Sports & Recreation

From his electrifying plays on the field to his charismatic personality off the gridiron, Travis Kelce has become a force to be reckoned with in the world of football. With over 7,000 career receiving yards and more than 60 touchdown receptions, Kelce has solidified his place among the NFL's elite tight ends. Explore the journey of this prolific player, from his college days at the University of Cincinnati to his record-breaking seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, and uncover fascinating insights into Kelce's work ethic, mindset, and passion for the game.

Whether you're a die-hard Chiefs fan or simply a lover of football, this captivating collection of quotes and facts offers a compelling glimpse into the life and career of one of the NFL's most dynamic players.

"Nobody can make fun of me better than me. I'm not going to go out there and say that I'm better than X, I'm better than Y. I think I'm the best tight end in the game. Coach Reid is always going to dial the right plays up."

Travis has caught 19 touchdown passes in playoff games, a record for the tight end position.

In September 2022, Travis and NFL star (and brother) Jason Kelce launched their podcast New Heights. The title references the Cleveland Heights area where they grew up. The show has proven to be a huge success, reaching No. 2 overall on Apple podcasts by February.

How A Talented Attorney Took His Passion To Win From The Courthouse To Offshore Yacht Racing.
In 2017, attorney Chip Merlin got more than he bargained for when he accompanied a friend on a sailboat race to Cuba. He didn’t know it then, but his life would never be the same. The racing bug bit hard … really hard. Right after the Cuba regatta, Chip bought a thirty-two-foot boat to start racing in the Tampa Bay area. Soon, however, sailing locally in Florida waters wasn’t enough. He wanted to take his dad on the Newport to Bermuda race, reliving the days when they once raced small sailboats together.
Chip needed an oceangoing speedster for the Bermuda race. He discovered that Merlin, an iconic racing yacht, was up for sale. He’d read about the boat in 1978 when he was in college after Merlin set a record for the Transpacific Yacht Race from California to Hawaii. Impressed, Chip vowed to buy the boat if he ever could. Fast-forward thirty-nine years, and the boat became Chip’s.
With the help of a friend with offshore ocean racing experience, Chip found the right crew, and the push was on to get Merlin ready to race in 2018. What followed was a season of steep learning curves, hard knocks, triumphs, danger, tragedy, and joy in a riveting story that blends high-seas adventure with thoughtful self-reflection on life at home and in the boardroom.

Community Refuge Inspiration Make Your Path on The Trail
A place of restoration. A center of well-being. A trail of freedom. A path to enhancement.
You have stepped into the hallowed grounds of Houston’s beloved Memorial Park. A place where anyone belongs . . . all that’s required is a spirit of camaraderie and desire to improve oneself and the world around. Finding a trail so vital and so integrated with a community is a rarity, and that’s just what Memorial Park is: a rarity, treasure, and pleasure for anyone who visits. Turn the pages and follow the many footsteps on the trail—those of the fast, slow, old, and young—and learn how one city’s dedication to conserving its natural beauty and resources has changed countless lives, families, and organizations. Through others’ perspectives, you will •find humor and appreciation for the diverse personalities who frequent the trail; •find the inspiration to overcome difficult situations; and •find the encouragement that anyone can be active.
Follow the people of Memorial Park.

On October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire, at the virtual center of Africa, two boxers were paid five million dollars apiece to confront each other in an epic match. One was Muhammad Ali, who vowed to reclaim the championship he had lost. The other was George Foreman, who was as taciturn as Ali was voluble and who kept his hands in his pockets “the way a hunter lays his rifle back into its velvet case.”

Observing them both was Norman Mailer, whose grasp of the titanic battle’s feints and stratagems—and sensitivity to their deeper symbolism—made his 1975 book The Fight a masterpiece of sportswriting. Whether analyzing the fighters’ moves, interpreting their characters, or weighing their competing claims on the African and American souls, Mailer was a commentator of unparalleled acumen—and surely one of the few intrepid enough to accompany Ali on a late-night run through the bush. Through The Fight he restores our tarnished notions of heroism to a blinding gleam, and establishes himself as a champion in his own right.

Over four decades after its original publication, this edition of The Fight has been introduced and abridged by Mailer scholar J. Michael Lennon and illustrated for the first time with principal photography by the two men who captured Ali and Foreman in the ring and in private like no one else: Neil Leifer and Howard L. Bingham. Widely considered to be the greatest sports photographer of his generation, Neil Leifer’s vibrant color coverage dominates from ringside. It also serves as a living testimony to the pageantry, sheer physical power, and deep psychological interplay of the fighters, their camps, and their controversial host, Zaire’s President Mobutu Sese Seko. Behind the scenes, meanwhile, Howard Bingham was Ali’s constant companion, documenting his every move from the moment he stepped off the plane in Zaire, his daily training regime, right through to the dressing room tension as he prepared to face Foreman once and for all.

