Say Uncle! : Catch-As-Catch-Can and the Roots of Ultimaet Fighting, Pro-Wrestling, and Modern Grappling

Having read various books on different fighting styles I was desperate to find a book on Catch. I was not dissapointed. From start to finish I was gripped. Every interview had me hooked (no pun intended!) Whether a serious player, or an enthusuiast this book is an absolute must.  Say Uncle!

was expecting a book of locks and holds, but i got so much more. the interviews ane informative and offer an insight into a bygone age.deffo worth a buy, even if you keep it as a toilet book. definately kept me sat on the bog longer than needed

A excellent look at catch-as-catch can wrestling. Good clear photos and concise explanation of techniques.

AS a grappler I'm interested in hearing about the history of this branch of grappling and the book starts off pretty well, giving you a short but interesting general introduction. But the bulk of the book is s series of interviews with some prominent figures. This is where the book is let down IMO. The interviews appear to be written out verbatim. The interviewer's input for much of it is often just "yeah" or "right!" which doesn't add anything but takes up page space and reads awkwardly. And the interviewees, because they're not writing this stuff down, don't structure what they say well at times, going off the point, missing the point of the question and using colloquialisms that make little sense. Really I think it needs serious editing or writing in a different way. I'd prefer it if the stories where told as part of a structured narrative or even if the interviews remained but were paraphrased and edited to make them more to the point and more interesting. In contrast, I recently read Big Deal by Anthony Holden which is a book about poker and contains many stories from colourful characters. Holden is pro writer and it shows. He weaves a compelling work out of the disparate material. I wish the same had been done with Say Uncle.

My grandfather Tommy McCarthy was 'Catch as Catch Can' 9st 7lbs wrestling champion of England before WW1, so I was fascinated to read and understand the combat sport he excelled in.

Having met Jake and Billy at the CACC seminar in Doncaster last year, I was eager to get this book and expand my knowledge of Catch Wrestling. From the first page, "Say Uncle" is an incredible book about a sadly forgotten art!Jake has written an incredible book full of depth, knowledge and history of catch wrestling - it makes for facinating reading. If you're a BJJ player, wrestler, pro-wrestling fan, grappler - whatever - buy this book!! You won't regret it!

The anecdotely explores the forgotten art of catch as catch can, the ancestor of modern pro wrestling. Going back to a time when when professional wrestling was a real sport, no holds barred submission matches.Unfortunately the lingers long on the athletes and there Storry and doesn't elaborates on technique. Further its quite euro centric ignoring some of the indo-persian roots.

A great amount of knowledge to be gained by owning this book

Boring Book. Interviews, interviews and interviews. I don't like reading a hole book of interviews.

This is a fascinating book! Catch Wrestling despite it being a battle tested, scientifically sound system of grappling has all but been forgotten. Thanks to people like Jake, Billy Robinson, Gene LeBell, Dick Cardinal etc there is now a resurgence in Catch. Most of us, myself included, are surprised to find a long and well documented American history of this formidable art.What I really love the most about this book is the interviews. Karl Gotch (rip), Billy Robinson, Gene LeBell, Fugiwara etc one gets an insight into the history. One on the fallacies of modern times is to assume everything we do is "new" what this book shows is that many of the training methods that are now in vogue, Mixed matches (boxers vs, wrestlers, judo vs wrestling, wrestling vs jujitsu, all in matches) are nothing new. Many of the elders interviewed were part of that often overlooked history.Because the interviews were done in an informal manner, one gets a real feel of that period of time.On a more pragmatic note, unless I'm mistaken there are only 4 or 5 men left with a first hand connection to this history and each are masterful practitioners and coaches of this art. All of them are interviewed in this book. Most of these men are older and sadly wont be with us forever. A great service has been done to get their words in print.A lot of space is given to the principles of biomechanics in effective grappling. Most books focus only on actual techniques which, in my view, can never be transmitted by pictures. However, the scientific or biomechanics i.e. various types of levers, torque etc. can be explained quite effectively.The unique body and "buddy" weight training regimens are also explained in great detail.Despite catch wrestlings deep arsenal of rides, throws and submissions, the author wisely gave us just a sample and perhaps just the sample that distinguishes Catch from other grappling systems.Having been a life long martial artist and having trained in Catch for a relatively short amount of time. I can say this without reservation. Catch has to be felt! One with experience can indeed look at a technique and gain some insights. What makes Catch come alive is when you feel it!! It is one of the most brutal arts I've studied yet for all its brutal-ness it is very scientific and paradoxically requires a lot of finesse and sensitivity to make it work in the way it is designed to.Kudos to Jake Shannon for all the research and passion. I recommend this book to anyone who loves martial arts and who loves the history of martial artist who put what they know to the test. Turns out it wasn't just happening in far away lands but right here in the United States.

Un librito ameno sobre la historia moderna del catch.No se han molestado mucho en editar las conversaciones, incluyen balbuceos, frases incoherentes, mal construidas... es decir, estamos ante una transcripción de unas conversaciones con las leyendas vivas que ahora son más conocidas en esto del catch.A veces encontramos incluso lo que parece ser un entrevistado cansado de responder preguntas o que está cumpliendo con un compromiso, lo que no termino de entender que lo publiquen.Al final del libro hay una pequeña sección de fotos de los chicos de damage control (mirad su canal en youtube) demostrando algunas técnicas, muy pocas en mi opinión.No es un manual de lucha ni es un libro de historia al uso. Es simplemente una recopilación de entrevistas y unas pocas técnicas. Es curioso de leer y poco más