Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts [Paperback]

Anyone familiar with MMA - mixed martial arts - is doubtlessly familiar with Greg Jackson. Jackson is one of THE top trainers of elite MMA fighters. He coaches the guy many consider the best pound for pound fighter in the world - Georges St-Pierre, now simply known as "GSP." Jackson's Albuquerque NM Submission Fighting camp features a veritable Who's Who of the elite martial artists at the top of their respective games. He is the MMA equivalent of E.F. Hutton - when he talks, people listen.

Co-author Kelly Crigger is less known but is emerging as one of the top MMA writers around. He is the author of the highly entertaining "Title Shot: Into the Shark Tank of Mixed Martial Arts" and writes regularly (and adroitly) for FIGHT magazine. Together, these two experts have fashioned a powerful one-two punch and text for refining the standup game.

Their useful, practical and hand-on book proves to be a successful collaboration. Their book is organized into six major sections:

* Developing a fight strategy
* The Fundamentals
* Basic Strikes
* Combinations
* The Clinch
* Takedowns
* Street Fighting, Multiple Opponents and Weapons

THE STANDUP GAME, by its very title suggests that this is not just a textbook on the "sweet science" of boxing. You will not find Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao researching a spinning backfist or a front snap kick. The range of fighting techniques addressed here highlights the context of MMA fighting. THE STANDUP GAME refers to one of the main pillars or components of mixed martial arts.

The latter, popularized by events such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, require successful practitioners to have fluency in wrestling, boxing, kicking, and jujitsu submissions. Practitioners who can seamlessly blend transitions from one fighting style to another and combine a balance of effectiveness in these areas learn the recipe for success in the ring or the octagon.

Jackson and Crigger's book provides a useful synthesis of narrative text and succinct instruction through effective use of color photographs in illustrating various components of the standup game. They cover in virtually encyclopedic detail every conceivable combination of standup fighting, including techniques utilized in Muay Thai, a dynamic form of kickboxing (with elbows and knees thrown in) popularized in Thailand. The sections on strategy and street fighting differentiate THE STANDUP GAME from most other books of this genre.

Further, in the final chapter, Jackson and Crigger leave behind the boxing ring and octagon and move to the street (or bar room). The book is worth the price of admission alone for its Chapter Six, which provides useful tips on personal self defense, including: seizing the initiative, countering your opponent's move, breaking chokes, dealing with weapons such as baseball bats, knives and guns.

THE STANDUP GAME is a useful -- and likely an absolutely essential resource -- for recreational or competitive boxers, or anyone engaged in mixed martial arts at any level. Even for those individuals not falling into either of the preceding categories, the book is also useful as a resource and reference for self defense techniques.

As is the case with any book, however, it is not realistic to expect that anyone will learn fluency and skill just from reading a book. To this extent, THE STANDUP GAME by Jackson and Crigger is a superb reference text to augment -m but not replace -- the need for skilled hands-on instruction from a knowledgeable instructor.

If you're interested in boxing, mixed martial arts or self-defense, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of THE STANDUP GAME!

WOW! It sure is great to see another book dedicated to the stand-up aspect of MMA after the endless parade of books over the past couple of years seemingly dedicated solely to grappling and Jiu-Jitsu. Not to imply that most of these books aren't good because they are, it's just that other than a couple of other books, most notably The Mixed Martial Arts Instruction Manual: Striking by Anderson Silva, most everything that has come out that has focused on MMA has been grappling and Jiu-Jitsu.

This book is pretty well done with a lot of pages covering a fairly wide aspect of the stand-up game covering everything from;

1. Punches and Elbow Strikes

2. Footwork

3. Kicking and Kneeing

4. Clinching

5. Takedowns

6. Combinations in various forms and from various standing positions.

7. Defenses against pretty much everything that the authors show you how to do offensively.

And a whole lot more...

The photographs are all in color and really add to the overall appeal of this book. I must confess that I felt some of the sequences of photographs shown on some of the techniques could have been taken from a better angle and sometimes the layout of the two different angles of the same technique got a bit confusing for me. I think this was more of a question on the layout that the actual angle of the photographs, but it could have been both.

The text is not at all detailed in explaining the individual techniques, but it is detailed enough that if you were using this book solely as a guide and reference manual, then it should be more than sufficient. However, if you are trying to really learn a particular individual technique, there are much better books out there that cover each one in much greater detail.

The only real negative comment I have about this book is that they shouldn't have included the self-defense section in the back. I feel that this space would have been much better served if the authors would have provided a little more detail on each technique, or maybe even put in some favorite training drills from the coaches, fighters, etc. The self-defense sections were not detailed at all and the gun defense in particular made me cringe. However, there was some good information to be found in this section, I just felt that if you are going to focus the subject matter of your book on one thing, you should do that and not throw in an entirely different subject.

I would say however that if the authors were to put together a book strictly on self-defense techniques, I would expect it to be very well done and definitely one I would want to pick up and add to my personal collection. Just please don't put a bunch of MMA techniques in the last few pages, because it takes away from the primary focus of the book.

All-in-all, I found this book to be pretty well done and one in which I have no problem at all recommending to the beginning or aspiring MMA competitor. I would also recommend these other books as well...

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: The Closed Guard (Book of Knowledge)

Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge

Fedor: The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA

Judo for Mixed Martial Arts: Advanced Throws, Takedowns, and Ground Fighting Techniques

Just to name a few!

Shawn Kovacich
Creator of numerous books and DVD's.

This book is one of the best instructional books I've ever had!!! Whether your serious about mma or just training for fun this book can help you on either aspect.