Mixed Martial Arts Instruction Manual: The Muay Thai Clinch, Takedowns, Takedown Defense, and Ground Fighting [ペーパーバック]

Although I really liked Anderson Silva's first book, it was missing all the clinching techniques that he uses in his fights. I thought they had just been overlooked, but now I realize it's because he dedicated a whole book (or at least a good portion of this book) to the clinch. A lot of the techniques in the clinch section are different than what you would find in a Muay Thai book. Anderson does a good job describing how the clinch in MMA is different than the clinch in a Thai boxing match or a wrestling match. He talks about how establishing a traditional thai clinch can sometimes be dangerous in MMA because it gives your opponent access to your legs, which would allow him to possibly execute a double leg takedown. . . Anderson starts the clinching section by describing how to establish the Muay Thai clinch, both offensively and defensivly. Once accomplished, he shows a great number of attacks you can execute, from various knees to off-balancing techniques that open you up to land strikes. While going through this section, I couldn't help but be reminded of Anderson's fights with Rich Franklin, and how he totally destroyed him using the Thai clinch. Some of the techniques seem to be slightly unorthodox, but that is probably what makes them so effective. To cover all bases, he even goes over quite a few techniques that you can use when your opponent counters your thai clinch by pulling his head up...The next section, which is equally as large, covers clinch defense. Basically, he shows you an assortment of techniques for escaping both the thai clinch and the body lock. You would think that one good technique would suffice, but he describes how each technique is best used for a variety of pressure your opponent can apply. He basically says one technique won't work in every situation, which makes sense, otherwise everyone would escape the Thai clinch. . .I would say that the clinching portion of the book is by far the strongest.

The next section covers cage tactics. Anderson shows a bunch of techniques for how to punish your opponent when you have him pressed against the cage, as well as how to reverse your opponent when he has you pinned up against the cage. He shows both striking and takedown counters in this section, and I would say all the techniques are quite good. I have seen most of them used in fights at one time or another.

The next section covers takedowns. What I really liked about this section is that you don't see the traditional takedowns that you see in every other book. All of the techniques are HIGHLY unorthodox. I think most of them are extremely applicable, but there are probably only a few Anderson himself could use--or someone extremely athletic and with great timing. . . Where this section really shines is with the takedown defense. Anyone who has watched Anderson fight knows that he is a master at avoiding takedowns. He shows techniques for not only escaping your opponent's double and single leg takedowns, but also using their takedowns attempts to launch your own attacks. For example, he shows in one technique how to evade the double leg and then establish the thai clinch as your opponent raises up, allowing you to throw a devastating knee. A lot of these defensive moves would take some time to master in the timing department, but I think they would be well worth it, especially if your goal is to keep the fighting on the feet.

The next sections of the book cover ground attacks. Instead of developing a system in this section, Anderson shows all his favorite techniques. As a result, it is not a complete ground fighting system, but it does allow you to learn some really cool moves. If you are looking for a complete ground fighting system, I would suggest another book.

In the last section of this book, Anderson shows a TON of focus mitt combinations. They range from very basic to very advanced. What is cool about this section is that it not only tells you why this combination is good, but it describes how your partner should hold the mitts. In my opinion, it would have been cool if Anderson put all these techniques into workouts at the back of the book.

I now have both of Anderson's books, and I would say that this one is just as good, if not better, than the first. It has a LOT more techniques. It doesn't go quite as indepth into each technique. For example, it is missing some of the arrows on the photos the first book had. But everything is clear enough based on the captions and the photos, and the techniques are really, really good.

Five stars.

ANDERSON SILVA
MMA Instruction Manual
The Muay Thai Clinch, Takedowns,
Takedown Defense, & Ground Fighting
With Glen Cordoza
presented by Victory Belt
 Marc Wickert June 20, 2011
[...]
Although Anderson Silva (28-4-0) is best known for his stand-up victories due to 16 of his wins coming via KO or TKO, it's because of Anderson's outstanding Muay Thai skills that fans rarely get to see him display his exceptional takedown and submission abilities.

Silva is currently on a 14-fight winning streak, which includes the scalps of such renowned cage fighters as Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, and Rich Franklin (twice). He is UFC's most successful champion and is ranked as the world's top middleweight by most MMA authorities.

Anderson's MMA instruction manual The Muay Thai Clinch, Takedowns,
Takedown Defense, & Ground Fighting, is a complete fighting system where The Spider covers all facets of mixed martial arts: stand-up, takedowns and the ground game, drawing from his knowledge as a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Judo and BJJ.

This is an opportunity to train with one of THE shooting stars of cage fighting.

