New Combat Sports Books

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...

In "Warrior Cardio", world-renowned fitness expert Martin Rooney delivers the solution for what most people at the gym are seeking: an easy-to-follow workout and diet plan that burns fat and builds muscle in less time. This is a comprehensive look at cardiovascular training using scientifically prov...

The fast and easy way to pin down the sport of wrestling Wrestling is a fast-paced sport with many technicalities, rules, and ways to score points--making it difficult for spectators to follow the score and understand whistles and restarts. In Wrestling For Dummies, author and 2008 Olympic Gold meda...

Henry Cooper is best remembered for the night he nearly changed boxing history - 19 July 1963. Fighting an up-and-coming boxer by the name of Cassius Clay, later to become Muhammad Ali, his famous left hook (known as 'Henry's Hammer') sent Clay crashing onto the canvas. Arguably Britain's greatest e...

Living and dying with bravery and honor is at the heart of "Hagakure," a series of texts written by an eighteenth-century samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo. It is a window into the samurai mind, illuminating the concept of "bushido" (the Way of the Warrior), which dictated how samurai were expected to beh...

With the success of the critically-acclaimed, Academy Award-winning film "The Fighter," the world stood up and cheered for the inspiring true story of Micky Ward--a heart-and-soul warrior who overcame the odds to make history in the ring. But that was only part of the tale... Now, in his own words, ...

A thorough introduction to this wildly popular combat sport--in FULL COLOR! Mixed martial arts, or MMA, is a combat sport that combines practices from several martial arts, including boxing, wrestling, karate, jiu jitsu, muay thai, and judo. Featuring more than 150 step-by-step, full-color photos i...

This is your guide to the principles and the science behind the art. John A Douvillier takes you beyond the traditional movements of the classical Wing Chun forms, to the concepts that make the tools and techniques of the forms work. Knowing why you do what you do is essential in combat. The book in...

This is a complete guide to the art of Capoeira. Author, capoeira instructor and professional artist Dimitris Papadopoulos has created an in-depth study of the techniques and skills of Capoeira, illustrated by over 4000 individual sketches of more than 500 movements. The book begins with a complete ...

Whether opening saloons, raising cattle, or promoting sporting events, George Lewis "Tex" Rickard (1870-1929) possessed a drive to be the best. After an early career as a cowboy and Texas sheriff, Rickard pioneered the largest ranch in South America, built a series of profitable saloons in the Klond...

One woman moves to New York and falls in love . . . with a violent sport. Published to coincide with the first Olympic event for women's boxing, "The Boxer's Heart "is a brilliantly candid memoir of the world of women's boxing, now updated and with a new afterword. Written in raw and vivid style, it...

Shooters tells the stories of athletes like Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley, men who have lived their lives on the border between 'works' and 'shoots', between the routines of the professional wrestling circuit and the legitimate confrontations that made their reputations. From catch wrestling master...

Upon first consideration, sport and art seem to occupy separate, even opposing, realms--sport, associated with physical prowess, and art, with the highest reaches of the human mind. But because sport is such a powerful metaphor for so many human experiences, it has found its way into artistic tradit...

Born into extreme poverty in 1914, Jersey Joe Walcott began boxing at the age of 16 to help feed his hungry family. After ten years' boxing, without proper training and with little to show for his efforts beyond some frightful beatings, Walcott quit the ring. A chance meeting with a local fight prom...

In his day, Jack Johnson - born in Texas, the son of former slaves - was the most famous black man on the planet. As the first African American World Heavyweight Champion (1908-1915), he publicly challenged white supremacy at home and abroad, enjoying the same audacious lifestyle of conspicuous cons...

Written by legendary Japanese swordsman Musashi Miyamoto, The Five Rings (c.1645) is a brilliant exposition of the struggle for mastery. Combining swordfighting techniques with Zen philosophy, this classic Bushido text - devoted to achieving success through strategy and tactics - is as relevant ...

Definitive and compulsively-readable--an illustrated guide to the use of contemporary knives by long-time "Blade "columnist and master weaponsmith, Hank Reinhardt. Deadlier than the club, more ubiquitous than the sword, the knife is the universal edged weapon of all humankind. As our society has gro...

The name 'Samurai' is synonymous with the ultimate warrior. With their elaborate armour, fierce swordsmanship and code of honour, the samurai have become iconic figures whose influence can still be felt today. From Kurosawa's epic "Seven Samurai" to the figure of Darth Vader in "Star Wars", to Manga...

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...

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

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...

Every child of the 80s who watched wrestling remembers the good old days of larger than life superstars in unintentional cheesy promos. Every wrestling fan of the 90s thinks back to a golden era of grappling where two companies battled and no matter the outcome, the audience always won. Nowadays, w...

During the early years of the 20th century, San Francisco promoters served up boxing's grandest spectacles, with the most compelling matches coming in the lightweight division. On February 22, 1910, a crowd of more than 15,000 braved chilly, rainy conditions to witness one such match, pitting lightw...

From the shadowy catacombs of the New Russia to the glitzy Casinos of Las Vegas, from the beaches of Rio de Janeiro to the top of the Chinese Wall, Donovan Craig's adventures have taken him around the world in search of the beating heart of the world's most exciting sport: Mixed Martial Arts. Whethe...

The no holds barred autobiography of Britain's super-middleweight world boxing champion. Carl Froch, known as 'the Cobra', was brought up tough on a Nottingham housing estate. His dad encouraged him to start boxing at just nine years old, thinking it would keep him out of trouble. He was obviously t...

New Zealand's place in world boxing is a surprisingly prominent one. From the 1800s to the second decade of the new millennium, New Zealand boxers have made a mark on the national and international stages. From the days of Bob Fitzsimmons and Torpedo Billy Murphy through to David Tua's quest for a w...

The mind-manipulation methods used ruthlessly by Asian masters to control their cults and underground societies have long been shrouded in myth, rumour and impenetrable vows of secrecy - until now. In The Sinister Mind, readers will reap the fruits of Dr. Lung's long and arduous quest for the real t...

Boxing has long been a popular fixture of American sport and culture, despite its decidedly seedy side (the fact that numerous boxing champions acquired their skills in prison or reform schools, the corruption and greed of certain boxing promoters, and the involvement of the mob in fixing the outcom...

Capoeira, an original Afro-Brazilian discipline, is not so easily defined due to its numerous facets, as a deadly martial art, an exotic dancing discipline, inspired by an ancient far-away culture. Nearly four hundred years of slave trade brought to Brazil an envyingly cultural heritage, composed of...

Everything You Need to Know about America's Hottest Blades! Tactical knives are the fast-growing field in American bladesmithing. Now, in one groundbreaking volume, tactical knife expert James Ayres shares more than four decades of real-world experience with purpose-designed knives. You'll find it a...

This title offers a unique insight into T'ai Chi as a philosophy, a discipline, a martial art and a source of spiritual and physical well-being. A series of essays by a T'ai Chi master who has practised the art for some 40 years and taught it to others, both to those in need of therapeutic help and ...

Most books on karate usually do not provide complete, detailed instructions and illustrations-the fundamentals plus the fine points-that readers hope for. This book fills the gaps left by others. The late Master Masatoshi Nakayama, chief instructor of the Japan Karate Association, left this book as ...