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

Professional Wrestling and the Commercial Stage examines professional wrestling as a century-old, theatrical form that spans from its local places of performance to circulate as a popular, global product. Professional wrestling has all the trappings of sport, but is, at its core, a theatrical event. This book acknowledges that professional wrestling shares many theatrical elements such as plot, character, scenic design, props, and spectacle. By assessing professional wrestling as a neglected but prototypical case study in the global business of theatre, Laine argues that it is an exemplary form of globalizing, commercial theatre. He asks what theatre scholars might learn from pro wrestling and how pro wrestling might contribute to conversations beyond the ring, by considering the laboring bodies of the wrestlers, and analyzing wrestling's form and content. Of interest to scholars and students of theatre and performance, cultural studies, and sports studies, Professional Wrestling and the Commercial Stage delimits the edges of wrestling's theatrical frame, critiques established understandings of corporate theatre, and offers key wrestling concepts as models for future study in other fields.

The exciting no-holds-barred autobiography of former WCW president and current WWE Raw General Manager, Eric Bishoff--the only person who was able to beat Vince McMahon and the WWE at their own game. Eric Bischoff has been called pro wrestling's most hated man. Booed, reviled, and burned in effigy, he's been struck by everything from beer bottles to fists. Though industry critics have scorned his spectacular rise and fall at World Championship Wrestling, Bischoff's influence still resonates. For years, Bischoff kept quiet while industry pundits distorted the truth about the infamous Monday Night Wars, basing their accounts on rumors and innuendo. Finally, Bischoff tells what really happened. Beginning with his days as a salesman for the American Wrestling Association, Bischoff exposes the industry's inner workings, from the real numbers behind WCW's red ink to the devastating impact of the corporate mergers. Among his revelations: How WCW became a national brand and revolutionized the industry. How Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, and Steve Austin shaped WCW, and how corporate politics killed it. And how he found his inner heel and learned to love being the guy everyone loves to despise. Reflecting on his childhood, his family, and the pressures of notoriety, Bischoff tells how he found contentment after being unceremoniously sent home. Love him or hate him, readers will never look at pro wrestling the same way again after reading Eric Bischoff's story in Controversy Creates Cash.

Physiology and Nutrition for Amateur Wrestling is essential reading for amateur wrestlers and their coaches with a desire to learn about physiological training and nutrition for their sport. Written by Charles Paul Lambert, PhD, a competitive wrestler and academic expert in high-intensity exercise, this book describes the primary physiological systems involved in amateur wrestling. Readers will learn how to substantially optimize performance and discover ways to improve body composition specific to the sport of amateur wrestling. The book addresses important issues, including relative energy deficiency in sport, debates around weight loss, the specificities of training and nutrition for female wrestlers, as well as strategies on keeping fit in the years after a competitive career. Features: Discusses strategies for monitoring overall training load to prevent overtraining and optimize training Includes optimal nutritional fueling plans for wrestlers written by a Certified Coach with USA Wrestling and compares different dietary approaches to losing weight and fat Provides optimal rehydration and refueling plans based on situational needs in the post-weigh-in period Both scientific and practical, Physiology and Nutrition for Amateur Wrestling will appeal to wrestlers, high-school and college coaches, and those working in applied physiology research and exercise science.

Physiology and Nutrition for Amateur Wrestling is essential reading for amateur wrestlers and their coaches with a desire to learn about physiological training and nutrition for their sport. Written by Charles Paul Lambert, PhD, a competitive wrestler and academic expert in high-intensity exercise, this book describes the primary physiological systems involved in amateur wrestling. Readers will learn how to substantially optimize performance and discover ways to improve body composition specific to the sport of amateur wrestling. The book addresses important issues, including relative energy deficiency in sport, debates around weight loss, the specificities of training and nutrition for female wrestlers, as well as strategies on keeping fit in the years after a competitive career. Features: Discusses strategies for monitoring overall training load to prevent overtraining and optimize training Includes optimal nutritional fueling plans for wrestlers written by a Certified Coach with USA Wrestling and compares different dietary approaches to losing weight and fat Provides optimal rehydration and refueling plans based on situational needs in the post-weigh-in period Both scientific and practical, Physiology and Nutrition for Amateur Wrestling will appeal to wrestlers, high-school and college coaches, and those working in applied physiology research and exercise science.

