Bare-knuckle Boxer's Companion: Learning How to Hit Hard and Train Tough from the Early Boxing Masters Paperback – January 1, 2009

I have been in Asian martial arts for forty years. I have studied HEMA for the last fifteen. This book is excellent for understanding the basics of western pugilism. I use this book as the primer for studying other books from Victorian and Edwardian pugilists. If you want a good book for learning how to survive a street fight... this is it.

Consider this the Rosetta Stone for bare knuckle boxing, packaged in a modern instructional. The authors conducted painstaking research, and employed diverse backgrounds in historical studies and martial arts, to assemble a complete volume. When I say complete, the book covers techniques, counters, drills and training, with clear depictions of everything described. It provides a bibliography, and even features a section -- with further bibliography -- to recognize and neutralize conflict to avoid violence. The latter often is neglected in technique-focused self-defense books.Other books provide more on the history. In that sense, this book is syncretic. "The Boxer's Companion" combines techniques from both the Broughton and London Prize Ring eras, as well as some culled from earlier manuals. The historical delineation is less important for the purposes of this text than the techniques in play. For instance, the book details the "cross-buttocks" (hip throw) and the back trips used by pugilists when older rules permitted grappling. The grappling is less refined that what you see in Judo or Russian Sambo (grappling-only competition). It mirrors the quick-and-dirty lifts, trips, and drop-throws from Chinese Sanda. The reason is clear: It's harder to grab a skilled opponent who is hammering you with bare fists. Low kicks also receive some treatment, more prevalent in the Broughton era and often deriving from "purring" (shin-kicking).Why is this a Rosetta Stone? It reconciles terms and clearly presents actions described in older manuals. I suggest reading this book ahead of, say, the treatise by bare knuckle champion Daniel Mendoza. The older texts simply make more sense after reading this book. In my studies, I read at least a dozen of them, only to have "The Bare-Knuckle Boxer's Companion" illuminate techniques obscured by arcane language and absence of illustrations.The authors use a classic, erect bare-knuckle stance. This is an excellent choice, considering the bob-and-weave stance of Daniel Mendoza was a rarity at the time. Bladed stances and modified cross-guards also were used. The authors' choice reflects one commonly taught throughout the old texts -- similar to a standard boxing stance taught today, then modified to reflect personal styles. Among current-era fighters, contrast the Mexican style of Gennady Golovkin, the armadillo defenses of Archie Moore and Ken Norton, the Philly Shell of Mayweather, and the break-all-the-rules-and-succeed stance of the early Roy Jones.To complete your studies, I recommend buying Kirk Lawson's "Banned from Boxing," which emphasizes pugilistic grappling in exquisite detail (sold through Lulu.com). For multi-media depictions, you can see "Gentleman Jim" Jeffries' holdover techniques from that era in a friendly sparring session with Gene Tunney on Youtube. There's an old-fashioned uppercut ("rising sun punch" in some karate styles), and a long swing to the kidney with the top of the fist. I also highly recommend the late Carl Cestari's "Bare-Knuckle Boxing" DVD, available at carlcestari.com. Cestari's DVD has a great tutorial on the drop-step, footwork, and a 10-minute section on swings and chops not available in the "Boxer's Companion." While the chops and backfist are illustrated, other swings and the "archaic" uppercut -- a nasty sucker punch -- don't appear in the book. See also Daniel Mendoza's "The Modern Art of Boxing," Edmund Price's "Physical Culture and Self-Defense" (1867), Billy Edwards' "Art of Boxing and Manual of Training" (1888), Robert Fitzsimmons' "Physical Culture and Self-Defense" (1901) and James J. Corbett's "Scientific Boxing" (1912). The latter books by champions of the gloved era offer techniques and styles that predate it.