The Muay Thai Clinch, Takedowns, Takedown Defense, & Ground Fighting includes the following categories:

Part 1: Muay Thai Clinch
Part 2: Muay Thai Clinch
Part 3: Cage Tactics
Part 4: Takedowns
Part 5: Takedown Defense
Part 6: Attacking the Guard
Part 7: Fighting off Your Back
Part 8: Focus Mitt Combinations

Part 1: Muay Thai Clinch
* Front Clinch Head Grips.
* Front Clinch Attacks.

Part 2: Muay Thai Clinch
* Front Clinch Defense.
* Body Lock Defense.

Part 3: Cage Tactics
* Opponent Pressed Against Cage.
* Pinned Against Cage.

Part 4: Takedowns
* Neutral Clinch Takedowns.
* Counter Cross to Takedown.
* Counter Jab to Takedown.

Part 5: Takedown Defense
* Countering the Shot (Same Stance).
* Countering the Shot (Opposite Stance)
* Single-Leg Defense.

Part 6: Attacking the Guard
* Guard Passes.
* Stomp Kicks.
* Leg Locks.
* Butterfly and Half Guard.

Part 7: Fighting off Your Back
* Full Guard Attacks.
* Open and Butterfly Guard.

Part 8: Focus Mitt Combinations
* Attack Combinations (Same Stance).
* Counter Straight Attacks (Same Stance).
* Counter Outside Attacks (Same Stance).
* Attack Combinations (Opposite Stance).
* Counter Straight Attacks (Opposite Stance).
* Counter Outside Attacks (Opposite Stance).

This book begins where the second book left off. In his first manual, Anderson covered all of the basic strikes--punches, kicks, knees, elbows--as well as fundamental footwork, evasive maneuvers, counterattacks, striking combinations, and striking into the clinch. In this book, he covers the clinch in great detail highlighting the front clinch, or Muay Thai clinch, and counters from the Muay Thai clinch. This is a very unique section that highlights one of Anderson's strongest attributes. The attacks and especially the counterattacks that he demonstrates are unlike anything that I've seen in other martial art books. He also shows you how to use the Muay Thai clinch to effectively stop takedowns as well as several methods for escaping the body lock position. This is awesome if you're a striker that struggles using the Muay Thai clinch against wrestlers. In addition to a detailed Muay Thai clinch chapter, Anderson also covers cage tactic strategies, takedown and takedown defense, ground, and a focus mitt section.

Cage Tactics: This chapter details several techniques for escaping your back off the cage as well as methods for keeping your opponent pinned against the cage. It's not as detailed as the Muay Thai clinch section, but the techniques coincide with his style, which is unique and unorthodox.

Takedowns and Takedown Defense: The takedowns definitely cater to the striker. The vast majority of his takedowns are in the form of a counter. In the introduction he discusses how most fighters that have a striking background don't feel comfortable shooting in for takedowns off of strikes. This makes sense and follows the goal of the striker, which is to keep the fight standing so that they can knock an opponent out, or engage in the Muay Thai clinch. Also, because strikers are used to slipping punches and feel comfortable evading strikes, you can shoot in past your opponent's defensive lines more effectively, which increases your chances of completing the takedown. In the takedown defense section, he covers several ways to counter takedowns with strikes, as well as how to properly maintain distance and evade the shot. He also covers several methods for defending the single and double leg takedown, all of which are unique to his style.

Ground Game: Although Anderson isnt known for his jiu-jitsu, he is a black belt and has proved to have an effective ground game. This section of the book outlines basic methods for striking past an opponent's guard, as well as several ground and pound combinations. He also basic and some extremely unorthodox guard attacks. I found the defense to ground and pound to be unique and informative, but some of the transition were a bit complicated.

Focus Mitt Combinations: This was a nice addition to the book that was unexpected. It compliments the book by providing around seventy combinations on the focus mitts. It's even broken down into same stance and opposite stance combinations, complete with feints and counterattacks. Although the authors highlight this in the book, these combinations should be performed using Thai pads instead of focus mitts because Anderson throws punches, kicks, knees, and elbows. This is probably one of the most useful chapters in the book because it's something that can be taken into the gym and the combinations can be drilled using a heavy bag, shadow boxing, hitting thai pads, or sparring.

Although the majority of the techniques are unorthodox, I found the book to be insightful and shed light on some basic concepts of positioning, attacks, defense, and counter tactics. The Muay Thai section is amazing and makes the book. The focus mitt combinations are also an excellent training tool that I've used in the gym, pulling out techniques to work on the heavy bag and with partners. Another great book to add to the martial art collection!