What do you think?
Rate this book
How to Beat Up Anybody: An Instructional and Inspirational Karate Book by the World Champion – The Satirical Self-Defense Comedy from the Star of 30 Rock
“World Champion” Judah Friedlander tells you How to Beat Up Anybody in this insanely hilarious satirical martial arts guide. Better known as an award-winning stand-up comic, actor, and star of 30 Rock, Friedlander shares his adventures in butt-kicking with lucky readers in a self-defense handbook in the gut-busting vein of The Truth About Chuck Norris.
208 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
October 16, 2010
I feel much safer on the streets of Lansing, now that I know how to defend myself and my family using proper technique. Friedlander's illustrations guided me through some of the more complex training routines. The chapters on levitation and sizing were especially helpful.
No joke, this book had me laughing out loud on several occasions. Sometimes the pictures alone were enough. One of the funniest I have ever read.
No joke, this book had me laughing out loud on several occasions. Sometimes the pictures alone were enough. One of the funniest I have ever read.
September 25, 2013
I rarely post reviews of books on goodreads because, well I dont really think anyone cares what I thought of any particular book so I generally give the book its credited score in stars and move on. This time, however, I feel rather compelled to warn anyone considering the thought of consuming this "book" to exit stage left, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.
I thought that perhaps this would be a quick, fun read, something to break up the time between reading other actual works of literature. Something like Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk With Me title (which I will recommend you run and pick up in place of How To Beat Up Anybody). What I got instead was just about the most unreadable book I have ever picked up. I could deal with the fact that the book is pointless and is obviously meant to be that way, but its not even funny. That's the bottom line, it was written to entertain in some comedic sense, but fails miserably.
I thought that perhaps this would be a quick, fun read, something to break up the time between reading other actual works of literature. Something like Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk With Me title (which I will recommend you run and pick up in place of How To Beat Up Anybody). What I got instead was just about the most unreadable book I have ever picked up. I could deal with the fact that the book is pointless and is obviously meant to be that way, but its not even funny. That's the bottom line, it was written to entertain in some comedic sense, but fails miserably.
June 27, 2011
This was funny for a few pages. But then it turned into one long, drawn-out Chuck Norris joke (substitute Chuck Norris with Judah Friedlander, obviously). I love a good Chuck joke, but only because those jokes work for him ... he's fit, he's an old action hero, he's got a beard. Friedlander has none of those things. And it shows.
I vote that you pick this up and leaf through it at the library, but don't bother checking it out and taking it home.
I vote that you pick this up and leaf through it at the library, but don't bother checking it out and taking it home.
March 7, 2013
This might officially be the lowest rating I've given a book on Goodreads. Usually I find something interesting in a book. But this one really disappointed me. As someone else commented in a review, it's like one big Chuck Norris joke, but without the cleverness of that humor. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. The humor was played out in the first couple pages, and after that, it was just variations on the same theme. It's pretty bad when the funniest thing about the book are the pictures of the the author in drag. Not the section itself, covering women's self-defense (or "self-offense"), just the pictures.
February 7, 2011
I have to say, I appreciated the DIYness of the whole thing. It wasn't a big production. It really looked like him and his friends took a bunch of photos. It's at nearby parks and friends' apartments.
It's really the perfect coffee table book. If you randomly flip through it, it's goddamn hilarious. If you read it cover to cover, it's the same exact joke for 200 pages.
It's really the perfect coffee table book. If you randomly flip through it, it's goddamn hilarious. If you read it cover to cover, it's the same exact joke for 200 pages.
April 14, 2011
A silly book choice when you just want to laugh. This Will Ferell-like humor is my type of intellectual avoidance. I reccommend this one for anyone that enjoys movies with Zoolander-type laughs. It is meant to be completely silly.
February 13, 2011
Contrary to the title of this book, I cannot beat up anybody after reading it.
August 8, 2011
I dig him on 30 Rock, but this is tragic, bottom-of-the-barrel stuff.
June 15, 2014
I see that many of the reviewers on this site have given this book a low rating and poor review. This is probably because Judah beat up their dads at some point, and they're just bitter.
I think the most important thing I learned how to do from reading this book was beating up a man with one arm. I have attempted this twice so far, and I'm happy to say my attempts have been successful. There are many self defense books on the market, this however is the only one to teach self offense. 'Nuff said.