At the intersection of sport, entertainment and performance, wrestling occupies a unique position in British popular culture. This is the first book to offer a detailed historical and cultural analysis of British professional wrestling, exploring the shifting popularity of the sport as well as its wider social significance. Arguing that the history of professional wrestling can help us understand key themes in sport, culture and performance that span the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it addresses topics such as: attitudes towards violence, representations of masculinity, the media and celebrity culture, consumerism and globalisation. By drawing on a variety of intellectual traditions and disciplines, the book explores the role of power in the development of popular cultural forms, the ways in which history structures the present, and the manner in which audiences construct identity and meaning through sport. Wrestling in Britain: Sporting Entertainments, Celebrity and Audiences is fascinating reading for all students and researchers with an interest in media and cultural studies, histories and sociologies of sport, or performance studies.

Professional wrestling revels in its exaggeration of masculinity. This hyper-masculinity is evident in the physical appearance of wrestlers, the sexuality-charged and violent moves used in and out of the ring, the role assigned to women and the extensive use of weapons such as chains, barbed wire and steel folding chairs. This study explores the link between watching televised wrestling matches and increases in verbal aggression, rebellion and propensity toward violence and retaliation. Wrestling is placed within the larger context of popular culture and other hyper-masculine entertainment. The book begins with a brief history of professional wrestling, a summary of the criticisms of the sport, and a discussion of the author's research methods. One chapter discusses how gender socialization plays a part in the effects of wrestling on its viewers, arguing that wrestling goes beyond the image of physically violent acts to models of interpersonal behavior. The expansion of wrestling into storylines outside the ring includes problem situations involving class, race, homophobia and nationality, to which violence is often presented as a solution. The book concludes with an investigation of the attractiveness of wrestling and its ability to lure fans back year after year.

Performance and Professional Wrestling is the first edited volume to consider professional wrestling explicitly from the vantage point of theatre and performance studies. Moving beyond simply noting its performative qualities or reading it via other performance genres, this collection of essays offers a complete critical reassessment of the popular sport. Topics such as the suspension of disbelief, simulation, silence and speech, physical culture, and the performance of pain within the squared circle are explored in relation to professional wrestling, with work by both scholars and practitioners grouped into seven short sections: Audience Circulation Lucha Gender Queerness Bodies Race A significant re-reading of wrestling as a performing art, Performance and Professional Wrestling makes essential reading for scholars and students intrigued by this uniquely theatrical sport.

Performance and Professional Wrestling is the first edited volume to consider professional wrestling explicitly from the vantage point of theatre and performance studies. Moving beyond simply noting its performative qualities or reading it via other performance genres, this collection of essays offers a complete critical reassessment of the popular sport. Topics such as the suspension of disbelief, simulation, silence and speech, physical culture, and the performance of pain within the squared circle are explored in relation to professional wrestling, with work by both scholars and practitioners grouped into seven short sections: Audience Circulation Lucha Gender Queerness Bodies Race A significant re-reading of wrestling as a performing art, Performance and Professional Wrestling makes essential reading for scholars and students intrigued by this uniquely theatrical sport.

Despite its status as one of the oldest and most enduringly popular sports in history, wrestling has been pushed to the background of the current American sports scene. Most people today would have a hard time even considering wrestling (with some of its modern theatrics) in the same terms as track and field or boxing. But until the 1920s, wrestling stood as a legitimate professional sport in this country, and a widely practiced amateur one as well. Its past respectability may not have endured, but the advent of cable television in the 1980s offered the sport a renewed opportunity to play a determining role in American popular culture. This opportunity was not wasted, and wrestlers now assume places in politics and film at the highest levels. Ringside, the first work to fully examine the history of professional wrestling in this country, provides an illuminating and colorful account of all of the various athletes, entertainers, businessmen, and national outlooks that have determined wrestling's erratic route through American history. This chronological work begins with a brief account of wrestling's global history, and then proceeds to investigate the sport's growth as a specifically American institution. Wrestling has continued to survive in the face of technological developments, scandals, public ridicule, and a lack of centralized control, and today this supremely adaptable entertainment form represents, in sum, an international industry capable of attracting enormous television and pay-per-view audiences, along with massive amounts of advertising and merchandizing revenue. Ringside focuses on the business of wrestling as well as on the performers and their in-ring antics, and offersreaders a fully nuanced examination of the development of professional wrestling in America.

San Shou Kuai Jiao (Fast Wrestling for Fighting) is the Chinese martial art of throws and takedowns. A San Shou Kuai Jiao throw can cause tremendous damage to your opponent while keeping you safely on your feet. For centuries, fighters in China have valued this art for its speed and power. Today, China's police and military forces are trained in its techniques. Chinese Fast Wrestling for Fighting presents seventy-five throws and takedowns against punches, kicks, and grabs, and demonstrates basic training methods such as stances, footwork, and strength training. Written by a gold medal winner in Chinese wrestling (Liang), this book is a complete training guide to this powerful martial art. * Throw your opponent to the ground - fast!* Effective for competition and self-defense.*460 action photos detail every technique.* Includes a chapter on ground fighting.

