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Katie & Alex The Inside Story

Katie and Alex a tale of heroes and villains, love and betrayal, Bush Tucker Trials and a cross-dressing cage-fighter winning over the Celebrity Big Brother audience.

Every Thursday without fail my wife and I would watch Katie & Peter on ITV2, a programme we would both enjoy together, following the lives of Katie and Peter, post jungle romance. We saw their fun times along with many tense and not so fun times as the cracks emerged in their fairy-tale romance. Little did we know we, the public would be forced to pick sides a kin to a civil war, during the conflict between Team Andre and Team Pricey.

Katie Price’s split with Peter Andre, followed by her fledgling romance  with Alex Reid was undoubtedly one of the biggest stories of 2009. Alison Maloney’s book – Katie & Alex The Inside Story, focusses on Katie and Alex’s romance, giving us the full story quoting all sources. What I like is the positive slant Alison gives us in her writing, rather than the negative way the press splash headlines across the front page in order to increase circulation.

To sum it up,  this paperback would be one to buy for the missus, then sneakily read it yourself. Surely a fight fan wouldn’t admit to reading this? Especially when a good portion of cage-fighting enthusiasts still boo the Aldershot-cockney mixed martial artist known as the Reidernater.

Katie & Alex – The Inside Story from Michael O’Mara Books Ltd, is out now priced £7.99.

To follow the next chapter of Katie and Alex’s story don’t miss What Katie Did Next, ITV2, 9pm Thursdays.

Alex stars in his very own reality show coming soon to Bravo (Sky channel 123), leading towards the middleweight cage clash, against Tom ‘Kong’ Watson on May 15th at ‘BAMMA 3’ taking place at the LG Arena, Birmingham.

Book review by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Back in October 2007 I reviewed my first ever mixed martial arts book, Clyde Gentry’s No Holds Barred. The book really opened my eyes up to the history of this great sport, and how it had developed since that November night in 1993 when the UFC held their first ever show. I gave the book a rave review, the proverbial thumbs up if you will.

But the thing is, fourteen months later, I’ve found a book that’s even better.

Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting is the latest offering from former lawyer and soldier Jonathan Snowden, and like Clyde Gentry before him, Snowden tells the story of the history of mixed martial arts from the beginning.

But here’s where Snowden veers away from Gentry as it were. While Gentry told a tremendous story in his 2002 release as he delved into the sport, Snowden delved a hell of a lot deeper. The amount of detail that this book goes into is absolutely incredible. It’s as if Snowden wanted his readers to know just how mixed martial arts began, how the early companies such as Pancrase came out, how the original UFC came into being, and much, much more.

This book does really tell the story of mixed martial arts, and then some, and I know that this may sound clich�d, but it really does make for compelling reading. As well as stories of how promotions came and went, there’s tons of material about the feuds that developed along the way, most notably the feud between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz.

Hand on heart, I really can’t speak too highly of this book. Snowden has done a great job in documenting what is the fastest growing sport in the world today, and it’s a great read. In fact, I have to admit that I felt a little sad when I finished reading it.

So if you are a true MMA fan, then, if you can, go out and buy this book as soon as is humanly possible.

Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting by Jonathan Snowden is published by ECW Press, and is available to buy online and wherever books are sold.

Review courtesy Julian Radbourne @ www.twoshedsreview.com

Having read a number of books on professional wrestling over the past few years, I thought it was time to break my duck as far as mixed martial arts books are concerned, and I do so with Clyde Gentry’s book, No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Mixed Martial Arts Revolution.

First published in 2002, Gentry takes an overall look at the way the mixed martial arts phenomenon has developed, but doesn’t start with the first Ultimate Fighting Championship show held in November 1993. He goes back even further, thousands of years in fact, to the sport of pan ration, held in the ancient Olympics. Skipping forward a few centuries, he also takes a look at how the late, great Bruce Lee envisioned a form of fighting skill, jeet kune do, and, of course, in infamous fight in Tokyo between World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali and Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki.

Gentry then takes an in-depth look at the formation and early years of the UFC, how the promotions was originally conceived, and how it was perceived in the mainstream media, gaining almost immediate condemnation from both politicians and the press.

Gentry’s look at the world of mixed martial arts, at it’s fighters and it’s political machinations is a tremendous read. The interviews conducted with the likes of Tank Abbott, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, and various members of the Gracie family certainly add to the overall flavour of the book, and it’s obvious that without their input, this book just wouldn’t have been the same.

