Book Review: See You on the Mat

Title: See You on the Mat

Author: Marty Josey

Publisher: Independently published

Publication Date: October 3, 2020

Format: Kindle, Paperback

Pages: 108, 6 in x 9 in

Cover Price: $15.95

ISBN: 979-8-67-143087-5

Content

Author Marty Josey is producer and host of the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Rocks podcast and the founder of Breathing for BJJ. He is a former US Army radio teletype operator and combat medic, and a former stress management counselor and life coach for Duke University Health System’s cardiac rehabilitation and wellness program. In 2019, he won the Masters-6 World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu championship for his division.

See You on the Mat is a short fictional work with an inspiring martial arts theme. The core of the book features eight short stories about how a diverse set of BJJ practitioners apply the martial art to their daily lives. These stories involve themes such as post traumatic stress disorder, homelessness, sexual assault, bullying, gang membership, learning disabilities, policing, and self actualization. I got the sense that these could have been real conversations that the author had with training partners over the years.

Pros

See You on the Mat is probably the first work of “martial arts fiction” I’ve ever read. It is a pleasant and believable book with an uplifting message. It is well written and thoughtfully organized. You will likely finish it in one setting, as I did, because it’s motivating and easy to digest.

Cons

I have very few concerns with this book. I expect that some members of the martial arts community might have a reflexively negative reaction to books which paint BJJ in a positive light. There’s certainly an element of skepticism for the “BJJ saved my life” message. However, I believe readers could choose to replace any reference to Jiu-Jitsu with “martial arts” or their style of choice and benefit from the book’s lessons.

Conclusion

I give this book 5 out of 5 ninja stars.

I enjoyed reading See You on the Mat. I’ve been a fan of Marty Josey’s podcast for years, and I’ve run into him several times at Jiu-Jitsu seminars. He’s a positive light in the martial arts world and I recommend you check out his work!

Note: I would like to thank Marty for providing me an electronic review copy of his book

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Richard Bejtlich

Richard took his first martial arts classes in judo, karate, boxing, and combatives as a cadet at the US Air Force Academy in 1990, and continued practicing several styles until 2001. He resumed training in 2016 by practicing within the Krav Maga Global system, earning Graduate 1 rank. Richard now studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Team Pedro Sauer. Richard is married and has two daughters, and as a cybersecurity professional he helps organizations find and remove computer hackers. Richard is co-author, with Anna Wonsley, of the book Reach Your Goal: Stretching and Mobility Exercises for Fitness, Personal Training, and Martial Arts.

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