Combat Shooting with Massad Ayoob


Massad Ayoob - 2011
    The reader will also learn the differences between the different types of tactical/combat pistol shooting competition and, finally, how he or she can improve his or her combat shooting performance through the application of these time-tested techniques

Born to Fight: The bestselling story of UFC champion Mark Hunt, the real life Rocky


Mark Hunt - 2015
    Born into a Mormon Samoan family, Hunt details his harrowing early life, his troubled teen years, and his angry youth with no apparent future.After being plucked from an Auckland street fight and dropped into his first kickboxing bout, Mark went on to achieve unprecedented success in Australian and New Zealand combat sports. In an ongoing career that has spanned the globe, Mark Hunt has been in some of the UFC, Pride and K-1's most memorable battles. But in some ways those fights pale in comparison to that which he has overcome out of the ring and cage.As fearless with his opinions as he is in the Octagon, Mark pulls no punches in revealing the highs and lows of his extraordinary life.

Power to the People Professional: How to Add 100s of Pounds to Your Squat, Bench,and Deadlift with Advanced Russian Techniques


Pavel Tsatsouline - 2009
    Pavel took the guesswork out of strength training and honed in with an elegant simplicity on what really worked to get stronger—and continue getting stronger. The war on weakness is a war we wage our whole lives. There is no final victory in the quest for extra strength. Only hard-fought gains—born of skill, will, and right knowledge. Losses and set-backs are a constant in this see-saw struggle of adaptation and survival. Pavel’s great contribution has been to research and identify the proven “battle” strategies that give us the best chance to keep making those strength gains—whatever the odds. And in this, Pavel has succeeded admirably, thanks to his access to the best training secrets not only in the West but in Russia—justly famous for its history of achievement in the world of strength and powerlifting. And thanks to his ability to ground theory in the proof of hard experience and earned results. In Power to the People Professional, Pavel broadens and deepens this knowledge base to encompass a vast range of little-known but highly effective methods to keep tricking our stubborn bodies into ever-greater strength gains. Some of the chapters are straightforward coverage of “how they do it in Russia”, others represent Pavel’s own original work based on years of research and experimentation. While elite athletes and powerlifters are those most likely to benefit from the advanced training information contained within Power to the People Professional, there remains a wealth of cutting-edge tips and tactics that intermediate lifters, athletes from various power sports, and power bodybuilders can use to immediately enhance their strength and power. “This is a graduate program in getting strong. If the RKC is the "School of Strength," this is the special ops class. Honestly, just pick the book up and pop open a chapter. Here are the programs, the thought process, and the actual systems used to produce stunning lifts in the three powerlifts. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. As my "Must Have" collection of books spirals higher each year, I am comfortable in saying that this book will quietly show the door to one or two of the books on my previous lists. It is that good.”—Dan John, author of Never Let Go “Intelligent intensity and total dedication along with stimulating variety is the theme among numerous training strategies featured in Pavel’s new Power to the People Professional. Top notch Russian powerlifters, exacting coaches, and meticulous research studies point to strength building schemes that absolutely PRODUCE! Since an original Russian all-rounder, George “the Lion” Hackenschmidt, established long-standing weightlifting records at the turn of LAST century, Pavel’s latest compendium of Soviet methods is way past due! Learn to freely borrow from the diversity of detailed systems discussed, and delight to the insight behind their creators’ mindsets. Then set aside Pavel’s Professional, head directly to the gym with extreme motivation, and follow the lessons toward suggested serious GRINDING!”—John McKean, Former I.A.W.A.

Let's Get It On!: The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee


"Big" John McCarthy - 2011
    The narrative follows “Big” John through his 22-year career as a Los Angeles police officer, where he taught recruits arrest and control procedures as well as survival tactics, then his 15-year career as MMA’s premier official in the chain-linked cage. A fixture of the sport, “Big” John started refereeing at UFC 2 in 1994 when MMA was in its infancy and went on to officiate at every major UFC event but two until 2007. Following a one-year hiatus as a color commentator and on-camera analyst for MMA and boxing events, he returned to MMA refereeing in 2008. In his own words, "Big" John relates his insider’s perspective from the midst of many of the sport’s greatest moments—from Tito Ortiz–Ken Shamrock I at UFC 40 in 2002 to Randy Couture–Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March of 2007—along with his account of the birth of the sport in America, its evolution, and MMA’s ongoing struggles for acceptance.

