Book Review: Cauliflower Chronicles

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rodfather
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Book Review: Cauliflower Chronicles

Post by rodfather »

Hey guys, I know this is the brawl board, but I just finished reading this book called "The Cauliflower Chronicles: A Grappler's Tale of Self Discovery and Island Living." By Marshal D. Carper.

It's about this guy from Pennsylvania who does a semester at UH-Hilo during a student exchange program. The thing is that he is not there just to study. He did the semester at UH-Hilo so he could train at the BJ Penn Academy in Hilo. He writes it from the first person point of view and talks about his adventures here. I liked it, it is an interesting insight about outsider or haole thoughts regarding local culture. Plus, he talks about his experience training with other Jiu-Jitsu students at the BJ Penn Academy. I recommend it.

Edited to add: This book has a feel of a travel book even though I got it in the martial arts section of the bookstore. But I liked it because he really had a cultural shock when he got here and how he realized he had to embrace the local culture to get along with everybody. I compare it to a couple of other books I read about Americans who went to train in martial arts in China and their adventures but with a local flavor.
"Walk a single path, becoming neither cocky with victory nor broken with defeat." --- Jigoro Kano, The Founder of Judo

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