If you're a fan of the martial arts and you read, you'll love this book! The second half of the book you can skip but the first, the first is an impressive, philosophical journey through the martial arts world, digging deep and asking what it is that motivates men to fight. And it's philosophical without being over-your-head philosophical! Very accessible. In closing, here's some of my favourite quotes from the book...
"Our favourite part of any kung fu movie wasn't necessarily the climatic fights; it was the training sequence, when the hero becomes an invincible warrior."
"Rodrigo [Nogueira] actually sort of liked Fedor [Emelianenko], and he knew that there was the need for a fighter to have big opponents. Ali had Liston, Frazier, Foreman; and Roy Jones Jr. in his prime, had nobody. A great opponent raises you up."
"I quickly came to understand one of Virgil [Hunter]'s governing precepts, which is fight when it's good for you. Don't stand and fight when your opponent wants to. Move around - fight only when it's better for you."
"Afterwards, as I was taking off my wraps, Virgil [Hunter] said, 'Fundamentals, Sam, fundamentals. If you don't have them, you will run into somebody else's'."
"'At one point, I thought life was about acquiring things,' he [Mike Tyson] said. 'Life is totally about losing everything'."
