Dojo: a Novel

by Brian Brock

George Peligro, a recent high school graduate, was just looking for a little excitement when he started a backyard fight club with his friends. He had no idea his father would find out and send him away to live with relatives. But it seems there is more to his father's decision than to simply keep his son out of trouble, as George discovers the relatives he's being sent to live with are actually a family of mixed martial arts prizefighters.

Soon they begin training George in their own unique style, provided he agrees to not compete in mixed martial arts competitions. Despite his desire to keep his word to his family, George finds himself swept away into a world of fierce competition and brutal opponents, and finds himself invited to a high-stakes mixed martial arts event that could change the fate of his family forever.

Inspired by the life stories of real mixed martial arts competitors, including the Brazilian family that started the UFC, Dojo is a novel about perseverance and the redeeming power of family.

249 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 20, 2013

Reviews

[Joseph Escher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining throughout

Thoroughly enjoyable read throughout which the author clearly demonstrates their knowledge of the various martial arts discussed and the history of the inception of the UFC

[Raymond Mathiesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dojo: a Novel

Sports dedication and finding direction…

George Peligro is near the end of his senior high school year and planning a summer of messing around with his friends and having fun on the beach. He plans after summer to get a job and save up to buy a car, but he doesn't see much further into the future than that. George is a wrestler, but there does not seem to be much future in that. Hoping to give his son some direction Georges father sends him to California to train with Ricardo Gracia in Jiu-jitsu. Ricardo is George's father's cousin, and a famed mixed martial arts fighter.

George certainly has his faults: he is directionless and easily influenced by those around him. George, however, is also kind hearted, friendly and hardworking (when someone give him a goal). All up George is someone you would like to know, and the reader soon warms to him and is on his side. Hector Vargas, who George meets while training in Jiu-jitsu, is a very interesting character. He is determined and friendly, but has a brooding nature and an aggression which easily comes to the surface. While the reader has sympathy for him, they also wonder about him. This ambiguity makes for interesting reading. The story really revolves around these two characters. Richardo has some time devoted to him as a father figure with a past that haunts him. Summer, George's girlfriend, is sensible, forward and likable, but is also a minor character.

This really is a coming-of-age story with the theme of finding yourself. Just what exactly is George going to do with his life? This is a question which all of us have faced (sometimes more than once in our life). We can just drift through life, or we can have a goal. Both options will take us somewhere, but the first may not take us somewhere we like. Dedication and endurance are two themes closely allied to the first I have mentioned. What does it take to get somewhere? Can we see our goals through to the end? In a book about fighting sports, it is not surprising to find that aggression is also a theme. How can we tell if we have gone too far? What and where are the limits? For guys especially these are important questions.

As you can probably tell by now this is certainly a guy's book. Yes, Summer makes an appearance, but only for a while. Certainly women train in martial arts, but this story is very much aimed at blokes. Also, be warned there are plenty of fight scenes with graphic violence (though I don't want to overemphasize this).

The book is written well with flowing style and good pace. There were no dull sots in the novel, and the story moves along smoothly, developing in ways that that keep revealing more points of interest. Brock is certainly a competent writer. He has created a novel which will certainly interest those who are attracted to martial arts, but which has a much broader appeal than that. Really this book can be read and enjoyed by anyone looking for direction in life.

To declare my bias, I like martial arts and was a member of a boy's karate club as a teenager, but I have tried to indicate that this books appeal is broader than that. I am happy to award this novel five stars.