The Kirby Chronicles – Essays From The Brotherhood Of All Martial Artists

This is a collection of many, many posts Kirby has made in the private Facebook group, Brotherhood Of All Martial Artists. Quite often, he will post and invite discussion among the members. I do not respond to about 95% of them. Why? Because they are so complete that I have nothing to add. They are that good!

Kirby covers a number of topics but they can come under a short list of categories: training, sparring, and real-deal self-defense.

There are two things I really like about his writings. The first is one can tell right away that he is talking from experience. He isn’t spouting theoretical nonsense that will not work in the ring or street. Everything he talks about has reality stamped all over it.

The second thing I like is the enthusiasm that comes through his writing. Kirby and I have sat and chatted in person on various topics and when I read what he says, it’s just like that.

“Funny thing about my writings, I had no idea they would be used in a book one day. Many of my posts were written without the forethought that this would happen. That being said, I never write about ideas or assumptions that I have not had actual experience with. I won’t write about things I don’t have lots of actual experience with, and/or have tested countless times.

“When I write about a topic, I’m usually motivated by something I saw recently by others, or something I was doing myself at the gym or against somebody else. It’s easy to write about actual experiences, as then it’s just me sharing what I know is true or has worked for me.” Kirby Barker

It has been my pleasure to compile and edit into book form these writings of his. This is the kind of book I like to read. The data in it is invaluable to any martial artist of any style

Dan Anderson