|
Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Combat sports & self-defence
In 1988, then struggling writer Davis Miller drove to Muhammad
Ali's mother's modest Louisville house, knocked on the door and
introduced himself to his childhood idol. Nearly thirty years
later, the two friends have an uncommon bond, the sort that can be
fashioned only in serendipitous ways and fortified through shared
experiences. Miller now draws from those remarkable moments to give
us a beautifully written portrait of a great man physically
devastated but spiritually young-playing tricks on unsuspecting
guests, performing sleight of hand for any willing audience and
walking ten miles each way to get an ice cream. Following in the
tradition of writers such as Gay Talese and Nick Hornby, Miller
gives us a series of extraordinary stories that coalesce to become
a moving introduction to the human side of a boxing legend.
'Unbeaten is one of the best sports books I’ve read in years.' –
Jonathan Eig, author of Ali: A Life.
Rocky Marciano accomplished a feat that eluded legendary champions like
Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson: he never lost a
professional fight. When he retired in 1956, his record was a perfect
49-0.
Unbeaten is the revelatory biography of one of the greatest
heavyweights of all time. Marciano rose from abject poverty and a life
of petty crime to become heavyweight champion and one of the most
famous faces of his era. He dominated boxing in the decade following
the Second World War with a devastating punch, which he nicknamed the
‘Suzie Q’.
But perfection came at a price.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Mike Stanton tells the story of Marciano’s
pursuit of greatness through the era of guys and dolls, hustlers and
gamblers, glamorous celebrities and notorious mobsters. But boxing had
its dark side, particularly at a time when Mafia mob bosses like Blinky
Palermo and Frankie Carbo wielded immense power behind the scenes.
Marciano retired while still in his prime, weighed down by the mob’s
influence in the sport he loved. For the last decade of his life, he
wandered America, disillusioned, untrusting, hiding his money, cheating
on his wife, consorting with the mobsters he had loathed for corrupting
his sport, until his death in a plane crash in 1969, the night before
his 46th birthday.
Unbeaten by Mike Stanton is the story of a remarkable champion, a sport
that was rotten to its core, and a country that may have expected too
much from its heroes.
Grace and self-control. Anyone who has been on the inside of my
sporting effort know for the most part those words do not exist.
They may accidentally present themselves on occasion, but for the
most part, when humans and physical challenges come together in the
same arena, everything but grace and self-control results. It seems
the harder we strive for perfection the more our human side takes
control, bringing with it blunders, mishaps and confusions. The
martial arts is by no means an exception. This book is
commemoration to this effort by way of a collection of
light-hearted cartoons honouring the attempts by human beings
living to imitate the ways of nature.
This is a comprehensive guide to 'could hands', a foundational
exercise found in all styles of the popular martial art t'ai chi
ch'uan. The book exphasizes the healing aspects of t'ai chi, making
it equally useful for practitioners of qi gong and other healing
modalities.
The role of the strength and conditioning coach for a combat
athlete is to perform a needs analysis in which both the fighter as
an individual and the sport itself are assessed in order to develop
a high-performance programme. This might include plyometrics, speed
and agility, endurance and core stability, strength training and
nutrition as just some of the pieces of this complex jigsaw. The
aim is to increase strength, speed, power, endurance, agility and
flexibility. Strength and Conditioning for Combat Sports aims to
help the coach and athlete bridge the gap between the theory of
training and applied training, helping the athlete to become
faster, stronger and more flexible and to build their muscular
endurance so they perform better and remain injury-free.
Learn the stories, history, and strategy of the sport's greatest
champions-in their own words! Mixed martial arts (MMA) has become
one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. With Dana White
helping bring Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to prominence
and respectability, as well as Conor McGregor becoming one of the
sport's biggest stars, fans are skipping the squared circle for the
Octagon. In Champions of the Octagon, writer Fiaz Rafiq interviews
many of the greatest MMA and UFC champions of all-time, including
Georges St-Pierre, Holly Holm, Daniel Cormier, Joanna Jedrzejczyk,
Randy Couture, and many others. Readers will learn of their
upbringings, their introductions to the sport, and how they worked
their way to be the best ever. Spending decades covering the sport
and building relationships with those who have fought in the
Octagon, Rafiq shares never-before-seen interviews and intimate
stories from these greats. Learn from Royce Gracie how his family
helped bring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to America, Anderson Silva on
challenging boxing champion Roy Jones Jr., BJ Penn on how he got
introduced to MMA, Brock Lesnar on using his skills from WWE and
bringing them to UFC, Alexander Volkanovski on a quest to dominate
his division, Holly Holm on dethroning Ronda Rousey, and so much
more. From the early days of the sport and its rich history to
today's stars and the future of MMA, Champions of the Octagon pulls
back the curtain on their lives and careers. Including interviews
from thirty-six UFC champions (seventeen Hall of Famers), hear
never-before-told stories from the fighters who helped build the
sport to what it is today.