Interesting book for those who train in martial arts/combat sports and who have some street fighting experience. Bare knuckle boxing was much more practical for the streets than modern boxing (though it is still good) because it had few rules and was much more dirty than even modern MMA. I like the use of classic European texts in bare-knuckle boxing as a basis for what they are teaching in this book, as few people know much about bare-knuckle boxing and its practicality as a combat-style. It is perhaps just viewed as boxing without gloves (and some modern competitions are like this), but traditional bare-knuckle boxing was much more close to real combat and consequently much more deadly (arguments for the the cumulative effects of damage to the brain from the softened gloved punches in boxing aside). Fighters were allowed many punches that are illegal in boxing--hammer fists, backfists, etc. A fighter was able to clinch, use certain locks, use certain throws, use headbutts, trips, and often use kicks and elbows. It was much closer to the hand-to-hand combat of the street than modern combat sports are today, and thus provides a great basis for practical combat training methodology grounded in a Western tradition. I liked the book, but felt that many of the illustrated panels that dealt with drills involving deflections, blocks, etc. could have been simplified or eliminated. I was surprised to find that many of the moves to be found in the textbook were similar to the style of fighting I have been trained in in CHA-3 Kenpo, which originated in the '40's with our grandmaster being a boxer. I am not sure how this bare-knuckle influence was retained, but there is a lot that we do in training that is exactly from this textbook, and different in many ways from modern gloved boxing. An interesting read, though one can skim much of it, and one has to have had solid foundational training to actually understand it.I actually read "Championship Street Fighting" about a month ago, and just finished a biography of John L. Sullivan, (as well as that graphic novel on the famous 18th century British bare knuckle boxer Mendoza, etc.), so it was interesting to me, though it has very real limitations and could have been expanded and developed more, I guess.It has to be said that the historical material in the text was integrated in in an extremely professional manner, with enough to give a context going from ancient times through the medieval and all the way from the bare knuckle age to the modern, while never being excessive. The allusions to and examples from texts like Sigmund Ringeck's "Ringen" with a set of techniques called "Mortschlag," or murder strikes, for example, are very interesting (and very much like CHA-3 Kenpo).I have to add as an afterthought (and I added another star because of this), that the chapter on self-defense, for its brevity, was actually very good, and that there were many tips on training and conditioning that were very practical as well-from training the hands to punch to building the complete body strength a fighter, not a bodybuilder with largely "cosmetic" muscles, needs to be able to fight efficiently.

Lindholm and Karlsson have written a very good, very useful, all-around introductory volume on the Western martial art of bare-knuckle.They briefly discuss where bare-knuckle comes from, as well as some of its key historical personalities, before getting into the techniques.The techniques are clearly explained and very well illustrated with clear black and white photographs. The authors cover the stances and strikes of bare-knuckle, as well as a few throws, and conditioning the hands and body for the rigors of this practice. The conditioning chapter is a bit lighter than I would have liked, but is more than enough to get one started on the right track.Reliable, coherent information on training bare-knuckle is rare; the authors have done a great service to everyone interested in striking and Western martial arts by writing this book. With any luck Lindholm and Karlsson (in concert with Paladin) will produce an accompanying DVD sometime soon.As a FYI, anyone who finds this book useful should probably dig-up a copy of "Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense" by Jack Dempsey. Well formatted, easy to read PDFs of it are available online.

Forget the fact that these two guys have little knowledge of actual bareknuckle fighting which is shown in the photographs and write up, because amongst the page fillers is some good nuggets of information.I skipped the history of boxing in the Greek/Rome period and went straight in at the medieval section which tells of western pugilism.The authors needed to realise that a picture is just that a section of some action performed then drawn in a manner which was fashionable at the time. The actual position may indeed only have been a small part of the pugilists movement.Possibly a good idea would have been to take the classical and posed actions and instead of then adopting the same classical pose they should have shown them as how they believed the fighters would have actually performed them in a fight.Look at modern day Karate men, few techniques taught in the Dojo actually work in the street without being adapted for the street kata is a good example. Kata is a series of moves all put together to train to hit and kick etc but wouldn't be overly effective in the street. Classical pugilism I believe is the same. There is the staged and fixed poses and the reality.So if you overlook the fact the authors don't adapt the classical into realistic and effective moves then this is a good basic pugalists manual which gives plenty of information to investigate and develop into a street effective fighting style.The headbut, the trips, the head chancery are basically all good techniques (the escape from the head chancery is terrible) .So, an OK starter book which will lead you onto many other authors and their books which are named in the book. Use this book as an introduction to pugilism.

Ignore the review aboit the authors getting hammered by a thai or burmese boxer as this is the babling of a gobsh!te.The book is well researched and the techniques and drills are workable. As stated by another reviewer, the photos cannot show you the techniques in motion, but if you read the text as well, it doesn't take a genius to work out how to do the techniques and drills.All in all, a very good book and would love to read a sequel containinh even more drills and techniques, perhaps with some information about some of it's more famous practitioners from history.

I don't understand some of the comments about the author being hammered in a real fight? They don't ever state that they are rock solid street fighters, they just write investigating the origins of boxing and techniques used. It's a ok read with some interesting parts.

Excellent book, good overview of the old style of pugilism. I am of the opinion that less is more with regards to self defence. Basic moves are easier to remember and use, should the situation occur.

THOROUGH RESEARCH GO INTO THIS. AN INTERESTING READ. LIKE THE CHANCERY STUFF