|
Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Combat sports & self-defence
Hailed by critics as a long-overdue portrait of Sugar Ray Robinson,
a man as elusive outside the ring as he was magisterial in it,
Pound by Pound is a lively and nuanced profile of an athlete who is
arguably the best boxer the scene has ever seen. But the same
discipline that Robinson brought to the sport eluded him at home,
leading him to emotionally and physically abuse his family.
Exposing Robinson's flaws as well as putting his career in the
context of his life, this book tells for the first time the full
story of a truly complex man.
Ellis Amdur's writing on martial arts has been groundbreaking. In
Dueling with O-sensei, he challenged practitioners that the moral
dimension of martial arts is expressed in acts of integrity, not
spiritual platitudes and the deification of fantasized
warrior-sages. In Old School, he applied both academic rigor and
keen observation towards some of the classical martial arts of
Japan, leavening his writing with vivid descriptions of many of the
actual practitioners of these wonderful traditions. His first
edition of Hidden in Plain Sight was a discussion of esoteric
training methods once common, but now all but lost within Japanese
martial arts. These methodologies encompassed mental imagery,
breath-work, and a variety of physical techniques, offering the
potential to develop skills and power sometimes viewed as nearly
superhuman. Usually believed to be the provenance of Chinese
martial arts, Amdur asserted that elements of such training still
remain within a few martial traditions: literally, 'hidden in plain
sight.' Two-thirds larger, this second edition is so much more.
Amdur digs deep into the past, showing the complexity of human
strength, its adaptation to varying lifestyles, and the nature of
physical culture pursued for martial ends. Amdur goes into detail
concerning varieties of esoteric power training within martial
arts, culminating in a specific methodology known as 'six
connections' or 'internal strength.' With this discussion as a
baseline, he then discusses the transfer of esoteric power training
from China to various Japanese jujutsu systems as well as Japanese
swordsman-ship emanating from the Kurama traditions. Finally, he
delves into the innovative martial tradition of Daito-ryu and its
most important offshoot, aikido, showing how the mercurial,
complicated figures of Takeda Sokaku and Morihei Ueshiba were less
the embodiment of something new, than a re-imagining of their past.
202 b&w illus.
In "Mikkyo"--Japanese esoteric Buddhism--the dragon Kurikara
symbolizes the internal energy developed through sword practice.
Kurikara is a manifestation of the fierce bodhisattva Fudo Myo O,
the patron of ascetics and warriors in Japan, who uses his sword to
destroy delusions and sever attachments. Fudo's sword represents
the gaining of discriminative power and decisiveness--the ability
to cut through illusion and attachment. This leads to the
development of an inner energy that allows one to "burn up" all
obstacles to spiritual freedom.
"Kurikara: The Sword and the Serpent" sets out the eight basic
principles of swordsmanship common to all Japanese sword schools,
emphasizing the cultivation of power and mental focus. Accomplished
martial artist John Evans provides practical examples from his
experience with the sword arts as well as "Mikkyo" and "shugendo"
(mountain asceticism). The first foreign student to train with
Nakamura Taisaburo sensei--widely acknowledged as the master of the
sword art "battodo"--Evans clearly explains how skill such as
Nakamurua sensei's can be systematically developed through
"tanren," exercises that meld "inner" and "outer" power. Filled
with fascinating anecdotes from Evans's training in Japan,
"Kurikara" is a useful, inspiring guide to Japanese sword practice
and its spiritual underpinnings.
From the former heavyweight champion and New York Times-bestselling
author comes a powerful look at the life and leadership lessons of
Cus D'Amato, the legendary boxing trainer and Mike Tyson's
surrogate father. "[Iron Ambition] spells out D'Amato's techniques
for building a champion from scratch." - Wall Street Journal When
Cus D'Amato first saw thirteen-year-old Mike Tyson spar in the
ring, he proclaimed, "That's the heavyweight champion of the
world." D'Amato, who had previously managed the careers of world
champions Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres, would go on to train the
young Tyson and raise him as a son. D'Amato died a year before
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. In
Tyson's bestselling memoir Undisputed Truth, he recounted the role
D'Amato played in his formative years, adopting him at age sixteen
after his mother died and shaping him both physically and mentally
after Tyson had spent years living in fear and poverty. In Iron
Ambition, Tyson elaborates on the life lessons that D'Amato passed
down to him, and reflects on how the trainer's words of wisdom
continue to resonate with him outside the ring. The book also
chronicles Cus's courageous fight against the mobsters who
controlled boxing, revealing more than we've ever known about this
singular cultural figure.
