Do Leopards Dream of Minimalist Sheep?: A Review of The Quick and the Dead by Pavel Tsatsouline.

by Tom Furman

I just received my softcover copy of Pavel’s new book, The Quick and the Dead. I decided to review it since the title, concept and material is not very mainstream.

I should preface this with the fact that I have known Pavel for a while. As early as 1999 on Scott Sonnon’s forum and also through Powerlifting USA magazine. I attended the only winter RKC, [Russian Kettlebell Certification] in February of 2002 and was the 28th RKC. As well, Pavel gave a great endorsement of my first dvd, Concrete Conflict and Conditioning in 2006.

The Quick and the Dead follows a theme of minimalism. It is not a Ferrari, but a sand rail or better yet, a HumVee. It is, in Bruce Lee’s words, “..trying to get the utmost out of the minimum,…”. There are limitations to this type of training, however, nowhere can I find the statement, “this is the only way to train.”

The book begins by telling the story of two leopards. A younger one, with an efficient kill and an older one that is not having much luck. I like metaphor and analogy. It helps paint mental images for the reader. If this story, neatly shoehorned into the manuscript, was to get you excited and think, I’d love it. However I think within the book, Leopards and…