Mick Foley is a nice man, a family man who loves amusement parks and eating ice cream in bed. So how to explain those Japanese death matches in rings with explosives, golden thumbtacks and barbed wire instead of rope? The second-degree burn tissue? And the missing ear that was ripped off during a bout-in which he kept fighting? Here is an intimate glimpse into Mick Foley's mind, his history, his work and what some might call his pathology. Now with a bonus chapter summarizing the past 15 months-from his experience as a bestselling author through his parting thoughts before his final match. A tale of blood, sweat, tears and more blood-all in his own words-straight from the twisted genius behind Cactus Jack, Dude Love, and Mankind.

The controversial story of Chris Jericho, the former undisputed Heavyweight Champion of WWE. From the age of eight, Chris dreamed of becoming a wrestler. But it wasn't until he was 25 that he hit the big time. Nicknamed 'Lion Heart', Chris eventually attained his ultimate goal - joining the WWF (now WWE). He became one of their biggest stars, even defeating wrestling powerhouses The Rock and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin in the same night to be crowned the undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Now Chris dishes the dirt on his rivalries with other wrestling legends. Whether ripped-off by promoters, robbed at gunpoint or nearly paralysed after landing on his head during a match, Chris maintained his courage, determination and sense of humour about this dangerous and enthralling sport.

Professional wrestling possesses a global appeal across national, regional, racial, and gender boundaries. The essays collected in this volume represent the most diverse array of topics and contributors ever assembled for the academic study of pro wrestling. Utilizing a wide variety of academic disciplines, including communications, literary studies, history, kinesiology, psychology the eighteen contributors deal with various issues of national, regional, and gender identity in pro wrestling, from the construction of a positive Iranian identity in the wake of the Iran hostage crisis, to fan culture clashes between wrestling and MMA fans, to Brazilian and French authorities' efforts to regulate the sport at the turn of the twentieth century, among many others. This volume is an important contribution to the growing body of academic literature on professional wrestling, especially on the issues of national, regional, racial, and gender identity.

Somewhere beyond the circle of money, glitz, drugs, and controversy that characterizes professional sports in America, remnants of an ideal exist. In Iowa, that ideal survives in the form of high school wrestling.

Each a three-time state champion, Jay Borschel and Dan LeClere have a chance in their senior year to join the sport's most elite group: the "four-timers," wrestlers who win four consecutive state titles. For Jay, a ferocious competitor who feeds off criticism and doubt, a victory would mean vindication over the great mass of skeptics waiting for him to fail. For Dan, who carries on his back the burdens of his tiny farming community, the dreams of his hard-driving coach and father, and his own personal demons, another title is the only acceptable outcome.

"Four Days to Glory" is the story of America as told through its small towns and their connection to sport the way it was once routinely perceived: as a means of mattering to the folks next door.

Wrestling as a legitimate contest is one of the oldest, if not the oldest form of sport. There are cave drawings in France that depict memorable matches, which are over 15,000 years old. Egyptian and Babylonian reliefs depict wrestling bouts where wrestlers are using most of the holds known to the modern-day sport. Wrestling was also a big part of ancient Greek literature and legend and historical records of sport indicate that wrestling under various sets of rules was contested at the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece. Today's modern wrestling is a form of "sports entertainment" in which highly skilled athletes enact wrestling matches in such a way so that their opponents do not get hurt and the matches' endings are scripted (although the audience is not aware of the script). This Historical Dictionary of Wrestling covers the history of Wrestling through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on important amateur and professional wrestling, wrestling personalities, announcers, managers and promoters from all eras, and wrestling organizations. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of Wrestling.

Dynamite and Davey: The Explosive Lives of The British Bulldogs is the triumphant but ultimately tragic story of Tom Billington and Davey Boy Smith. Cousins born just a couple of years apart in a small mining town near Wigan, Tom and Davey discovered the art of wrestling as schoolboys. Tom went on to become 'The Dynamite Kid', arguably the greatest and most pioneering wrestler in history, but his short temper and determination to reach the top of a sport dominated by naturally bigger men would be his undoing. The more reserved Davey became a global superstar, but followed his cousin not just into exceptionalism, but into heavy substance abuse as well. Ultimately, the extraordinarily dysfunctional world of pro wrestling would prove too much for the cousins from Golborne - one proud, one naive. Together they became the best and most influential tag team of their generation. But they could not escape their demons, and their triumphs eventually submitted to their tragedy. Dynamite and Davey is a gripping cautionary tale.