I think the most important thing I learned how to do from reading this book was beating up a man with one arm. I have attempted this twice so far, and I'm happy to say my attempts have been successful. There are many self defense books on the market, this however is the only one to teach self offense. 'Nuff said.
December 4, 2013
usually i don't rate books that i don't finish...unless they merit it. and merit in this case means that they are epically bad.
i was assuming that this would be a semi-serious auto-biography or memoir or just life experiences book with a funny twist about beating people up.
the first few chapters solidified that, but when i found that i was only 24% through the book and it was a boring slog that showed no promise of getting better, well i got out of this one.
i was assuming that this would be a semi-serious auto-biography or memoir or just life experiences book with a funny twist about beating people up.
the first few chapters solidified that, but when i found that i was only 24% through the book and it was a boring slog that showed no promise of getting better, well i got out of this one.
August 1, 2014
Having read this in 2014 it has been a couple of years since the Chuck Norris joke faze. So i did not think of that until i read the reviews here. But that is basicly what it is. Although the jokes don't quite hit home.
I'll give it two stars since some of the pictures were humourus. And since i did get a sense of Judah just making this over the weekend with his friends while having fun. It's very light hearted.
I'll give it two stars since some of the pictures were humourus. And since i did get a sense of Judah just making this over the weekend with his friends while having fun. It's very light hearted.
October 8, 2012
Yeaaaaah. So, I think this book is aimed more at the frat boy and/or high school nerd boy crowd. It's occasionally funny, in a stupid kind of way, and as a designer, I love the blatant use of Photoshop done really poorly. But I think I'll stick to watching Judah on 30 Rock - where he has the intelligent humor of Tina Fey to tone him down.
July 30, 2013
This was pretty dull. It was a one note joke stretched out over 200 pages. It's a shame, I think Judah Friedlander is funny but this wasn't that funny and went on way too long. He took what could have been a funny website from the early 2000's like Real Ultimate Power and stretched it out into a whole book. Not worth the time.
February 4, 2011
I now have the knowledge and confidence I need to beat up anybody. Guys with one arm? I can beat them up. Guys with three arms? I can beat them up. Random ninja attacks, rooftop attacks, or bigfoot attacks? I can beat them all up.
April 30, 2013
It was stupid. Beyond ridiculous and I loved reading every minute of it. I know know that if I want to levitate all I need to do it push harder than gravity pulls and that kind of knowledge it priceless
May 17, 2013
One mildly funny concept (Judah Freidlander as a super-strong, super-fast, karate world champion) stretched over 200 pages, it is a pretty thin soup. Mostly photoshopped pictures with a little bits of text.
November 6, 2010
Not a great concept with which to start and Friedlander doesn't do much with it over the course of slightly too many pages.
December 18, 2010
This book is fucking hilarious
May 23, 2011
Would have probably given 3.5 if possible.
I now know how to beat up anybody, except the World Champion. I can not divulge any information from this book.
www.themixtapemonster.com
I now know how to beat up anybody, except the World Champion. I can not divulge any information from this book.
www.themixtapemonster.com
July 12, 2012
Proof that without a doubt Judah is the World Champ. A novelty book; good and funny bathroom read.
February 19, 2013
I don't understand how this is rated 2.96. This book is absolutely hilarious. Bunch of idiots.
December 4, 2020
This is more amusing than the reviews I skimmed made it out to be. Friedlander is a solid satirist I particularly appreciated the way he set the foundation for many of his jokes to recur later on in the book, once they've slipped the reader's mind.
March 26, 2011
I'm a huge fan of 30 Rock. I saw an interview with Judah Friedlander (on Letterman, I think) where he was plugging this book. Judah is funny, and he wrote the book, so I felt it was logical to assume the book would be funny.
And oh, how it probably would have been, if not for the Internet.
The book reads very much like any number of "uber-manly" websites (which I tend to find hilarious). The problem is, it just didn't seem quite as funny as a lot of those sites. Maybe things are funnier when viewed through my monitor? I dunno. In any case, I found myself wishing I were reading Seanbaby over at Cracked.com instead. Or maybe even Maddox at The Greatest Page in the Universe.
