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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Combat sports & self-defence
This thoroughly revised edition of "Muay Thai: Advanced Thai Boxing
Techniques "teaches intermediate Muay Thai fighters how to counter
a wide range of opponents' attacks. Author Christoph Delp explains
the rules and ceremonial procedures unique to Muay Thai
competition, demonstrates historical and modern techniques,
provides training tips, and details the benefits of training in
Thailand--experiencing the art in its country of origin.
The primary focus of "Muay Thai""Counter Techniques" is on
counter-tactics, or techniques used to counter an attack from one's
opponent. Muay Thai is a martial art with a variety of impressive
techniques; every attack technique can be countered with a large
number of variants. No two fighters will react to an attack in the
same way, because while most Muay Thai fighters learn the same
basic techniques (as presented in Delp's earlier book "Muay Thai
Basics"), each fighter will go on to learn a wide variety of
secondary techniques and will adapt them to his or her individual
fighting style. This edition includes new full-color photographs
throughout in which many well-known Thai boxers--including
champions like Saiyok Pumphanmuang, Kem Sitsongpeenong, and many
others--demonstrate the most important techniques for competitive
success. Suitable for Thai boxers as well as mixed martial arts
(MMA) fighters, "Muay Thai Counter Techniques" is a useful addition
to the library of anyone seeking to add more techniques into their
repertoire and take their training to the next level.
Sweet Fighting Man is based on a collection of interviews with
British boxers, from journeymen to champions. The book covers a
timespan of over 50 years and features some classic personalities,
such as Dave 'Boy' Green, the ever-popular British and European
champion who fought for world titles against Carlos Palomino and
Sugar Ray Leonard; Bunny Johnson, the first black British
Heavyweight Champion, and Joe Somerville, the jovial journeyman who
had literally thousands of fights in the lurid environment of the
boxing booths. Boxers are fundamentally entertainers and each
chapter in this book is an individual performance, giving the true
flavour of the characters involved. Their thought-provoking
reflections proffer a unique insight into the often rollercoaster
life of a professional boxer. The interviewees also talk about many
aspects of their lives away from the ring and, as they drop their
guards and open their hearts, they deliver plenty of laugh-out-loud
moments along the way.
The son of a poor butcher, John Gully rose to the height of
Victorian respectability, whose death in ripe old age was mourned
by all classes from paupers to princes. It's the story of an
extraordinarily varied life - a bare knuckle fighter and champion
of England, a publican, a hugely successful gambler, bookmaker,
racehorse and colliery owner, and finally a Member of Parliament.
Set at a time when fortunes were won and lost on the turn of a
dice, Gully saw the greed and corruption, the rogues and rascals.
Remarkable sporting characters of the age feature, such as William
Crockford, the Betting Shark; the chivalrous prize fighter Henry
Pearce; the mighty Tom Cribb, bare knuckle champion of the world;
and Colonel Mellish, prolific gambler and finest of the
Corinthians. Enemies saw Gully as a cunning man, a schemer who
corrupted the betting world. To others he was a man with impeccable
judgement and integrity, to whom royalty would trust their
fortunes. The Stakes Were High is the fascinating story of his
life.
From the balletic intensity of Bruce Lee to the gravity-defying
swordplay of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, " the Chinese Martial
Arts film has captured audiences' imaginations around the world,
while absorbing influences ranging from Beijing Opera to computer
games. Its global impact can be seen in the Hollywood crossover of
stars like Jackie Chan and Hong Kong-influenced films like "The
Matrix." In this wide-ranging study, Leon Hunt looks at the mythic
allure of the Shaolin Temple, the 'Clones' of Bruce Lee,
gender-bending swordswomen, and the knockabout comedy of Sammo
Hung, bringing new insights to a hugely popular and yet critically
neglected genre. In addition, he considers the impact of new
technologies on a genre focused on physical performance, from the
'wire fu' of Jet Li to the digital 'stars' of console games like
Tekken. Films discussed include both popular and cult classics like
"Game of Death, Fist of Legend, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" and
"Drunken Master."
A powerful story of sadness, hope, pride, honour and triumph from
the real-life Rocky! Raw, confronting and honest, UFC champion Mark
Hunt's inspiring autobiography shows it is possible to defy the
odds and carve a better life. Born into a Mormon Samoan family,
Hunt details his harrowing early life, his troubled teen years, and
his angry youth with no apparent future. After being plucked from
an Auckland street fight and dropped into his first kickboxing
bout, Mark went on to achieve unprecedented success in Australian
and New Zealand combat sports. In an ongoing career that has
spanned the globe, Mark Hunt has been in some of the UFC, Pride and
K-1's most memorable battles. But in some ways those fights pale in
comparison to that which he has overcome out of the ring and cage.
As fearless with his opinions as he is in the Octagon, Mark pulls
no punches in revealing the highs and lows of his extraordinary
life.
