[888Shogun888]

Originally Posted by Kaliree

I'm a pseudo-TMA guy shifting in to MMA. I have only the most elementary of ground skills. (Sprawl, guard, basic armbar, RNC) Would BJ's book be a good buy for me? Is the instruction detailed enough that I will be able to get the nuances?

i think it will help man. I am very visual in my learning. So when I watch a move or look at good pics I can se it in my head before I try it for real. There is a lot of basic to advanced stuff. Get it at Barnes and Noble or off amazon.com

[TheKatSmasher]

The B.J. Penn book looks amazing. I'm gonna look into buying/renting it. Thank you for the reviews.

[888Shogun888]

Originally Posted by TheKatSmasher

The B.J. Penn book looks amazing. I'm gonna look into buying/renting it. Thank you for the reviews.

you got it man. I was just skimming through it at a book store and eventually found myself still skimming through it about an hour later. Needless to say once you pick it up you won't put it down for a while.

[ShadowNINku]

I saw the strength and conditioning book at the bookstore but didn't get it...I might get it this time around

[WAKAMAKA]

I defenitely want to get the training for warriors book.
It looks awesome.

I'll get BJ's book after, everyone who has it has told me that it is a must buy.

Great review TS, thanks for the scans.

[Puppettamer]

i just orderd the penn book and cant wait to read through it

[FirstNobleTruth]

The Penn book is awesome. It is definitely not a generic book, these are all moves that BJ uses in all his fights. On the UG, after the Joe fight, one of the editors of the book scanned the exact pages where BJ described how to throw the over the top elbow off wrist control that cut Joe, and how to trap the arm for the RNC just like he did to Jens and Joe.

[standingzero]

Thanks for the review:

I actually have been training with Martin Rooney's book for the last two months and would give it the same give it a 9 or 9.5 out of ten. I've been exercising for over 14 years with some personal training experience and still found a lot of good and new information. Also, I'm in no way affiliated with him or his school. I actually live in Korea and took a gamble on purchasing the book at a slightly higher price than listed. I was planning on doing my own review, but since you had the initiative I'll just post it here.

The strongest points of the book are:
1. It's sport specific: it gives you the kind of strength, speed, endurance, etc. you need for combative sports (wrestling, mma, bjj, etc.) This is SUPER important because "bodybuilding/gym muscle" isn't necessarily the kind of muscle you need for combative sports. Same with endurance; "cross country runner endurance" isn't going to help you as much as intense intverval cardio training. What Martin has done so well is give us guys the tools to make the most of our training sessions.

2. The pictures are good and instruction on the movements is clear

3. The book shows you how to work all muscle groups regardless of what equipment you have on hand. There are bodyweight, partner, free weight, and other types of exercises. I personally think a lot of bjj gyms or wrestling teams without lots of equipment will benefit HUGELY from the different exercises shown.

4. Martin is a highly sought after performance coach as well as a brown belt in bjj, not to mention working with a host of mma fighters. As far as fitness goes I would say he definitely knows what we need.

Some room for improvements are:
1. The nutrition section is good but basic: He doesn't give any guidelines into what someone's calorie ration should be (ie. the percentage of protein, fat, and carbs) That's kind of a bummer because that's really important for guys that need to cut or bulk up in weight. He does give guidelines on how many calories you should take in, but I was hoping for more.
2. Also in the nutrition section he says to add extra calories to make up for the ones you lost during training. It would have been nice if he included a quick reference chart that listed how many calories are burned during different types and durations of exercise.
3. He includes one eight week training program, which is great, but it would have been nice to have a few other programs added in.

So ya, my criticisms are on very minor points which is why I rate the book at a 9 or 9.5 because it is a really good training aid.

Peace,
SZ

[madizm2]

just picked up mastering the twister and marcelo's x-guard book, great books BTW

[888Shogun888]

Originally Posted by madizm2

just picked up mastering the twister and marcelo's x-guard book, great books BTW

I have been skimming x guard the last few time at the book store. Looks solid. I think I'll wait for Fedor's book that is coming out in a few months.