Showing titles in Martial Arts

Setting down his thoughts on swordplay, on winning, and on spirituality, legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi intended this modest work as a guide for his immediate disciples and future generations of samurai. He had little idea he was penning a masterpiece that would be eagerly devoured by people in all walks of life centuries after his death.

Code of the Samurai is a 400-year-old explication of the rules and expectations embodied in Bushido, the Japanese Way of the Warrior. With a bright, conversational narrative by Thomas Cleary, this book is indispensable to corporate executives, students of Asian culture, martial artists, or anyone sincerely interested in Japan and its people.

The most authoritative biography of film legend Bruce Lee, who made martial arts a global phenomenon, bridged the divide between Eastern and Western cultures and smashed long-held stereotypes of Asians and Asian Americans. Forty-five years after Bruce Lee’s sudden death at 32, journalist and best-selling author Matthew Polly has written the definitive account of Lee’s life. It’s also one of the only accounts; incredibly, there has never been an authoritative biography of Lee.

The comprehensive and accurate edition of the Hagakure is a must-have for serious martial artists or fans of samurai and the Bushido code.

For fans of books from Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, Daniel Bryan, Mick Foley and Jim Ross. Comedian and PROGRESS Wrestling founder Jim Smallman takes us on a wild ride through the history of pro wrestling, from its beginnings at the turn of the 20th century to the pop culture, pay-per-view juggernaut that it is today. Join Jim as he looks at the most defining and iconic moments in wrestling's history and attempts to nail down just why this ludicrous, over the top, compelling quasi sport means so much to so many people.

The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.

Wing Chun is the most popular form of Chinese kung fu in the world today, with more than four million practitioners. This guide will fascinate and educate anyone interested in the martial arts, from beginner to master. The art as it is presently understood has been handed down from teacher to student for more than 300 years. Until now, no one has ever stepped back and taken a critical look at why this art's techniques are presented and performed the way they are.

From legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA master Rickson Gracie comes a riveting, insightful memoir that weaves together the story of Gracie’s stunning career with the larger history of the Gracie family dynasty, showing how the connection between mind and body can be harnessed for success both inside and outside the ring. Undefeated from the late 1970s through his final fight in the Tokyo Dome in 2000, Rickson Gracie amassed hundreds of victories in the street, on the mat, at the beach and in the ring.

In this inspiring rags-to-riches memoir, UFC star Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal reveals how he went from a poor son of immigrants on the streets of Florida to one of the most successful athletes in the world, and how you can use the same principles to achieve success in your life.

Ready to return to the mats? New concepts, new stories, and more brilliance from the leading mind in Brazilian jiu-jitsu can be found in the follow-up to the surprise 2019 hit. This is the perfect companion for your BJJ journey. Short, thought-provoking entries can be listened to as you sit in the parking lot before the gym opens, or after class when you're reflecting on training. Be a fly on the wall in the famous blue basement as you study with the kingmaker to champions like Gordon Ryan, Garry Tonon, and Georges St-Pierre.

Persimmon Wind - part memoir, part martial arts history, and part travelogue - relates Dave Lowry's experiences as he travels to Japan to reunite with his sensei, visit the graves of others of his martial lineage, and explore a country and culture that profoundly influenced his life. Lowry's account reveals a Japan unlikely to be witnessed by the average Westerner. Drawing on his deep knowledge of the martial arts, Lowry acts as an interpreter of sorts, deftly describing for the listener the myriad ways in which Japan's subtle, yet rich customs and rituals inform and enrich the seemingly mundane practices of life.

Dave Lowry juxtaposes his singular experience as an adept student of kenjutsu (the art of swordsmanship) under a Japanese teacher in St. Louis with a riveting account of the samurai tradition in Japan. Intertwining tales of the masters with reflections on his own apprenticeship in the samurai's arts, he reveals in their time-honored methods a way of life with profound relevance to modern times.

Senator John McCain once decried mixed martial arts as "human cockfighting," while the New York Times despaired that the sport offered a "pay-per-view prism" onto the decline of western civilization. But the violent spectacle of cage fighting no longer feels nearly as scandalous as it did when the sport debuted in 1993.

During his lifetime, legendary martial artist Bruce Lee formulated a complex personal philosophy - a synthesis of Eastern and Western ideals - that extolled the virtues of knowledge and total mastery of one's self. Most of his philosophical writings could be found only within the personal library of the Bruce Lee estate - until John Little was given permission to publish them for the wider world.

At the age of eight, Michael Bisping began his training in martial arts. By the time he was 15, he was fighting in his first no holds barred competition. When he turned professional and joined the UFC he was sure about one thing: only a world championship title would do. A British underdog in the greatest fighting championship on earth, he spent the next decade winning some of the championship’s most sensational contests to achieve his dream, becoming the first ever British UFC world champion in 2016.

Miyamoto Musashi (1584 - 1645) was arguably the greatest swordsman who ever lived, a legendary figure whose methods of thought and strategy have been studied and adopted across a wide spectrum of society, from martial artists to military leaders to captains of industry. The iconic sword saint of Japan was clearly a genius, yet he was also a functional psychopath - ruthless, fearless, hyper-focused, and utterly without conscience. Shortly before he died, Musashi wrote down his final thoughts about life for his favorite student Terao Magonojo to whom Go Rin No Sho, his famous Book of Five Rings, had also been dedicated.

What are the origins of Brazilian jiujitsu? Is it merely a by-product—a rebel offspring—of judo? What was the nature and content of the art that Mitsuyo Maeda, a.k.a. “Count Koma”, and other Japanese were teaching in the Amazon? Was it judo? Jiujitsu? His own personal fight-tested style, built on a foundation of judo and informed by his dozens and dozens of matches around the world? What was the bridge between the art he learned at the Kodokan and the Brazilian style--a style now practiced by millions worldwide and growing bigger every day--that claims him as its godfather?

The Art of Expressing the Human Body, a title coined by Bruce Lee himself to describe his approach to martial arts, documents the techniques he used so effectively to perfect his body for superior health and muscularity.

In you are fan of action—adventure movies with the accent on action—then you no doubt love watching Jackie Chan risk his life to create sensational cinema. As one of the biggest stars to burst into U.S. theaters, Jackie has put America's hottest heroes to shame, wowing audiences with the breathless death-defying stunts that are the highlight of such movies as Rumble in the Bronx, Supercop, Operation: Condor, and his newest blockbuster Rush Hour. But who really is the boyishly handsome, lightening-fast Charlie Chaplin of martial arts movie making?

With the world or combat sports put on hold and hundreds of thousands of students training from home in 2020, the mental study of jiujitsu has become more important than ever. In the highly requested third volume of the Danaher Diaries, there are now over 100 musings from the mind of John Danaher from before and during the worldwide pandemic that drove the BJJ community out of gyms and onto various online training programs. Danaher's writings cover the timely to the timeless as he reflects on the current state of jiujitsu and it's unchanging constants.