This innovative book makes the benefits of Tai Chi directly
available to Westerners by communicating its essence in poetic,
evocative, and humorous images that apply not only to movement
practices of all kinds but to daily life. The book does not assume
any knowledge of Tai Chi forms. The images in this book - drawn
from a wide variety of sources, both Chinese and Western, ancient
and modern - are easy to understand, fun to work with, and embody
the true inner spirit of Tai Chi's timeless tradition. The book
contains hundreds of photos and line drawings illustrating the
images, detailed explanations of the biomechanical realities that
underlie the images, and a summary of the latest scientific
research on the benefits of Tai Chi.
Karate: The Art of "Empty-Hand" Fighting is the definitive guide to
Shotokan Karate--the most widely practiced style of Karate--and has
inspired millions of Karate practitioners worldwide. Authored by
one of the great masters of the art, Hidetaka Nishiyama, this book
is a classic, groundbreaking work on the sport of Karate, and one
of the first published in English. An Olympic sport, Karate is
today practiced by over 100 million people worldwide. Nishiyama
began his training under the instruction of Gichin Funakoshi, the
legendary founder of Shotokan Karate. He helped establish the Japan
Karate Association and, as head of the JKA's instructors training
program, was instrumental in bringing Karate to the U.S. and other
Western countries. When he arrived, he proceeded to train the first
great generation of Karate instructors spawning a whole new
generation of martial artists. Highly accessible and richly
illustrated with over 1,000 photographs, this book is a
comprehensive manual with step-by-step instructions to all the
basic movements and techniques of Karate. Topics covered include: A
brief history of Karate Theories and principles of the martial art
Effective training and exercise methods Karate techniques including
stances, blocks and attacks Defenses against weapons With a new
foreword by Ray Dalke, who trained under Nishiyama and, at 8th Dan,
is the highest ranking American in Shotokan Karate, Karate: The Art
of "Empty-Hand" Fighting provides analyses from the standpoint of
physics, physiology, philosophy, and body dynamics. The book's
techniques apply to all styles of the martial art and is a valuable
reference for any Karateka--stressing Nishiyama's lesson that
mastery of the basics is not the end but merely the beginning of a
lifelong journey.
Grappling (wrestling) is probably the oldest genre of combat known
to man. Throughout the world, wrestling and grappling have been
part of every culture, probably due to the fact that pulling,
holding, lifting and carrying are far more natural to us as living
and working human beings than punching and striking. This manual
takes the reader step by step through the moves and techniques
required to become competent in the grappling arts. These moves can
be used to compliment other forms of martial arts, or used alone in
close-range self defence. Topics covered include beating kickers
and punchers, history of grappling, training equipment, safety in
practice, vertical grappling, groundwork, joint locks, throws,
stance and grips.
Accidental Olympian is the uplifting story of a judo athlete who
wasn't afraid to dream big. Colin Oates trained in the wilds of
Norfolk, at a village hall club run by his father. Entering the
Olympics seemed an impossible dream, but Oates defied the odds to
qualify for and compete at two Olympic Games. The boy born in
Harold Wood, Essex, battled not only local prejudices within the
judo fraternity but took on and beat many of the world's top
players. Under the coaching and guidance of his father, Oates
travelled the globe to fight in places he'd never heard of.
Discover how Oates, supported by a judo-crazy family, smashed his
way to being the British number-one under-66kg player for nearly a
decade before qualifying for the Olympics. At London 2012, Oates
defeated an ex-world champion and was only stopped by the eventual
gold medallist. At Rio 2016, he faced the heartbreak of an early
exit but was soon appointed a Great Britain elite coach. This is a
genuine David and Goliath story where the underdog comes out on
top.
|
The Book of Five Rings
(Hardcover)
Miyamoto Musashi; Translated by William Scott Wilson; Illustrated by Shiro Tsujimura
|
R482
R398
Discovery Miles 3 980
Save R84 (17%)
|
Ships in 12 - 17 working days
|
|
When the undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi retreated to a cave in
1643 and wrote "The Book of Five Rings," a manifesto on
swordsmanship, strategy, and winning for his students and
generations of samurai to come, he created one of the most
perceptive and incisive texts on strategic thinking ever to come
from Asia.
Musashi gives timeless advice on defeating an adversary, throwing
an opponent off-guard, creating confusion, and other techniques for
overpowering an assailant that will resonate with both martial
artists and everyone else interested in skillfully dealing with
conflict. For Musashi, the way of the martial arts was a mastery of
the mind rather than simply technical prowess--and it is this path
to mastery that is the core teaching in "The Book of Five Rings."
William Scott Wilson's translation is faithful to the original
seventeenth-century Japanese text while being wonderfully clear and
readable. His scholarship and insight into the deep meaning of this
classic are evident in his introduction and notes to the text. This
edition also includes a translation of one of Musashi's earlier
writings, "The Way of Walking Alone," and calligraphy by Japanese
artist Shiro Tsujimura.
