Inside The Lions Den by Ken Shamrock and Richard Hanner

I saw my first no-holds-barred video a couple of years ago, it was the Ultimate Fighting Championship 3. On the cover Royce Gracie, two-times champion, and Ken Shamrock, who had lost to Gracie in the first UFC, were facing off. Shamrock only had two fights, and beat Christophe Leninger and Felix Lee Mitchell. Although he didnât get a chance to face Gracie, as the promoters had hoped (both pulled out), both his awesome physique and obvious power impressed me, and he and Gracie were the two main influences on my decision to take up martial arts. I recently finally got round to reading Shamrockâs book.

The first part ( Enter the Lion: The Story of a Modern Gladiatorâ) is a biography by Richard Hanner, a local journalist assigned to do an article on Shamrock (born Kilpatrick). In his own words, the story turned out to be no routine assignment, as Hanner decided to extend a short article to an entire biography on Shamrock.

It has a lot of chapters ,15 , and despite initial confusion, and the appearance of having no coherent structure or chronology, on further reading the construction is actually very good. Sometimes alternating chapters, sometimes alternating within chapters, Hanner combines the story of Shamrock growing up with his career as a martial artist. For example, the first chapter starts with the beginning of Shamrock's final appearance to date in the UFC, and finishes with some background and history to no-holds-barred fighting. The next chapter expands on this, while simultaneously touching on Shamrock's training and the Lionâs Den. Then Hanner talks about Shamrockâs early childhood in chapter three and how he was kicked out of his house by his step-father, before giving a greater insight to the training requirements of the Lionâs Den in chapter four. And so on. It sounds messy but works well.

Hanner also gives a background to the UFC, a good idea considering its groundbreaking nature, as well as talking about all the legal problems that it has faced. He talks about how Art Davie, Robert Meyrowitz and Rorion Gracie got together; he also gives a little background on the Gracie family also apt, considering the rivalry between the Gracies and Shamrock. He tells the story of the appearance on Larry King Live of Shamrock, John McCain, and Meyrowitz, and gives some clear arguments for the safety of the UFC.

He continues with Shamrockâs career, talking about other Lionâs Den fighters such as Jerry Bohlander, right up to the night of his Superfight against Dan The Beastâ Severn. He talks about Bob Shamrock and his role in adopting and bringing up Shamrock. He had housed several hundred delinquents before Shamrock, and tells a story about how he floored Shamrock for breaking the house rules. He certainly comes across as a very positive influence on Shamrockâs life, as has Tina, Shamrockâs wife. A lot of the book is also about how Shamrock has grown from the street brawler he used to be to a responsible father. Indeed, at some points it is positively touching; "At one of the boyâs birthday parties, we all had those goofy, pointy hats", Tina recalls, "At the end of the party, there was only one person, adult or child, who was still wearing his funny little hat. That was Ken" . The thought of one of the worldâs most dangerous men sitting at a table with children and looking goofy to please them is a genuinely touching thought.

There are other points in the book that show Shamrockâs good fatherhood too such as when he has to leave an interview so as not to be late for T-ball coaching his sonâs team. All this has to be considered with the following in mind, however; the book is totally biased.

There is not one point in it that is remotely critical of Shamrock. When he loses to Gracie in UFC 1, it was because he had never fought anyone wearing a gi before, and even though the referee didnât see the tap-out, Shamrock was an upstanding man and admitted that he had lost. In UFC 5, his draw with Gracie would have been a win if there had been judges. Same with Oleg Taktarov. When he loses to Severn in UFC 9 Severn cheats. I am also dubious about other bits Hanner claims that Shamrock can lift 600 pounds over his chest but that is more that the world powerlifting record! But all that is to be expected.

The first half of the book isnât a difficult read by any standards, but it is clear and easy to get through. I certainly enjoyed it, but I was a fan; an anti-Shamrock man would probably hate it. Some parts have become a bit of an in-joke with other friends of mine that have read it. As a demonstration of how Shamrock as matured from a bar brawler Hanner tells an incident where a big street-fighter tried to start a fight with him in a bar. Shamrock walks away. It would be so easy, so satisfying, to allow the man to swing, and then to crush him. Hanner says. Crushing someone is now a regular part of my vocabulary. Hanner constantly talks about Shamrockâs maturity, and how he has ,conquered his rage, his family now comes first, and a broken hand could put him out of the next fight, could cost him dearly, his family dearly. it all sounds very sensationalised, but comes across as being valid; one gets the impression that if Hanner hadnât made it sound like an intro to a film trailer it would have been a lot more viable. The first part of the book, then, has to be taken with a pinch of salt, and is an easy and unchallenging book. What I liked about it was that I could pick it up and read any chapter at any time. It sounds like a clichŽ, but parts are genuinely inspirational, and it makes you realise that if he can achieve so much from such a tough background, surely thereâs no excuse for anyone else.

The second partÊ -Inside the Lion's Den: The Secrets of Submission Fightingâ - is by Shamrock himself, about his training regime in the Lionâs Den. Here there are some inspirational bits, but one wonders if he hasnât toned it down for the majority of readers; his target of 500 squats I found easy after only a couple of weeks of going for it, and I am hardly a professional fighter. Similarly, 100 push-ups and 100 crunches isnât really that hard, not if you are training professionally in a dojo all day every day. Shamrock also seems to repeat now-refuted myths; that doing 200 crunches a day will lead to the fat around the stomach going; this idea of , spot-reduction has long been rejected. But the chapter on conditioning still inspires me to go and train.

The second part is an enjoyable read. More evidence of his being targeted at an audience not already schooled in martial arts is in the moves that he shows ö there is little in the way of holds, chokes and armlocks that I hadnât learnt within my first month of judo. There are some gems, though; I like the chapter on agility drills, and I havenât seen the crucifix hold before.

The final chapter on psychological preparation for a fight is also very useful. I also like the way that Shamrock refers to his fights for demonstrations of certain moves ö the heel hook and Pat Smith in UFC 1, for example (Pat Smith gets a rough ride throughout the whole book ö deservedly so from his behaviour when he fought Shamrock; Dan Severn doesnât fare much better!).

My overall judgement of the book; is it well written? Not really. Is a good book? Yes. Was it worth the price? Yes. Did I learn much? No. So why is it good? I donât know. If it is a casual read that you want, and you are a fan of Shamrock, buy it. Donât buy it if you want to learn how to fight; there are hundreds of books out there to show you much better. Do buy it if you want to see how a champion fights; I did, and I enjoyed it (although, as I said, I think it might have been toned down for his WWF audience). Out of ten?

Seven or Eight. Ollie