Ultimate Fighting Championships - Not A New Phenomena…

Started in 1993, many people thought that the idea of a no-holds-barred tournament between different martial arts was a new idea brought to us courtesy of the Gracies.  But those of you who enjoy reading may very well have first read a book detailing exactly this idea in 1974.  It’s called Kiai!, and it was quickly followed by others in a series of books detailing the exploits of a Judoka ironically named Jason Striker, and written by Piers Anthony and Roberto Fuentes.

Anyone familiar with good Science Fiction/Fantasy knows who Piers Anthony is - he takes second place to no one when it comes to excellent writing… and with Roberto Fuentes, Judo Nidan, making sure that he can keep his details accurate; the book flows well and doesn’t jar the knowledgeable Judoka who’s reading it.

This series was originally published beginning in 1974, and the original paperbacks seem to have developed a ‘collectors item’ price, but fortunately, they appear to have been reprinted in three new volumes, each of which apparently (I don’t own them yet!) contains two original paperback novels.

If you like good Judo fiction - you know how rare it is - be sure to pick this one up, you won’t be disappointed.