Since ancient times Tai Chi Chuan has been practiced as a holistic
mind/body fitness system, bringing immense benefits for
practitioners in health, longevity, relaxation, and concentration.
Tai Chi Chuan was also practiced as an effective and deadly martial
art. Because of this, the ancient masters rarely disclosed their
secrets, guarding them as closely as they would military secrets.
They preserved their profound insights in obscure songs, poems, and
classics, revealing only to those they considered trustworthy and
ready for such knowledge. That is, until this century. Now, you can
reap the benefits of centuries of wisdom and practical experience
to deepen and refine your Tai Chi Chuan. Discover ways to reach the
essence of your Form and take your Push Hands to higher levels. Dr.
Yang has translated these classics from the original Chinese, and
has written commentaries to make them more accessible to
contemporary minds. Tai Chi Secrets of the Wu Style is an
invaluable resource for students who seek true understanding of
their art. *Useful for any style of Tai Chi Chuan.*Sound, practical
advice for any martial art.*Key points for incorporating the
teachings into your practice.
To work with Al Huang is to learn to move with wind and water... in
the course of everyday life... a truly superior and gifted teacher
who works upon others as the sun and rain upon plants.' - From the
foreword by Alan Watts, one of the great writers of Comparative
Philosophy and Religion and Taoist and Zen literature. First
published in 1973, this all time classic of Tai Ji literature
remains as fresh and illuminating today as when it was first
published. Written with true passion and eloquence, the book richly
conveys the subtle yet profound principles underlying Tai Ji.
Movement, stillness, joyfulness, and the ability to live in the
moment are the threads running through the text, as well as the
humor and compassion to acknowledge the impossibility of human
perfection. Containing the original foreword by Alan Watts, the
book is illustrated with beautiful calligraphy by the author, and
photographs by Si Chi Ko, one of China's "National Treasures". This
timeless masterpiece is essential reading for anybody interested in
Taoism, Tai Ji, or the Tao philosophy of "Living Our Own Tao", and
the author is a wonderful, dramatic, and inspiring presence
throughout the book.
On October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire, at the virtual center of
Africa, two boxers were paid five million dollars apiece to
confront each other in an epic match. One was Muhammad Ali, who
vowed to reclaim the championship he had lost. The other was George
Foreman, who was as taciturn as Ali was voluble and who kept his
hands in his pockets "the way a hunter lays his rifle back into its
velvet case." Observing them both was Norman Mailer, whose grasp of
the titanic battle's feints and stratagems-and sensitivity to their
deeper symbolism-made his 1975 book The Fight a masterpiece of
sportswriting. Whether analyzing the fighters' moves, interpreting
their characters, or weighing their competing claims on the African
and American souls, Mailer was a commentator of unparalleled
acumen-and surely one of the few intrepid enough to accompany Ali
on a late-night run through the bush. Through The Fight he restores
our tarnished notions of heroism to a blinding gleam, and
establishes himself as a champion in his own right. Over four
decades after its original publication, this edition of The Fight
has been introduced and abridged by Mailer scholar J. Michael
Lennon and illustrated for the first time with principal
photography by the two men who captured Ali and Foreman in the ring
and in private like no one else: Neil Leifer and Howard L. Bingham.
Widely considered to be the greatest sports photographer of his
generation, Neil Leifer's vibrant color coverage dominates from
ringside. It also serves as a living testimony to the pageantry,
sheer physical power, and deep psychological interplay of the
fighters, their camps, and their controversial host, Zaire's
President Mobutu Sese Seko. Behind the scenes, meanwhile, Howard
Bingham was Ali's constant companion, documenting his every move
from the moment he stepped off the plane in Zaire, his daily
training regime, right through to the dressing room tension as he
prepared to face Foreman once and for all. Together with pictures
from other photojournalists, reproductions of Mailer's original
manuscript pages, and additional visual documentation of the media
frenzy surrounding the "Rumble in the Jungle," the result is a
dazzling tribute to The Champ and a vivid document of one of the
most epic, adrenaline-laced events in sporting history.
The first book to focus on the intersection of Western philosophy
and the Asian martial arts, Striking Beauty comparatively studies
the historical and philosophical traditions of martial arts
practice and their ethical value in the modern world. Expanding
Western philosophy's global outlook, the book forces a theoretical
reckoning with the concerns of Chinese philosophy and the aesthetic
and technical dimensions of martial arts practice. Striking Beauty
explains the relationship between Asian martial arts and the
Chinese philosophical traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and
Daoism, in addition to Sunzi's Art of War. It connects martial arts
practice to the Western concepts of mind-body dualism and
materialism, sports aesthetics, and the ethics of violence. The
work ameliorates Western philosophy's hostility toward the body,
emphasizing the pleasure of watching and engaging in martial arts,
along with their beauty and the ethical problem of their violence.
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