BJ Penn

Although somewhat clunky in sections, Weintraub does an able job of pulling the material together in book form. This book speaks in Penn’s voice, recounting his early days growing up in Hawaii, leading up to his becoming a UFC Champion, and the fallout that results from his self-discovery that he is not the best in the world (not that he admits that openly). Penn is a true prodigy when it comes to BJJ, and I enjoyed reading about his training and the ensuing tournaments. The insight into everyday Hawaii for a young local boy was also gripping to the Canadian prairie boy writing this review. While Penn does not try to avoid the warts being shown, he does have a knack for making them seem like they are not his own. One should tackle this book as being one half of the story only.… (more)

'Why I fight: The Belt is Just an Accessory' by Bj Penn is the first autobiography I have read in quite a while and as I'm always up for a bj I just couldn't resist the lore of this book.
The last time I delved into the autobiography genre I picked up a copy of 'Batista Unleashed', which was just about the worst autobiography I've ever read, and so expectations weren't particularly high going into this one due to the similarities of them both being tough, muscular athletes. Thankfully, I can tell you that my negativity was unwarranted as I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end.
I'm not actually an MMA fan, although I have watched a few fights on tv and know who BJ Penn is, so I was very much going into this blind with little knowledge of the sport and its participants. I was pleased to find that my lack of knowledge did not detract from the book as when explanations of fighting styles and techniques are required they are explained in simple terms that anyone can understand. Also my understanding of the sport grew in relation to the life story being told as I learned, along with a young and reckless BJ Penn, the art of fighting, discipline and dedication required to be the best of the best. I really enjoyed how that was done and was a testament to the writing skills of Dave Weintraub.
As is the case with autobiographies you know what you're getting in terms of structure. It starts out recounting BJ's upbringing, with stories from his childhood, and heads on through adolescence on into manhood and his eventual rise to MMA superstar. Sometimes I find autobiographies can be over zealous about one aspect of the subject's life but 'Why I Fight' was paced well and I never became bored due to overkill of a particular era of BJ's life.
Overall this was a learning experience for me and an entertaining read at the same time. I also discovered that my view of Hawaii as a peaceful, sun, surf and sand nation is very far from the reality of life there...especially the one experienced by BJ Penn.… (more)