The Voice of Reason: A V.I.P. Pass to Enlightenment


Chael Sonnen - 2012
    Sonnen.Backwoodsmen and unlearned folk call him the Walking Thesaurus. His contemporaries have bestowed upon him the title Sir Sonnen. And those dwelling in the forgotten, forlorn jungles south of the equator reverently refer to him as filho da puta, a term Sonnen personally deciphered using his mastery of linguistics. It means, simply, "the Great and Humble Bearer of Knowledge."In the coming pages, Sonnen's commentary and tales of heroic adventure will initiate you into the world of superhuman greatness. Allow him to carry you like a frail damsel through the world of professional mixed martial arts as he cuts weight, deals with moronic cornermen, expresses his disdain for focus mitts and punching in general, gets his face rearranged, and finds support and encouragement from fans. Permit him to cleanse your mind's palate and teach you the truth about history, politics, endangered species, cinema, terrorists, music, particle accelerators, and his plans for creating a Chaelocracy, which translates as "a Better Earth." Shower him with praise as he takes you into his manly mitts like a lump of clay and reshapes you in his own likeness.Like all men of myth and legend, Sonnen strives for the betterment of the human race. Prometheus brought us fire; Dana White brought us the modern-day gladiator; and Chael P. Sonnen now brings us the step-by-step guide to being a great human being and patriot.Purchase this book; learn how the world really works from the perspective of a man who has been face-to-face with presidents, wardens, dignitaries, judges, kings and queens, and athletic commissions; and find out if you have what it takes to awaken from your progressive nightmare.There is no better day to stop being you and start trying to be Chael P. Sonnen. The time has come for The Voice of Reason.Chael Sonnen is the best trash-talker in all of sports.—Jim RomeHost of The Jim Rome ShowI've never seen anything like it. He's the best thing since Muhammad Ali—Dana WhiteUFC President

Why We Fight: One Man's Search for Meaning Inside the Ring


Josh Rosenblatt - 2019
    So, after studying Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and boxing, he decided, at age forty, that it was finally time to fight his first—and only—mixed martial arts match: all in the name of experience and transcending ancient fears.An insightful and moving rumination on the nature of fighting, Why We Fight takes us on his journey from the bleachers to the ring. Using his own training as an opportunity to understand how the sport illuminates basic human impulses, Rosenblatt weaves together cultural history, criticism, biology, and anthropology to understand what happens to the human body and mind when under attack, and to explore why he, a self-described “cowardly boy from the suburbs,” discovered so much meaning in putting his body, and others’, at risk.From the psychology of fear to the physiology of pain, from Ukrainian shtetls to Brooklyn boxing gyms, from Lord Byron to George Plimpton, Why We Fight is a fierce inquiry into the abiding appeal of our most conflicted and controversial fixation, interwoven with a firsthand account of what happens when a mild-mannered intellectual decides to step into the ring for his first real showdown.

The Laws of the Ring


Urijah Faber - 2012
    From his first fight in the outlaw MMA days of 2003, Urijah recognized his passion for the sport—and since then the former WEC World Featherweight Champion, now fighting as a top bantamweight in the UFC, has been living his dream. As one of the most exciting, charismatic fighters today, with a loyal following in the MMA community, Urijah is well known for his inventive fight style, cutting-edge approach to fitness, and California swag.In The Laws of the Ring, Urijah relates the full story of how he has made a career out of a highly demanding sport. Even outside the ring, his passion for fighting has motivated him to do so much more—to open his own fitness center, create a sports clothing line, lead a fight team, and recently to coach up-and-coming fighters in the television show The Ultimate Fighter. But even the California Kid couldn't do it all without constant hard work, healthy habits, and a whole lot of positive thinking. With his thirty-six "Laws of Power," Urijah shares the life lessons he's learned along his unconventional path, drawing from personal experience to give readers a sense of life inside the ring—and show how to take those lessons into their own worlds.Part manifesto for success, personal journey, and meditation on a well-lived life, The Laws of the Ring is filled with funny, provocative, and inspirational stories for a colorful glimpse into the rise of a young superstar, and the philosophy behind his accomplishments. With clear-eyed perspective and down-to-earth advice, Urijah zeroes in on getting the life you want—and living it to the fullest.

Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America


Charles Russo - 2016
    Although the martial arts were widely unknown in America, Bruce encountered a robust fight culture in the Bay Area, populated with talented and trailblazing practitioners such as Lau Bun, Chinatown’s aging kung fu patriarch; Wally Jay, the innovative Hawaiian jujitsu master; and James Lee, the Oakland street fighter. Regarded by some as a brash loudmouth and by others as a dynamic visionary, Bruce spent his first few years back in America advocating for a modern approach to the martial arts, and showing little regard for the damaged egos left in his wake.                The year of 1964 would be an eventful one for Bruce, in which he would broadcast his dissenting worldview before the first great international martial arts gathering, and then defend it by facing down Wong Jack Man—Chinatown’s young kung fu ace—in a legendary behind-closed-doors showdown. These events were a catalyst to the dawn of martial arts in America and a prelude to an icon.                Based on over one hundred original interviews, Striking Distance chronicles Bruce Lee’s formative days amid the heated martial arts proving ground that thrived on San Francisco Bay in the early 1960s.

The Pact: A UFC Champion, a Boy with Cancer, and Their Promise to Win the Ultimate Battle


Cody Garbrandt - 2018
    In his darkest moments, when those dreams were dashed, he dug deep with the help of an unlikely friend—five-year-old Maddux Maple, a local hometown fan with leukemia. They made a pact: Cody would be in the UFC and win the championship, and Maddux would beat cancer. Read their moving story in Cody’s new book, The Pact, and go behind the scenes into Cody’s training and how he made his dreams come true. Cody Garbrandt grew up in a rough town in the Central Appalachian region of Ohio, surrounded by a longstanding culture of fighting—and drugs. Raised in this environment by a single mom (his dad left him at the young age of three to reside in the Ohio State Penitentiary), Cody grew up fighting, and he grew up wild. His future seemed predestined to end in the coal mines, or in prison.Thankfully, Cody had visions of something more. His American Dream? Mixed Martial Arts. But a path to success wasn’t clear. He spent as much time fighting in the streets as he did in the gym—one bad decision away from losing everything. Then, at age 20, Cody’s brother introduced him to five-year old Maddux Maple. Maddux was deathly ill with leukemia, his survival by no means assured. A unique friendship developed as they made a promise to each other: Maddux would beat cancer, and Cody would make it to the UFC and become world champion.Through five long years of pain and hardship, they both persevered; Cody, through the agony and sacrifices of fighting his way to the top, and Maddux through the horrors of chemotherapy. They loved and supported each other. They served as each other’s inspiration. And in December 2016, they made good on their pact: Cody won his UFC Championship belt, which he promptly presented to Maddux—the boy who had beaten cancer into remission.

Mas Oyama's Essential Karate


Masutatsu Oyama - 1979
    More than 1,300 photos make this the world's most complete guidebook.

Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness


Lee E. Brown - 2000
    Exhibiting a combination of power, speed, and quickness, they've raised the bar on performance, competition, and training. Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness is the complete workout guide you need in order to perform a step ahead of the competition.With this total training package, you'll have exclusive online access to a video library of the most effective drills and exercises for developing movement skills, and you'll see how to perform key tests and execute the best and most complex drills from the book. Sample training programs are included for these sports:Baseball and softballFootball and rugbyBasketball and netballCombat sportsTrack and fieldSoccerLacrosseTennis and badmintonRacquetball and squashThe top sport and conditioning experts present the best information on testing, techniques, drills, and training programs to maximize athletes' movement capabilities. The book includes 262 drills and proven assessments for customizing programs and tracking progress.If you're serious about elevating your performance, Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness is a must have.PLEASE NOTE: This is not an official book from SAQ International. For details of books including SAQ Soccer and SAQ Rugby and official SAQ resources, please visit www.saqinternational.com.

