Combat Sports Books

Combative sports, like boxing and the martial arts, have been a mainstay of competitive athletics throughout the history of mankind. While these sports are controversial in nature, the athletic endeavours of boxing and mixed martial arts have become multi-billion dollar industries enjoyed by million...

Features of this work include: a comprehensive guide to the most popular martial arts: kung fu, tae kwondo, tai chi, kendo, iaido and shinto ryu; clear step-by-step techniques and specialist advice, explained and taught by qualified experts; over 350 colour photographs demonstrate exercises and move...

Does your mind wander all over the place? Does your body fidget when you try to practice Standing? In CD-1, Lineage Master Bruce Frantzis helps you focus on correcting your body alignments and releasing negative emotions. Standing is the foundation of Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body chi gung/q...

Brian Gray, one of the world's foremost authorities on iron palm philosophy and technique, takes you through every phase of this method. Learn conditioning techniques, breathing exercises and actual iron palm strikes. He'll also show you how to tell the difference between the legitimate iron palm pr...

Meet Dave Hazard; world class martial artist. A 7th dan black belt in Shotokan karate, he's as respected in the tough streets, bars and clubs of the East End of London as he is in the best karate dojo in Japan. His reputation is legendary. He's faced down many tough challenges as a street fighter b...

Breathing can transform your life and make you a healthier, more relaxed human being. Dr. Bruce Frantzis has developed a Longevity Breathing program from traditional Taoist breathing methods to help you improve lung capacity, massage your internal organs, and relax your nerves with each breath. Prog...

The author is an acknowledged historian on the American approach to the martial arts and he spends time covering the development of the arts of karate and tae kwon do (the two most popular styles) in the United States. He includes biographies of some of the most famous figures in American karate. Th...

At the pinnacle of his boxing career during the 1960s and early 1970s, Muhammad Ali seemed to be a cultural symbol of the times. He has been viewed by some as a hero and by others as a rebel, but either way he is arguably the most famous American in the world. This worldly admiration was perhaps bes...

The goals of the budo - the martial arts and ways of Japan - lie in refining the body and spirit. These goals are not always the obvious ones and are learned only through the guidance and direction of great teachers. The techniques, methods and rituals of the sensei can serve as guides to a well-liv...

A complete reference for all levels of Qigong practice. Qigong, the study and use of Qi, promotes longevity, health, and spiritual development.

Fully described and illustrated in this volume are the widely practiced Bassal and Kanku kata from the JFA recommended group. The student learns fast and slow techniques, the dynamics of strength, how to turn weakness into strength, changing directions, jumping and going to ground.

Kendo - the Way of the Sword - is one of the oldest of Japan's martial arts and the one most closely associated with the samurai. Kendo: The Definitive Guide is the first book in English to provide a practical and truly comprehensive approach to the subject. Everything that the novice needs to know,...

The three kata in this volume are on the Japan Karate Association recommended list and are notable for the sticklike use of the arms-Jitte, the circular movements of hands and feet coordinated with breathing-Hangetsu, and easy, agile movements, combined into continuous techniques-Empi.

Sugar Ray Leonard is quite simply one of the greatest fighters of the last fifty years. An artist and a showman he was always willing to take the difficult fight: his gruelling encounters with Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler have become legendary. Ruthlessly honest and inspiring, Ray'...

"Crowood Sports Guides" provide sound, practical advice that will make you a better sportsperson, whether you are learning the basic skills, discovering more advanced techniques or reviewing the fundamentals of your sport.Author BiographyAndrew Sowerby started fencing in 1982 and went on to win a nu...

Boxing lost a true warrior and gentleman of the ring when the mayor of Managua, Nicaragua, Alexis Arguello, died in 2009. To millions in Nicaragua and around the world, Arguello was an iconic figure, a willing role model, and a shining light in a nation that places its sports figures on pedestals. B...