But the good thing about this book is that Gentry doesn’t confine himself to the American MMA scene. There is an extensive chapter on the worldwide MMA scene, so fans of the various Japanese promotions, including Pride and K-1, will be pleased.

In conclusion – if you’re a keen follower of the mixed martial arts world, and you’re interested in finding out about it’s history, then this is the book for you. It’s extremely well written and researched, and is a great read. It’s one of those books that you just can’t put down once you’ve started reading it, and trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution by Clyde Gentry is published by Milo Books, and can be purchased from any good book store, or from the usual on-line outlets.

Review courtesy Julian Radbourne @ www.twoshedsreview.com

Over the past few years I’ve read and reviewed countless professional wrestling books, but only one on mixed martial arts. You see, living in a small English coastal town means that it’s quite unlikely that you’ll see an MMA themed book in our branch of Jarrolds. Which is why I was both surprised and pleased that I saw Chuck Liddell’s biography screaming at me from the shelf.

Iceman: My Fighting Life is the first MMA biography I’ve ever read. From the proverbial humble beginnings in a one parent family, it tells the life of one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. Ever since he was a young child abandoned by his father (or sperm donor as Liddell refers to him), he only wanted to do one thing – fight.

And fight he did, taking karate lessons, competing in countless wrestling tournaments during his educational years, through to his early days as a poorly paid kick boxer, right up to the moment where he made his MMA debut in the struggling Ultimate Fighting Championship. Well, it was struggling until Dana White and his pals saved the sinking ship.

Without a doubt Liddell is one of the most well-known and respected fighters ever to grace a mixed martial arts cage/ring/whatever, that much is apparent just by reading the great man’s words. He respects everyone he meets, unless their name is Tito Ortiz that is.

You see, Chuck and Tito just don’t get on, and it’s this part of the book which is the most intriguing, how the then-light heavyweight champion kept telling everyone how great he was. Great he may have been, but he was quite reluctant to defend his title against the up-and-coming Iceman, until both fighters lost big matches and both fighters had something to prove.

I can always tell how good a book is when I hear the author’s voice in my head while I’m reading. That’s just what happened to me while reading this book. Ghost written it may have been, but these words come straight from the Iceman’s heart and mind.

In conclusion – Iceman: My Fighting Life is a great read, it really is. If the only Liddell you know is the guy who lost fights to Rampage Jackson and Keith Jardine, then you won’t know much about his early days. This book will help you fill in those blanks. It’s the story of a man who’s life has been defined by his fighting, the story of a man who’s had to fight for everything in his life.

Chuck Liddell – Iceman: My Fighting Life is available wherever books are sold.

Review courtesy Julian Radbourne @ www.twoshedsreview.com

The Mixed Martial Arts Handbook

This book written by John Ritschel is The Insider’s Guide to Fighting Techniques. Wether you are a spectator of the sport of mixed martial arts AKA cage fighting or a keen martial artist intending to make your octagon debut sometime in the future, this is your first stop in gaining the required knowledge on the fastest growing sport in the world today.

John Ritschel is more than qualified on the subject having an early start at age 12 in martial arts. He went on to study the styles of Karate, Taekwondo, HapKiDo, Western Boxing, KungFu, Kickboxing and Wrestling. John is a senior instructor holding various black belts and a 2nd Dan in the All Range Combat Systems, a Mixed Martial Arts style. Not only that he’s earnt a silver medal in the Open World Championship and the accolade of the ‘Fighter of the Year’ award from the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

In the past a book on combat sport fighting techniques would be written from the perspective of the instructor teaching one style that he believes to be the best style. That was a whole different era that MMA evolved out of, when the ultimate fighting contest was purely concerned with testing which martial art be it boxing, olympic wrestling, kickboxing or jiu jitsu would reign supreme. Now in the modern era of mixed fighting it is essential to be a well rounded fighter, not relying on one style to win the fight.

John Ritschel’s book perfectly illustrates how to be an all rounder, demonstrating how to defend and attack in many variable positions a fighter will face in MMA competition. Included are all the basic kicks, throws, punches along with how to avoid takedowns and defending off your back. It amazes me as spectator how these guys from these many uncomprimising positions are able to turn a disadvantage around to gain the upper hand.

Not only does the book cover the moves and tactics utilised within the sport, it covers the rules of the game along with a brief history of how it all began with Brazilian Vale Tudo bouts along with Japanese shoot wrestling, which led to the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship event held in 1993.

If you haven’t got your copy yet make sure it’s on your Christmas list. The Mixed Martial Arts handbook published by A&C Black is out now in all good book shops or from online book sellers, priced £24.99.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com