Title: The Danaher Diaries, Volumes 1, 2, and 3
Author: John Danaher
Publisher: Heroes of the Art
Publication Date: July 5, 2019; December 22, 2019; June 22, 2020
Format: Kindle
Pages: 242 pages, 177 pages, 118 pages
Cover Price: $4.99 each
ASIN: B07TZWG61G, B0831SD44C, B08BPL2RY4
Content
John Danaher is one of the most famous and capable Brazilian Jiu-jitsu coaches on the planet. He leads the Danaher Death Squad competition team, a Renzo Gracie black belt, former bouncer, and philosophy student. The Danaher Diaries consist, as of the time of writing, of three volumes. Moreover, they were published by people calling themselves “Heroes of the Art”. The books are straightforward reproductions of Mr. Danaher’s social media posts, primarily from Instagram. However, the volumes contain solely the text from the posts. Including an introduction by the publisher. I have not seen any commentary indicating Mr. Danaher is aware of these volumes or if he has anything to do with them.
Mr. Danaher has written other materials on Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. For instance, he essentially wrote the text of the 2001 book Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique, and the 2003 book Mastering Jujitsu. Note the spelling of jujitsu. This is unusual in a book on modern jiu-jitsu. However, this may indicate Mr. Danaher’s preference for the traditional names of judo-derived and associated topics.
Pros
Mr. Danaher is probably the most eloquent and philosophical advocate for jiu-jitsu on the world stage. Many in the community see jiu-jitsu as an assortment of techniques. Consequently, the newest or unseen likely to win against experienced practitioners. Danaher sees jiu-jitsu as a set of integrated systems, each with a goal. One cannot necessarily learn jiu-jitsu from a book. But I’d point you to the instructional videos that Mr. Danaher has been publishing in recent years. Finally, these volumes provide short reminders and insights that will definitely help anyone looking to improve their training and performance.
Cons
I have very few concerns with these books. From a production standpoint, they are simple amalgamations of Instagram posts. Such as, there are some glaring typos that need correcting. The third volume appears to have suffered some minor production issues. Additionally, there are large spacing gaps between posts in the Kindle version. Lastly, those who wish to save the $4.99 per volume cost could choose to consume the content from the source.
Conclusion
I give these books 5 out of 5 ninja stars.
I have bought, and will continue to buy, the volumes in this series. I’ve enjoyed reading Mr. Danaher’s thoughts in this format, as opposed to an Instagram feed. I would like to hear that Mr. Danaher is receiving the majority of the royalties from book sales since this is his material and subject to his copyrights. I am barely competent in a few aspects of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. So I can appreciate the wisdom from Mr. Danaher’s words. Those who are much more capable practitioners will likely have better success in implementing Mr. Danaher’s strategies!
Tell me what you thought of The Danaher Diaries down below. Then check out my other book reviews here on Martial Journal.
- Book Review: Worth Defending - November 25, 2020
- Book Review: See You on the Mat - November 24, 2020
- Book Review: Flashing Steel, 25th Anniversary Edition - November 23, 2020
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