mma.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for the sport BJJ player looking to add another demension to their training I take BJJ for self defense but like most students I have to take it in a sport setting with the gi on, learning sport specific techniques. Read more Published 5 months ago by John R. Thompson 5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book This book does a great job of covering the mma guard like no other book. I wish more bjj, no-gi, and mma books would go the route as Minatauro. Read more Published 5 months ago by Michael Angel 5.0 out of 5 stars Simpley one of the best. This book is an awsome guard book strictly MMA. Learn from the best jiu-jitsu heavyweight of all time. This book is right there with Mastering the Rubber Guard. Read more Published 6 months ago by Travis L. Reichert 5.0 out of 5 stars Arguably the Best Book Available on The Guard Position One could easily submit this book for the argument of being the best book written so far concerning the fine points of, "The Guard," and you would have yourself a pretty darn good... Read more Published 6 months ago by Shawn Kovacich Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Victory Belt Publishing (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981504426
• ISBN-13: 978-0981504421
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,364 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #35 in

  Books > Sports > Individual Sports > Mixed Martial Arts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on the guard, from the master of the guard, December 8, 2008

By	Lance D. Freimuth "Student" (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first thing I have to say is that this is not a no-gi book. This is not a book of random moves and submissions from the guard. This is the exact guard system developed by Minotauro Nogueira (Big Nog) that he uses to compete in MMA. It's not a bunch of moves he doesn't use, and each move stacks onto of the previous set of moves. It's a complete system to be used in it's entirety. In that respect, I think that it's one of the best books I've read on the market for MMA guard.

One pitfall this book avoid that a lot of other books can't is that he stays right on the point. There's no submission grappling or gi specific moves in this book that he simply executed with a pair of MMA gloves on. Everything is specifically tailored to the MMA guard. A lot of the book is geared towards avoiding taking punishment in the guard, something that Nogueira has learned a lot about in his career.

The first section of the book is posture control. The main emphasis of these chapters is controlling your opponent your guard to avoid taking damage, but still being offensive. Traditional closed guard and Nog's famous double shin on biceps guard are covered and broken down, showing the reader how to execute sweeps, submissions and gets up in an MMA environment. The hand trapping and head control he shows are actually really key to making the bottom work for you in a fight.

A relatively large portion of the book is centered around the half guard. I honestly think this is one of the best half guard sections I've ever seen in any book on grappling or MMA. Second best would be Eddie Bravo's book, and yes I really do think it trumps that. So many great, fundamental moves, broken down in very exacting detail. He also often explains the mistakes and counters available in positions, and then will go on to correct it in the next set of photos. If you have any doubts about the half guard for MMA, just read this book and then watch Nogueira's fights. In this section, he covers the details of his half guard sweeps he used to catch Tim Sylvia, turn Fabricio Werdum, and the infamous half guard sit out he's used on everyone including Bob Sapp. I really think that the half guard section in this book is fantastic.

The book rounds out with some of his best sequences from a double wrist control, both open and closed guard variations, as well as a his methods and techniques from the butterfly guard and a couple of key techniques from the downed guard, as if an opponent just stood up front inside your open guard, or you just got knocked flat with a punch. There's a lot of good moves he covers that can turn this potentially bad situation into a potentially great one.

So that's it, this really is an awesome book, especially for the price. If you're the market to find a book geared towards being effective, dangerous, and exciting off of your back in an MMA fight, I can't recommend this book enough.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars www.knucklepit.com, December 20, 2008

By	Mr. Marc Wickert "www.knucklepit.com" (Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mastering Mixed Martial Arts - The Guard
by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
with Glen Cordoza & Erich Krauss (Victory Belt)
© Marc Wickert December 20, 2008
www.knucklepit.com

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is to grappling what Las Vegas is to deserts. The idiom used to be, `One man's meat is another man's poison', but in Nogueira's case it's `One man's poison is another man's bread and butter'.

When it comes to fighting, most competitors - particularly wrestlers - avoid being on their backs like the plague. However with Antonio Nogueira, not only is he at home in the guard, but he turns the hell's kitchen of MMA into his own private torture chamber, welcoming adversaries like a spider to a fly.

"Fighting off my back allowed me to use both of my arms and both of my legs to attack, while my opponent on top was restricted to using just his arms. Four limbs against two - how could you not like those odds?" asks Nogueira.

And no one submits from the bottom better than Antonio, who covers everything in Mastering Mixed Martial Arts - The Guard, including position control, double arm controls, inside hooks guard, half guard and the downed guard.

After studying and practicing Nogueira's 226 pages of crystal-clear lessons, you can't help feel not only extremely confident fighting from your back, but like Antonio, you'll feel compelled to seek out the guard during training and competition.

Antonio Nogueira provides his readers with a complete fight plan that resembles Rubik's cube: From start to finish, everything flows, with one move connecting to the next. "Unlike most books, I haven't offered a random group of techniques. I've sequenced the moves together based on an opponent's most common reaction to your position or previous submission. If your goal is to develop a guard system where everything is interconnected, I suggest studying this section sequentially. "

The autobiographical introduction to Mastering Mixed Martial Arts - The Guard makes this a value-for-money publication even before the instruction starts. An amazing book by an amazing man.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Jiu-Jitsu Book Out There, December 5, 2008

By	Muay Thai Student "Josh" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

Nogueira is the best guard player in MMA, and this book gives his entire system. I really like how every move is based on the move that came before it. If your opponent does 'this' to defend your technique, you answer with 'this'. If he defends your second technique, you go to the third technique. It goes on and on like this, providing answers most fighters don't know. And this isn't just in the guard, it is the half guard as well. A very, very good book to understand how you must grapple in mma.