Budo: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido


Morihei Ueshiba - 1991
    Aikido is much more than just another fighting style, it is a holistic approach to life that Morihei described as "a divine path inspired by the gods that leads to truth, goodness, and beauty." Sadly, Morihei left few writings to explain his martial arts philosophy, preferring to teach his disciples by direct example.Aikido students will be familiar with photographs and film footage of Morihei as an old man, effortlessly defeating his much younger opponents, but very little has been published about Morihei's prewar years, when he was perfecting aiki-budo, as aikido was then known. In 1938 Morihei wrote Budo (Martial Way) as an instruction manual and a statement of the aims and spirit of his martial arts philosophy. Budo, however, was never made available to the general public, and it even contains the injunction that "these techniques ... should not be disclosed indiscriminately to the public."Now with the worldwide popularity of aikido rivaling that of judo and karate-do, the Aikikai Foundation and the Ueshiba family have decided that it is time for this historic treatise of the martial arts to be translated into English, and made available to general readers and students of aikido all over the world. Reproduced faithfully from the original, this seminal work contains one of the founder's few personal statements of his basic principles, expressed both in prose and mystical poetry. The text is accompanied by photographs of Morihei illustrating the aikido techniques he describes.This martial arts classic is preceded by an introductory biographical essay on Morihei by his son Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the present chairman of the Aikikai Foundation. This enlightening work recounts the founder's early life, his inspirational 'encounter with the religious mystic Onisaburo Deguchi, and the spiritual revelations that led him to develop the art of aikido.The volume concludes with a series of action photographs of the founder demonstrating aikido techniques, taken at a private dojo in Tokyo in 1936. This section also includes selected photographs of Morihei in action in 1951. The more than 400 historic photographs shown here provide an unequalled opportunity to observe the lifelong devotion to aikido and the continuity of performance that characterized Morihei's approach to his art.

Classical Budo


Donn F. Draeger - 1973
    Here, he illuminates the compelling historical, political, and philosophical events that gave rise to the development of the budo arts. The classical budo, or "martial ways" are not combat systems like their forerunner, bujutsu, or "martial arts"; nor are they sports like modern judo, kendo, or karate. They are first and foremost spiritual disciplines, whose ultimate goal, achieved through the most rigorous mental and physical training, is self-realization in the tradition of Zen Buddhism. The author details the history, philosophy, and methods of a variety of these "martial ways," some using weapons and some weaponless, and reveals how they evolved from their combative roots. The book includes fascinating artwork from classical sources, and archival photographs of modern budo masters in action.

The Way of the Fight


Georges St-Pierre - 2013
    From his beginnings as a small, mercilessly bullied child first discovering karate to his years as a struggling garbage collector who spent all his free time in the gym, his hard-fought rise in the sport of mixed martial arts, and his long, painful recovery from a career-threatening injury, Georges never lost sight of his ambition to become the greatest martial artist of all time. In The Way of the Fight, Georges for the first time reveals what propelled him not only to become a champion but to embrace obstacles as opportunities to build character.Georges’s story is interwoven with fascinating insights from those who know him best: his mother, who tells of his drive to master new skills, even as a child. His mentor Kristof Midoux, who describes a young fighter with an extraordinary sense of discipline. His Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher John Danaher, who witnessed the development of an indomitable work ethic. His coach Firas Zahabi, who worked alongside the champion through a potentially career-ending injury. And his longtime friend, training partner and manager, Rodolphe Beaulieu, who may understand this intensely focused athlete more than anyone.The Way of the Fight is an inspirational look into the mindset of a master. To Georges, all life is competition, and there’s no more perfect metaphor for competition than the life of a fighter. He explains the value of discipline, risk and even fear, with the wisdom of one who knows that nothing is assured—his next fight could always be his last. Drawing inspiration from fighting legends, Eastern philosophy and a trusted inner circle, The Way of the Fight is a powerful, life-changing guide to living with purpose and finding the way to accomplish your loftiest goals.

A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey Through the World of Fighting


Sam Sheridan - 2006
    It occurred to him that, without distractions, he could finally indulge a long-dormant obsession: fighting. Within a year, he was in Bangkok training with the greatest fighter in muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) history and stepping through the ropes for a professional bout. That one fight wasn’t enough. Sheridan set out to test himself on an epic journey into how and why we fight, facing Olympic boxers, Brazilian jiu-jitsu stars, and Ultimate Fighting champions. Along the way, Sheridan delivers an insightful look at violence as a career and a spectator sport, a behind-the-pageantry glimpse of athletes at the top of their terrifying game.  An extraordinary combination of gonzo journalism and participatory sports writing, A Fighter’s Heart is a dizzying first-hand account of what it’s like to reach the peak of finely disciplined personal aggression, to hit—and be hit.