In the Letterman interview, Judah was hilarious. But in the printed word, he seemed a step below a lot of the Internet guys.
The problem could also be that I sat down to read a 200-page book and I just got overloaded; if I think about it, I probably wouldn't wanna read straight through 200 pages of Seanbaby articles, either.
I got through about 40 or 50 pages and realized a few things:
1. I hadn't really laughed at anything yet.
2. The jokes were dragged out way too long. (It took several pages to explain the champion's meal he was preparing; I could have watched a Youtube episode of Epic Meal Time instead and been considerably more entertained.)
3. Going at my established rate, it would take me another 2 hours to finish the book, which isn't that bad.
4. It was clear I wasn't going to take anything away from the book when I was done. Except maybe regret.
"Regret" proved not to be a strong enough reason to continue. Yeah, it would only take 2 more hours to read the book, but I wouldn't have fun doing it, so why not get started on one of the other books I snagged from the library?
In the end, I think it might make a decent coffee table book (or bathroom book), but it's not the type of thing you want to just sit and read through.
And oh, how it probably would have been, if not for the Internet.
The book reads very much like any number of "uber-manly" websites (which I tend to find hilarious). The problem is, it just didn't seem quite as funny as a lot of those sites. Maybe things are funnier when viewed through my monitor? I dunno. In any case, I found myself wishing I were reading Seanbaby over at Cracked.com instead. Or maybe even Maddox at The Greatest Page in the Universe.
In the Letterman interview, Judah was hilarious. But in the printed word, he seemed a step below a lot of the Internet guys.
The problem could also be that I sat down to read a 200-page book and I just got overloaded; if I think about it, I probably wouldn't wanna read straight through 200 pages of Seanbaby articles, either.
I got through about 40 or 50 pages and realized a few things:
1. I hadn't really laughed at anything yet.
2. The jokes were dragged out way too long. (It took several pages to explain the champion's meal he was preparing; I could have watched a Youtube episode of Epic Meal Time instead and been considerably more entertained.)
3. Going at my established rate, it would take me another 2 hours to finish the book, which isn't that bad.
4. It was clear I wasn't going to take anything away from the book when I was done. Except maybe regret.
"Regret" proved not to be a strong enough reason to continue. Yeah, it would only take 2 more hours to read the book, but I wouldn't have fun doing it, so why not get started on one of the other books I snagged from the library?
In the end, I think it might make a decent coffee table book (or bathroom book), but it's not the type of thing you want to just sit and read through.
June 11, 2011
I actually read the first four chapters of this book, and while it was funny, I think the maximum effect can be achieved by picking the book up, flipping through it, and putting it back on the shelf. Yet another in a recent trend of humor books to take a premise that would make a funny pamphlet and hopelessly extending it well past its welcome. Or is it simply supposed to be funny in an ironic way because Mr. Friedlander managed to fill a book with an idea that might actually have made a humorous recurring skit on a comedy/variety TV show? Or is it funny because I actually read four chapters of it rather than simply flipping through it? How high is this concept?
May 5, 2011
I like Judah Friedlander's character on 30 Rock, so I thought I'd give this book a go. I realised about a third of the way through the blessedly short book (whose content is mostly pictures) that I really couldn't be bothered wasting my time on reading through the constant stupidity. Some parts were marginally funny, but the slog wasn't worth the payoff. I'd rather spend a couple of hours reading Cracked online. Disappointing.
January 23, 2012
I have no idea where I got this book, or why I bothered to read the entire thing. It would have made a good blog post, but the book sounded more like one grotesquely long Chuck Norris joke. My advice, skip the Judah and stick with the Chuck.
May 29, 2013
This book was oh so good. I defiantly enjoyed all parts of it. i thought that the best chapter was the diet chapter. Anybody looking for a hardy laugh that can handle some explicit content shoudl check dis book out 208 pages.
September 23, 2013
A short book mainly composed of funny photographs with extended captions and explanations, taking many detours into the surreal (how to defeat a rogue Bigfoot, how to defeat a man who has three arms) along the way. Very lightweight and very much a one-joke essay but still fairly humorous.
Read
January 7, 2011This book is great for some practical advice from a world champion. As a bonus there is a flip book within the book that has a very exciting fight scene.
January 21, 2011
Humorous, but he's no Robert Hamburger.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews