Martial Arts Book Review: Floor Fighting by Marc "Animal" MacYoung

Being the author of several books on the martialrather than on the bottom. Marc also shows you
arts and fighting, I am always looking for bookshow to increase the damage to your opponent
of exceptional quality to add to my library. If Iby using your elbows and knees on him when you
have a book in my library, it's definitely worthfall. Also included in this section are techniques on
owning. One such book is Marc "Animal" Machow to roll with the impact of falling, gaining and
Young's, "Floor Fighting."keeping your distance from your opponent until
As you may well know from my previousyou are able to get back to your feet, and how
reviews of Marc's books, one of the things that Ito deal with someone who knows how to throw
absolutely love about his style of writing is hisyou.
no-holds barred direct approach to getting hisFloor work:
point across. There is never any sugarcoating orThis section covers several areas such as;
politically correct terminology is his books. He1. Offensive and Defensive Ranges.
simply tells it like it is, whether you like it or not.2. What happens when you hit the floor.
Once again, Marc gives you a no-holds barred look3. Countering, deflect the attack rather than
at the reality of fighting and surviving on theblocking it.
street. This book focuses on the subject of4. Best floor fighting position.
fighting on the ground, which as most of us know,5. Triangle Defense.
is where the vast majority of fights end up. As6. How to defend against the stomping kick.
with all of his books, Marc really gives you an7. Offensive Ground Techniques.
in-depth look at the principles behind theWrasslin':
techniques that he explains in his books. This isIn this section Marc goes over some of the things
one of the true tests of a quality martial arts orto do and not to do when rolling around on the
self-defense book.ground with your opponent. This includes generally
The Basics:speaking not punching your opponent, except for
In this section, Marc goes over with you the fourthe use of hooks and uppercuts. Although you
laws of surviving a trip or fall to the ground. Hecan make good use of the ground mauling
also goes over the techniques for rollingtechniques that Marc goes over in this section.
backward, forward, to the side, and over yourKeeping Your Man Down on the Ground:
shoulder. As always, the principles behind theseMarc makes a very valid point here in the fact
techniques are gone over in great detail.that once you have your opponent on the
Breaking Grips:ground, make sure he stays down until after you
This section not only shows you the techniqueshave safely left the area or until you have
for breaking someone's grip on you, but also theascertained that he is no longer a threat. Marc
four things that are likely to happen if you don'talso takes a look at the very real possibility that
break their grip. One unique item I found veryyou are the one who ends up on the ground. If
practical was that if you aren't able to break freethis happens, he explains how not to get up from
from someone's grip, punch out of it. This is verythe ground and why. As well as, how to get up
practical and useful information. Marc also includessafely with minimal chance of getting hurt while
a brief section on how to deal with advanceddoing so.
grips.As with all of Marc's books and this one is no
Spoiling the Dance:exception, it is loaded with tons of very good
If you do end up falling down to the ground, thispractical information that would be a definite asset
section supplies you with the principles andto anyone wanting to improve their self-defense
techniques that you can use to increase yourskills.
chances of landing on top of your opponent,