When Sir Henry Cooper died in May this year the depth of affection in the tributes that filled the press were a testament to his remarkable popularity. Put simply, Henry Cooper was the nation's favourite boxer; a gentleman and a great sportsman of whom Muhammed Ali - who Cooper famously floored in 1...

Treasured for centuries by karate's top masters, "Bubishi" is a classic Chinese work on philosophy, strategy, medicine and technique as they relate to the martial arts. Referred to as 'the bible of karate' by the famous master Chojun Miyagi, for hundreds of years the "Bubishi" was a secret text pass...

Sun Tzu wrote this classic text more than 2,000 years ago. It continues to influence generals and others in the military, but its applications to the martial artist, or the businessperson, or anyone who needs to manage people, achieve objectives, and risk defeat while attempting victory, will find i...

Author Travis Paul, originally born in Linden, Guyana, takes us into the sometimes dangerous world of street fighting. This is a book of martial arts real life application. The author has developed his own martial arts after 28 years of not being able to afford martial arts school but having to surv...

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfectionssuch as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally import...

Journey to Feel like a Man is different than most books about sports because it examines the effort and the struggle that goes on within the athlete, rather than the result that comes out. The book describes extraordinary inner experiences, actually experienced by the author, resulting from intense ...

Explosive Muay Thai: Beyond the Basics builds on your basic Muay Thai knowledge to integrate the physical techniques, mental attitude and philosophy of Muay Thai training into a disciplined, progressive approach to training. The book opens with a discussion of how traditional Muay Thai philosophy an...

In this guide, author John Hennessy presents a concise, to-the-point volume on martial arts written from the perspective of prospective students to help make sense of complicated routines that remained reserved for senior martial arts students. The Essence of Martial Arts is an easy-to-read instruct...

In this guide, author John Hennessy presents a concise, to-the-point volume on martial arts written from the perspective of prospective students to help make sense of complicated routines that remained reserved for senior martial arts students. The Essence of Martial Arts is an easy-to-read instruct...

This book describes how Kenpo Karate was brought to Ireland from America by John McSweeney. One of his pupils was Tommy Jordan who Kenpo Karate to Dun Laoghaire. It describes national and international competitions and shows how many people made the grade and how the art of Kenpo has evolved to what...

This book is an interdisciplinary cultural examination of twenty-first century boxing as a professional sport, a bodily labor, a lucrative business, a popular entertainment, and an instrument of ideology. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews conducted with Latino boxers, women boxers, and ...

A Colorado native, Shauna Hyde grew up with three brothers, no sisters, and a father who was a pastor of a local community church. She was taught that women married for life and no woman she knew was a pastor. This 'normal' crashed around her when her first husband left her with a newborn baby to ra...

The definitive book (The Ring) on one of the greatest sports events of the twentieth century, the heavyweight championship bout between America 's Brown Bomber, Joe Louis, and Germany 's Max Schmeling. More than the world heavyweight championship was at stake when Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling on J...

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is an emergent sport where competitors in a ring or cage utilize strikes (punches, kicks, elbows and knees) as well as submission techniques to defeat opponents. This book explores the carnal experience of fighting through a sensory ethnography of MMA, and how it transgresse...

A rare, definitive look at the traditional martial art of the Okinawan island, from a journalist allowed unprecedented access to the masters of the art.

Former US Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell's story of survival is well known. In his bestseller, Marcus tells the story of Operation Redwing, a mission in the mountains of Afghanistan that left him as the only living member of his team. But one part of Marcus's remarkable story has remained untold until no...

The kukri is one of the oldest combat/utility knives in existence today. Recognized as the national weapon of Nepal, the kukri has been associated with the British Army's fearsome Gurkha brigades since their creation. The unique downward slope of the blade gives the kukri its distinctive look and re...

Journalist and amateur boxer Mischa Merz fulfills a long-held ambition to travel across the United States and compete in a series of amateur boxing tournaments. On this wild and fascinating journey she meets her idols, including Lucia Rijker of Million Dollar Baby fame, and some other truly extraord...