Inside the Lion's Den: The Life and Submission Fighting System of Ken Shamrock (Paperback)

Crucial facts left out include: Dan Severn was choked out by Royce Gracie (UFC4) before Ken did it; The Oleg Taktarov was actually a draw, and very competitive; In the rematch with Royce, its true that Shamrock bloodied him, but its also true that if it had gone to points Royce would have won because he was the only person trying to win. Shamrock tried nothing for 30 minutes until a single punch messed Royce`s eye; Before the book was finished, Shamrock had lots of defeats in Pancrase, including being choked out by Funaki, heel-hooked by Suzuki, knocked out by Frank Lobman in a kickboxing match. Also it glosses over the fact some Pancrase matches were `worked` (i.e. predetermined outcomes); Ken has never finished a MMA tournament - he always gets injured; Dan Severn is the only truly top class fighter in his prime that Shamrock has beaten - Kimo is 2nd tier, Dan won the rematch, Brian Johnston was not a `kickboxing champion` (he later lost to Kimo, too).

Don`t be put off. Shamrock is a legitmate champion, its just that the book would have you believe he was the undisputed king of MMA or something. His achievements are actually exceeded by his brother Frank.

Since the book, Ken returned to MMA in Japan`s Pride organisation this year. He knocked out the tough Alexander Otsuka and then got knocked out against the formidable Kazuyuki Fujita in a fight Ken was winning easily until he ran out of gas.

I really enjoyed the book and would have given it 5 stars if not for the bias towards Ken that doe other fighters a disservice and denies the reader a full appreciation of Shamrock`s standing.

There is no doubt that Shamrock is one of the origional pioneers of the UFC and that he has helped populise the mixed martial art genre of fighting, however the fact remains that alot of what appears in his biography is myth based on fact.

For Richard Hanner to place Shamrock as one of the finest fighters of his generation, superceeded only by Bruce Lee and Royce Gracie is nonsense! Indeed, I have to admit that Shamrock probably wouldnt even rank in the top ten heavywieghts in the business despite being a huge fan of the man myself!

Read the biography with a pinch of salt and watch some of Shamrocks early UFC performances if you want the truth about his 'legendary' fights with the likes of Gracie and Severn and amateurs such as Kimo Leopold.

The training manual however is an excellent piece of literature for those beginning or interested in the mixed martial arts. It is well illustrated and descriptive and offers all of the basic manouvres needed by the budding martial artist. Excellent!

Generally you should not be dissapointed by this book, but dont try to convince anyone with any knowledge of the mixed martial arts that Shamrock was the greatest or you will simply get laughed at!