The Judo Advantage explores the dynamics of how and why the human body works most efficiently for throwing, submission, and pinning techniques. Although judo provides the basis for the author's analysis, his insights also relate to other grappling sports such as Russian sambo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and Olympic and collegiate wrestling. Gain a competitive edge using the principles of human biomechanics. Master the ability to control your opponent's movements. Improve fluency for seamless transition between techniques. Generate incredible power and speed. This book features: In-depth analysis of stances, balance breaking, throws, takedowns, transitions, ground fighting, trapping, footwork, combinations, gripping, posting, linear and angular movement, torque, generating power, evading, generating force, changing directions, and stability Over 200 action photos Drills and winning insight for coaches and athletes of grappling arts Steve Scott merges traditional martial wisdom with modern kinesiology, the study of human anatomy and movement. This new biomechanical perspective helps competitors develop every facet of their grappling skill, giving them a clear advantage in controlling opponents.

See the world through the eyes of champion wrestler Mick Foley as he looks back on his days in the WWE. As one of the most bizarre and fearless stars of wrestling in recent times, Mick is known for taking extraordinary risks to remain at the peak of his game. COUNTDOWN TO LOCKDOWN is a no-holds-barred, behind-the-scenes account of his mental and physical preparation for the TNA Lockdown - in many ways, the most important wrestling match of his career. This is placed in context by Foley's memories, thoughts and opinions of WWE as well as his life outside the ring, from the Benoit deaths and the 'Royal Rumble' to Sierra Leone and his meeting with former president, Bill Clinton. Full of action from inside the ring, the drama of his last days with the WWE, Foley's trademark humour as well as an industry insider's view of professional wrestling today, Foley's many fans will not be disappointed.

Conor McGregor is the biggest star in the fight game. The Dubliner has achieved more in three years with the Ultimate Fighting Championship than anyone in the twenty year history of the organization. From an unknown prospect in 2013 to the first man to hold two world titles simultaneously, McGregor's knockout-filled march through the featherweight and then lightweight rankings sent shockwaves through the world. But as effortless as McGregor's heroics have seemed, his journey was far from smooth and his destiny anything but certain. Just another teenager trading martial arts techniques with his friends in a shed, the seemingly delusional boy packed in his plumbing gig - to the massive anxiety of his parents - to chase a pipe dream with little promise of reward. No one could have guessed he would go on to become the biggest pay-per-view attraction in the world. As a technician and tactician inside the cage, McGregor was something special. Outside of the cage McGregor could draw thousands of screaming fans to press events with his wit and presence. And away from the cameras, McGregor's life was built around a love of treating his friends and a loyalty to his teammates and his hometown. This is not another tale about an athlete who was born exceptional and groomed for success. It is about how one young man, through bloody-minded determination and indomitable spirit, came to change the whole game. Fully updated to put his mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather under the microscope, Notorious: The Life and Fights of Conor McGregor explores not just how the fight game changed Conor McGregor, but how Conor McGregor revolutionized the fight game.

This book provides readers with an abundance of information and historical perspective as well as entertaining and memorable anecdotes about professional wrestling. Readers will also learn unusual snippets of trivia that will enhance their comprehension of the sport. This authoritative work on the history and culture of professional wrestling features the biggest names in the wrestling world since the sport emerged on the American sporting landscape. It comprises short biographies of all of the key players in the sport's evolution and rise to popularity-from old-timers to barrier breakers to household names such as Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Andre the Giant, and more-and includes not only men but also many women who have made a name in the sport. Surveying professional wrestling from its roots, dating centuries, to the modern era, pre-20th century and into the 21st century, the work tells the transformational stories of prominent wrestlers and the sport as a whole, in many cases bringing out the humor and outrageousness in the nature of an activity that has always straddled the line between show business and sport. Includes 100 entries featuring wrestlers, promoters, and wrestling facts Surveys the history of wrestling as a sport in historical context Identifies individuals who have revolutionized the sport Invites readers to engage with the information by presenting it as narrative

Brock Lesnar has been, and is one of the most popular - and polarizing - figures in sports and sports entertainment. Whether fans love him or hate him, they never miss an opportunity to watch Brock when he squares off with an opponent. He is a celebrity of the first order, but disdains fame, avoids the media, and remains intensely private. Now, for the first time, Brock tells his incredible story in his own words. Brock relives his long journey to become the best college wrestler in the country, his meteoric rise in World Wrestling Entertainment, and what lead him to walk away from fame and fortune when he was at the top. He talks openly about the accident that derailed his plans to play in the NFL, his professional wrestling comeback in Japan, and his transformation and rebirth as a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. Fans will get an insider's look at Brock's career in the UFC - the training, the competition and what it takes to be, and to remain a champion. Brock will also talk about the illness that nearly killed him, his will to survive, and what he really values and aspires to be. Powerful and real, this remarkable memoir is the story of Brock's determination and domination, and the making of a true champion.