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Judging books by their covers is something we’re not supposed to do, but I must admit I do (people are another story). Wandering around the bookstore, which I often do, I saw this book hiding, its gaudy orange cover and silly title, its diminutive size compared to the BJ Penn book and Eddie Bravo’s Rubber Guard books was laughable, so of course I picked it up, thumbed through a few chapters and was ready to set it down when I saw the name of chapter 6, “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Conquers the World,” and then chapter 7, “Royce and Me,” –sold. I know I’m a sucker, but hey, there’s jiu-jitsu in it.

I’m on chapter 3 “Sifu Bob”; I like it even though it’s about kung fu. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against kung fu; I’m a fan of the Shaolin monk, I’m just saying I think I’d like it more if it was all about jiu-jitsu, but we’ll see. So far, it’s funny and down to earth.

I think sometimes we get stuck studying are own loves so much that we don’t branch out and study other things. I’ll admit this is not a huge stretch, a book about martial arts that has two chapters about jiu-jitsu in it—it’s more like baby steps for me, but still it’s something different. Books to me are always the first step in expanding our knowledge; they’re the catalyst for thought.

I would like to put together a book list, a list that is comprised of great books. Not the classics, no Moby Dicks or To Kill a Mockingbirds the books that jiu-jitsu people like to read (which could be the classics, I guess). If you could spare a couple of minutes and write down the titles and authors, if you know them, of six books–your favorite books– three on jiu-jitsu or martial arts and three about anything. I’ll start:

Martial Arts:

Mixed Martial Art: The Book of Knowledge by BJ Penn
The Gracie Way by Kid Peligro
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique by Royler and Renzo Gracie

Others:

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
Linchpin by Seth Godin
The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey

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