Andre the Giant is known to millions beyond the boundaries of the
wrestling ring. From his sheer size of 7' 4" and 500 pounds to his
memorable acting role in The Princess Bride, the circumstances of
his life and career ensured him recognition wherever he went. Born
Andre Rousimmof in a small village in France in 1946 (to parents of
average height, as were his four siblings) he suffered from
acromegaly, or giantism, which results in an overabundance of
growth hormones. By the age of seventeen Andre was 6 ' 7", and
continued to grow throughout his life. At the time there was no
treatment and life expectancy for this rare condition was
forty-five. Determined to make the most of his life, Andre looked
for a profession where he could put his size to good use and enjoy
each day as if it were his last. As a wrestler he travelled to
Canada and then to the USA where, under the aegis of Vince McMahon
Sr, he quickly became a superstar, performing to crowds of up to
90,000. Chronicling his life and his phenomenal rise to stardom and
featuring input from many who knew and worked with him, this book
gives readers a unique insight into the man known and loved across
the world as the gentle giant.
Delving into the organized insanity of Incredibly Strange Wrestling
(ISW), this memoir takes a look at the bastard offspring of
post-punk garage rock and masked Mexican wrestling. Fielding a cast
of crazed characters with names like El Homo Loco, Macho
Sasquatcho, and El Pollo Diablo, the show lived up to its name. And
if that wasn't enough, cult bands such as NOFX, The Dickies, and
The Donnas provided the raucous rock and roll in between the
highflying mayhem. ISW emerged from the back alleys and seedy clubs
of San Francisco's South of Market scene to headline the historic
Fillmore and barnstorm North America on the Van's Warped Tour. At
the height of its popularity, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and
Metallica's James Hetfield could be seen tossing tortillas (which
the promoters supplied) at ringside with the rest of the hell
heads, boozehounds, and tattooed party girls.
|
Kellie
(Hardcover)
Kellie Harrington, Roddy Doyle
|
R626
R512
Discovery Miles 5 120
Save R114 (18%)
|
Ships in 9 - 15 working days
|
|
WINNER OF THE AN POST SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022 The
bestselling memoir of an Olympic champion is a knockout gift this
Christmas! After Kellie Harrington won gold at the Tokyo Olympics,
the Irish public recognized her as not merely a sporting hero, but
a deeply inspirational human being. Now, Kellie tells the story of
her unlikely journey to the top, and of the many obstacles and
setbacks she overcame along the way. Growing up in Dublin's north
inner city, Kellie was in danger of going down the wrong path in
life before she discovered boxing. The local boxing club was
all-male and initially wouldn't let her join, but she persisted.
She was not an overnight success. For years she struggled in
international competition. At times she felt unsupported by the
national boxing set-up. More than once she considered giving up the
sport. But some spark of ambition and love for boxing kept her
going, and gradually she made herself world class. Writing with
Roddy Doyle, the award-winning author of The Commitments, Kellie
tells the story of her unlikely rise to greatness and her
continuing dedication to living a normal life - which has involved
remaining an amateur boxer and keeping the job she loves, at a
Dublin psychiatric hospital. She shares vivid and revealing details
about being a woman in a historically male sport, and about how she
manages her body and her mind. It is a vastly inspiring look inside
the life and psychology of a woman who is both brilliantly ordinary
and utterly exceptional. 'Her voice is so radiant' Sunday
Independent 'The full Kellie experience, all heart and laughs and a
mouth like a sailor' Malachy Clerkin 'A terrific collaboration'
Books of the Year, Irish Times
With clear instruction and expert guidance, this fully illustrated
guide to Bagua Zhang teaches all you need to know about this
subtle, powerful martial art. There is no other martial art system
or style, internal or external, which combines so many fighting
techniques in one practice - and expert Master C S Tang provides
lucid, detailed descriptions of the entire training system. Bagua
is divided into several sets of exercises, and this guide begins by
covering the history behind these, and explaining the basic
exercises. It goes on to detail the training in more complex
practices - including circle walking, single palm change, the eight
palm changes, the special weapons of Bagua, and more. Tying into
higher spiritual practices of Daoism, this guide not only covers
the practical applications of Bagua Zhang, but explores the reasons
why it calms the mind, coordinates the body, and develops health.
This is an extravagantly illustrated and engrossing exploration of
the art of medieval fighting. This volume offers an intriguing look
into the world of late medieval martial arts, from wrestling to
swordsmanship and to the subtle tricks that could be employed when
jousting on horseback. Using exceptional pen drawings (with gold
leaf highlights) the book features some of the most interesting
abstracts from Fior di Battaglia (The Flower of Battle), a
manuscript by the renowned Italian fencing master Fiore dei Liberi
depicting the knightly arts of fighting. The copy in the collection
of the J. Paul Getty Museum, created in the early 15th-century, is
the finest and most complete manuscript to survive. Offering
detailed visual documentation of Fiore's techniques coupled with
the author's genius for explaining sophisticated methods of offense
and defence, the manuscript provides a comprehensive record of the
skills by which men lived and died in the Middle Ages.
|
|