This book is the story of a man's journey through various forms of combat and competition. The author, Sam, tells his story of travelling the world and investigating the culture of fighting positing questions like "Why do people fight?" while discovering things about himself and his own motivations along the way.
Sam's adventures can be relevant even to those who are not particularly interested in martial arts and can appeal far beyond martial arts enthusiasts to anyone who has an interest in the human condition. From the perspective of the author as a student of numerous martial arts philosophies throughout the story, we learn the common denominator of all forms of combat in which humans play a part (even a few involving animals, like dog fighting). The author does not hide the grim reality of injuries that result from participating in these martial arts, as he receives a good deal of punishment in the course of learning, all of the events that transpire are in the spirit of exploration of the common denominator.
Activities the author studies range from Tai Chi to Muay thai to western boxing to Brazilian Jujitsu and beyond. When I began reading the book I was mildly interested in the author's experience studying Muay Thai abroad, my initial motivation for reading the book, but by the end I could appreciate in more depth the motivations of practitioners of violence from MMA fighters to pit bulls.
There are several major appealing factors of this book.
1) It attempts to make hand-to-hand combat relevant even to the non-fighter
2) The sheer scope of styles covered can be a draw to anyone with a general interest in martial arts
3) Even those who do not condone physical combat can appreciate the honesty of of the author in his quest for understanding the fighting spirit
4) The author is a great storyteller, and spins his yarn to engage and relate to the reader
I'm a poor reader, generally speaking, but I could not put this book down once I started reading it. I highly recommend it.
I never too much interest in fighting before a couple months ago, but I recently started doing muay thai (kickboxing) and a friend told me about this book. If you're not a fighter, but have ever wondered why people make such a fuss over these brutal spectacles, this book will give you a peek into the mind of a fighter. If you are a practitioner of combative sports, I think you'll be able to relate to Sam, his questions, and his adventures all the more.
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About the author
Top reviews from other countries
T. Reis
Interessante exploração do backstage do mundo das lutas
Reviewed in Brazil on September 3, 2020
T. Reis
Reviewed in Brazil on September 3, 2020
Enquanto trata especificamente do mundo da luta, o livro é muito bom. Porém, quando tenta explorar áreas correlatas, acho que deixa um pouco a desejar. Alguns paralelos parecem um pouco forçados e o tempo despendido nessas áreas indiretamente ligadas às artes marciais poderia ter sido reduzido.
Interessante pra quem gosta do tema.
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James
A well written delve into the world of professional fighting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2012Amazon Customer
High impact reading!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2021
