Page 58 - Issue 3

BOOKS TO

ROLL BY

MASTERING JUTISTU

If a tsunami or an erupting volcano or an alien invasion Along with the history noted above, the authors detail
suddenly forced me to evacuate the Dave Cave and I could take what they refer to as the combat strategy of jujitsu:
only one book with me, it would be Mastering Jujitsu by Renzo
Gracie and John Danaher. First published in 2003 by Human “We have seen that the overall strategy is based on the
Kinetics, this book should be in every evacuees’s survival bag notion of single combat being divided into three phases, each
and on every grappler’s bookshelf. of which has a set of skills that are independent of each other.”

The title says a lot. Why Jujitsu and not the more common The technical instruction portion of Mastering Jujitsu
Jiu jitsu? The reader can find the explanation in the text, follows the phases of combat progression. Clear black
plus a detailed history of the development of jujitsu from and white photographs and easy-to-read text detail
ancient times right through to the modern era. To find a fundamental techniques from the free-movement phase,
more succinct history the reader would have to read a dozen to the clinch phase, down through to the ground phase of
other books, none of which would benefit from Danaher’s fighting. Many of these techniques are frequently seen
academic editorial polish. More than just historical narrative in mixed martial arts competition today, and, minus the
however, Mastering Jujitsu critiques the differences in combat striking techniques, practiced in BJJ gyms daily.
effectiveness between the various styles of jujitsu.
I regularly reach for Mastering Jujitsu when I have a
This is not the place to give detailed biographies of the question or am in need of inspiration. Don’t wait for a
authors. Suffice it to say that both Gracie and Danaher are disaster to reach for a copy of Mastering Jujitsu; the grappling
grappling masters that are more relevant today than ever. it changes may be your own.
However, I have to stress that the combination of experience
that these two bring to this collaboration is what makes this
book a classic.

Written By:
DAVE KIPPER

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