A step-by-step aooroiach to applying the Japanese warriors mind set to martial training and daily life.

Late Medieval and Early Modern Fight Books offers insights into the cultural and historical transmission and practices of martial arts, based on the corpus of the Fight Books (Fechtbücher) in 14th- to 17th-century Europe. The first part of the book deals with methodological and specific issues for the studies of this emerging interdisciplinary field of research. The second section offers an overview of the corpus based on geographical areas. The final part offers some relevant case studies. This is the first book proposing a comprehensive state of research and an overview of Historical European Martial Arts Studies. One of its major strengths lies in its association of interdisciplinary scholars with practitioners of martial arts. Contributors are Sydney Anglo, Matthias Johannes Bauer, Eric Burkart, Marco Cavina, Franck Cinato, John Clements, Timothy Dawson, Olivier Dupuis, Bert Gevaert, Dierk Hagedorn, Daniel Jaquet, Rachel E. Kellet, Jens Peter Kleinau, Ken Mondschein, Reinier van Noort, B. Ann Tlusty, Manuel Valle Ortiz, Karin Verelst, and Paul Wagner.

The martial arts novel is one of the most distinctive and widely-read forms of modern Chinese fiction. John Christopher Hamm offers the first in-depth English-language study of this fascinating and influential genre, focusing on the work of its undisputed twentieth-century master, Jin Yong.

For German townsmen, life during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was characterized by a culture of arms, with urban citizenry representing the armed power of the state. This book investigates how men were socialized to the martial ethic from all sides, and how masculine identity was confirmed with blades and guns.

Martial Arts Mayhem is a 64-page modern martial arts supplement for the d20 System, written by Rich Redman--martial artist and co-designer of the original d20 Modern Roleplaying Game from Wizards of the Coast, Inc. In addition to new feats and new martial weapons, the book expands on the d20 System's martial arts feats with two new concepts: martial arts schools and secret techniques. All together, these new rules let players and Gamemasters create martial arts master of any style, from traditional kung fu and ninjutsu to Zen archery and French savate. With these rules, you can even create boxers and flamboyant pro wrestlers! No Modern game would be complete without Martial Arts Mayhem!

Tai Chi Chuan - Decoding the Classics for the Modern Martial Artist is the first book in English to provide a detailed, illustrated explanation of the Tai Chi Chuan Classics, the Classic of Boxing and the Tai Chi Diagram Explanation.

So much of the literature regarding this art is focused on its country of origin-and that is a good thing-but it would be a disservice to the story to ignore the uniquely American aspects of its evolution, which took place when the Founder-Remy Amador Presas-arrived on these shores in the 1970s, having narrowly escaped violent persecution in his homeland. From his interactions with other martial titans and integration of certain of their practices into his art; to his travels from state to state and country to country-like a latter-day Johnny Appleseed-teaching his method along the way; to the intensive, multi-day training Camps all across the nation, from which numerous innovations arose; it's all here for the interested reader, told by one of his most senior students and dearest friends. In addition to evoking Remy's voice from the other side, this simple story illustrates the way in which a true master can find alternate pathways; can mix and match materials to produce an altogether new creation; and can make use of everything around him, from the company, to the environment, to the tools at hand. This is also the case with my friend Dan Anderson. Read on, then, for you are about to embark on a tale of martial giants, artistic pioneers, and the dawning of a new age on the American fighting frontier.

Descibes the origins, history, concepts, and techniques of the Hapkido form of martial arts, including coverage of effective defenses against strikes, grabs, kicks, chokes, knives, and guns.

In this age of the sound bite, what sort of author could be more relevant than a master of the epigram? Martial, the most influential epigrammatist of classical antiquity, was just such a virtuoso of the form, but despite his pertinence to today’s culture, his work has been largely neglected in contemporary scholarship. Arguing that Martial is a major author who deserves more sustained attention, William Fitzgerald provides an insightful tour of his works, shedding new and much-needed light on the Roman poet’s world—and how it might speak to our own. Writing in the late first century CE—when the epigram was firmly embedded in the social life of the Roman elite—Martial published his poems in a series of books that were widely read and enjoyed. Exploring what it means to read such a collection of epigrams, Fitzgerald examines the paradoxical relationship between the self-enclosed epigram and the book of poems that is more than the sum of its parts. And he goes on to show how Martial, by imagining these books being displayed in shops and shipped across the empire to admiring readers, prophetically behaved like a modern author. Chock-full of epigrams itself—in both Latin and English versions—Fitzgerald’s study will delight classicists, literary scholars, and anyone who appreciates an ingenious witticism.

An in-depth guide to the modern practice of Greek martial arts and their beginnings in ancient Greece and Egypt • Examines the correlation between ancient depictions of one-on-one combat and how martial arts are practiced today • Explores the close relationship between Greek martial arts and spiritual practice • Distinguishes between Pammachon (martial arts) and Pankration (combat sports) The ancient friezes and decorative motifs of ancient Greece contain abundant scenes of combat, one-on-one and hand-to-hand. In The Martial Arts of Ancient Greece, the authors offer close inspection of these depictions to reveal that they exactly correlate to the grappling and combat arts as they are practiced today. They also show that these artifacts document the historical course of the development of both the weaponry of the warrior classes and the martial responses those weapons required when fighting hand-to-hand. The depiction of each ancient technique is accompanied by sequenced step-by-step photos of modern practitioners performing the various stances of one-on-one combat. In addition, the authors explain how the development of Hellenic combat arts was tied at its heart to a spiritual practice. The centeredness, clear mind, and consequent courage that develops from a spiritual practice was considered a martial strength for a warrior, enabling him to be at his best, unobstructed inwardly by conflict or inertia. The Martial Arts of Ancient Greece provides a practical and comprehensive approach to the techniques and philosophy of the martial arts of the ancient Mediterranean that will be welcomed by modern fighters.