A fast and powerful style that excels in throwing and ground
fighting Sambo is considered one of the most effective, technically
diverse, and dynamic modern sport fighting styles ever devised.
Developed in the Soviet Union and based on Kodokan Judo and
wrestling, sambo emphasizes utility over aesthetics. The end result
is a fast paced and powerful system that excels in both throwing
and ground fighting. This book offers a serious, technical look at
the Russian martial sport that has changed the way the martial arts
world looks at grappling. Our emphasis will be a systematic
approach, presenting skills based on their function and utility in
actual sport fighting. Sambo places emphasis on fast-paced,
powerful and functional throwing techniques, and equally
fast-paced, powerful and functional ground fighting techniques.
Using fundamentally sound skills performed by a motivated and
well-conditioned athlete, who has molded what he knows to work for
him with a high ratio of success, is hard to beat. Contents include
The essentials of sambo Throwing techniques Leg, ankle, and hip
locks Armlocks Holds and breakdowns Over 1200 instructional
photographs "The skills presented in this book have all passed the
tests of time and competition. Everything presented has been used
successfully at all levels of competitive sambo." -Steve Scott
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Winner of the 2018 PEN/ESPN Award for
Literary Sports Writing Winner of The Times Sports Biography of the
Year The definitive biography of an American icon, from a
best-selling author with unique access to Ali's inner circle. "As
Muhammad Ali's life was an epic of a life so Ali: A Life is an epic
of a biography . . . for pages in succession its narrative reads
like a novel--a suspenseful novel with a cast of vivid characters."
-- Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review Muhammad Ali was
born Cassius Clay in racially segregated Louisville, Kentucky, the
son of a sign painter and a housekeeper. He went on to become a
heavyweight boxer with a dazzling mix of power and speed, a warrior
for racial pride, a comedian, a preacher, a poet, a draft resister,
an actor, and a lover. Millions hated him when he changed his
religion, changed his name, and refused to fight in the Vietnam
War. He fought his way back, winning hearts, but at great cost.
Jonathan Eig, hailed by Ken Burns as one of America's master
storytellers, sheds important new light on Ali's politics,
religion, personal life, and neurological condition through
unprecedented access to all the key people in Ali's life, more than
500 interviews and thousands of pages of previously unreleased FBI
and Justice Department files and audiotaped interviews from the
1960s. Ali: A Life is a story about America, about race, about a
brutal sport, and about a courageous man who shook up the world.
Unauthorized. Unrestricted. No holds barred. In We Promised You a
Great Main Event, longtime sports journalist Bill Hanstock pulls
back the curtain to give a smart fan's account of WWE and Vince
McMahon's journey to the top. Untangling the truth behind the
official WWE storyline, Hanstock does a deep dive into key moments
of the company's history, from the behind-the-scenes drama at the
Montreal Screwjob, to the company's handling of the Jimmy Snuka
scandal, to the real story of the Monday Night Wars. WWE is an
extraordinary business success and an underappreciated pop cultural
phenomenon. While WWE soared to prominence during the Hulk Hogan
years, as the stakes grew more and more extreme, wrestlers faced
steroid scandals and assault allegations. The whole story is here,
good, bad, and ugly, from the heights of iconic cultural moments
like Wrestlemania III to the arrival of global superstars like The
Rock and John Cena. We Promised You a Great Main Event is an
exhaustive, fun account of the McMahon family and WWE's
unprecedented rise. Drawing on a decade of covering wrestling, Bill
Hanstock synthesizes insights from historians, journalists, and
industry insiders with his own deep research to produce the most
up-to-date, entertaining history of WWE available. Full of amazing
characters and astonishing stories from the ring to corporate
boardrooms, it is a story as audacious as any WWE spectacle.
Bartley Gorman was a legend in the brutal world of illegal
prize-fighting, and this long-awaited auto-biography, with many
unique photographs, lifts the lid on a secret sub-culture.
Learn how to target the weaknesses of an attacker and effectively
exploit them in order to defend yourself. The 36 Deadly Bubishi
Points gives detailed explanations on how the pressure points of
traditional Chinese medicine found in the Bubishi, the venerable
"Bible of Karate," are used in attacking an opponent and how to
defend yourself against such attacks. This book closely examines
these vital points and the science behind them. While much has been
written about the vital points and their medicinal importance,
thanks to the popularity of practices such as acupuncture, martial
research on the subject has been lacking. Cardwell discusses the
vital points from the perspective of an experienced martial
artist--including how the body's vital points are related to the 8
extraordinary vessels and 12 meridians which circulate energy
throughout the body. Through detailed step-by-step instructions and
over 96 photographs and illustrations, The 36 Deadly Bubishi Points
shows how this knowledge can be employed in self-defense. Respond
to an attacker by employing these ancient methods in modern,
violent situations.
|
|