[.ca] Gene Lebells Grappling World: Encyclopedia of Finishing ... (ISBN 0967654319)

Waste of money and trees:
As the title says this book is a waste of money and trees. I have returned the book and am writing my first Amazon.com review since it was such a horrid product. First, while the book has many pages, 1 in 4 are lame attempts at humor or just pictures of the author with people he knows. The content of the book is completely lacking, all info is dated and most was never of any use to begin with. I can only guess that this book would be useful to staged backyard WWF style "Wrestlers" (whom I don't think deserve to use that name, staged is not wrestling, nor is WWF), but what should we expect from someone who's career was nothing, but staged Japanese wrestling... Don't get this book, it is a waste of money and our trees.

Very good book:
I give this book four stars because it opens up one's world to whole new possabilities of submission holds. The holds are classified by what part of the body they work, and the possition of the limb (ex.- "Bent arm locks"). The sheer scope of information makes this book an invaluable one to anyone involved in MMA and submission wrestling. As a bonus, the book also has a section on grappling with a club, which may be useful to stickfighting practitioners who are trying to expand thier techniques. The books strongest points are it's clear photos, even clearer instructions, and the vast variations of a single hold that were shown. The downside was that there wasn't too much about maneuvering, possitioning, or takedowns, but that's not really what the book was about, anyway. I liked the authors sense of humor, but in my opinion, it was a little distracting. Maybe other readers will appreciate it more. But for it's subject matter (submission holds), if I had to chose one book, this would be it. When I started grappling, I knew nothing about sweeps, takedowns, controling, or positions, but thanks to my reading LeBell's earlier works, I was able to tap out experienced BJJ guys and amature wrestlers alike with ease. It's because LeBell gives the reader holds that he can use from any position he may find himself in. GET THIS BOOK!!!!!

Humor, Fighting, and 500+ Pages of Information!:
Gene LeBell makes learning fun with his humerous approach to grappling in all its forms. This volume includes techniques commonly found in Judo, wrestling, and a host of other martial arts from Asia to South America. Author LeBell commences with grips and handles, with gi (jacket) and without-after all the base of grappling is holding on to something (anything!). He moves on to slap and catch, and then a huge array of arm locks, shoulder locks, writst, hip, leg locks, chokes, strangles, cranks, counters against a boxer, and LeBell's own wide range of special tricks, many which are not commonly found anywhere else. This volume contains a wealth of information, probably easiest to assimilate for someone who already has a background in wrestling, judo, BJJ or some other art with a lot of ground practice--I had no trouble understanding most of the techniques illustrated within. You won't find much on judo-like throws here, but then this book isn't geared towards that. There are plenty of other ways to get your opponent to the ground illustrated in this tome. This is a big, heavy book--a work this complete has never been undertaken before to my knowledge (with the possible exception of the "Fighter's Notebook"). There are many practical techniques, many "forgotten" techniques, and everything from the practical to the incredibly difficult in here. For the conoisseur of grappling or martial arts in general, you will enjoy yourself!

Good Techinques with Humor same thing for $7.99 @ USBJJ.COM:
Judo Gene LeBell knows his finishing holds. However, there is way too much humor and not enough effective holds. Alot of the holds are "pain" holds-- meaning they would cause some pain but a determined opponent will not submit to them. I fought NHB I know what I'm talking about. "Submission" holds by definition make the opponent submit or quit or you will break his arm, leg, etc. or choke him unconscious. If you want 100% submission holds with no humor and WWF pain holds go to USBJJ.COM where for $7.99 you can get hundreds of finshing holds, many of the exact same ones here, without humor and without worrying about whether this is a painful inconvenience hold or a real submission hold.

Cheesy, yet enjoyable to read.:
Let me state right out front that you should not rely on this book to teach you practical submissions. I'm sure when properly applied the submissions in this book would hurt like hell, but the chances that a living breathing human being, trained or untrained in grappling would sit back and let you do some of these things to them is rediculous. Quite a few of these submissions would require a willing opponent making these submissions more suitable for "Wrestling Entertainment", then a real Submission Grappling match. If I ever see a Grappler accomplish any of the moves that the book labels as the "Lebellian Series" in a real match, I will have to aknowlage a true master. To pull some of these moves off you'd have to bypass the obvious finish, and complicate things. That being said, there are some practical submissions in this book, more anyway than a lot of reviewers are giving credit for. The problem with those subs is not that they couldn't work, but that the steps to accomplish these subs are missing, with only pictures of the before and after with little, if anything, in between. It takes previous knowlage and experience to understand how to make these practical techniques work. Where this book really succeeds is as a fun read for those who know something about grappling and want to get a taste of the personallity of Gene Lebell, who is a legend and pioneer in American Grappling, and who is quite a character as is evident in this book. Although, this is not THE soure for grappling, you could do worse. Besides, it's amusing to read and look at people twisted into strange human pretzels.