Together with pictures from other photojournalists, reproductions of Mailer’s original manuscript pages, and additional visual documentation of the media frenzy surrounding the “Rumble in the Jungle,” the result is a dazzling tribute to The Champ and a vivid document of one of the most epic, adrenaline-laced events in sporting history.

Most know Marvelous Marvin Hagler from his epic battles against Thomas Hearns and John Mugabi and his controversial split-decision loss to Sugar Ray Leonard. But it is his escape from riot-torn Newark in the late 1960s, the unbreakable bond he built with the Petronelli brothers, and his 1980 title fight against Britain’s Alan Minter—with its deep racial animus—that tells the real story of Hagler.

In Blood & Hate, New York Times bestselling author Dave Wedge tells the riveting and inspirational tale of how Hagler overcame incredible odds, joined with Goody and Pat Petronelli to rise through the rigged ranks, and morphed from a fatherless teenager in Brockton, Massachusetts, into Marvelous Marvin Hagler, one of the best boxers ever and arguably the greatest middleweight in history.

Through exclusive interviews with Bob Arum, the Petronelli and Hagler families, and a who's who of the boxing world, Blood & Hate reveals fascinating details about Hagler's early life as well as the legendary Minter fight, and once and for all delivers the definitive chronicle of Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

The Le Mans 24 Hours is the ultimate endurance race, a true test of man and machine. It is a classic feature of the motorsport calendar, attracting more than 250,000 people to the track every year to see one of the greatest spectacles in racing.
Shot over two years, this book’s unique panoramic photographs (60cm/almost 2 feet wide!) give an incredibly real sense of the many aspects that make up the total Le Mans experience: the sun setting on night time qualifying, sprawling fan camp sites, and the elation as battered cars complete the epic race.
The photos in the book were taken at the height of the battle between Audi and Peugeot for dominance of the track. Featuring the R15, 908 and R18, as well as the other great marques of Le Mans, including Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, and Porsche, this book is a timeless tribute to the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Updated and enhanced information on the most recent topics added to the Pony Club curriculum, including land conservation, horse health and safety, nutrition and veterinary topics, better organization and easy reference, and a full update of critical developments in riding, instruction, and competition.

Whether you're a member of the United States Pony Club who has achieved the D Level certificates or simply a rider who has mastered the same basic skills, this manual enables you to increase your skills and teaches you what you need to know in order to ride independently and correctly with good position, balance, and use of the aids on the flat, over fences, and in the open.

This manual teaches you not only how to care for and manage your horse, but also the skills needed for conditioning and preparing your horse and yourself for competitions and special events. Features new to this Second Edition include: New and revised coverage of land conservation and horse health and safetyBetter organization for ease of referenceUpdates of critical developments in riding, instruction, and competitionIn-depth revision of nutrition and veterinary topics

From the C Level, you may go on to higher Pony Club certifications, such as the B or A Rating, or specialize in such disciplines as dressage, show jumping, and eventing. Or you may just want the pleasure of caring for your horse and participating in your favorite riding activities. Either way, "The United States Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship: Intermediate Horsemanship/C1-C2 Level" will give you an excellent basis in horsemanship for the lifelong enjoyment of horses and horse sports.

The United States Pony Club is among the largest equestrian organizations in the United States, with thousands of members in clubs and centers across the country.

At a time when surfing is more popular than ever, it’s fitting to look back at the years that brought the sport into the mainstream. Developed by Hawaiian Islanders over five centuries ago, surfing began to peak on the mainland in the 1950s—becoming not just a sport, but a way of life, admired and exported across the globe. One of the key image-makers from that period is LeRoy Grannis, a surfer since 1931, who began photographing the longboard era of the early 1960s in both California and Hawaii.

This edition brings back Grannis’s hair-raising, sold-out Collector’s Edition, curated from the photographer’s personal archives, to showcase his most vibrant work in a compact and affordable format—from the bliss of catching the perfect wave at San Onofre to dramatic wipeouts at Oahu’s famed North Shore.

An innovator in the field, Grannis suction-cupped a waterproof box to his board, enabling him to change film in the water and stay closer to the action than any other photographer of the time. He also covered the emerging surf lifestyle, from “surfer stomps” and hordes of fans at surf contests to board-laden woody station wagons along the Pacific Coast Highway. It is in these iconic images that a sport still in its adolescence embodied the free-spirited nature of an era—a time before shortboards and celebrity endorsements, when surfing was at its bronzed best.

Gary ‘Sox’ Hocking raced against the likes of Geoff Duke, Mike Hailwood and John Surtees, and eventually became double world champion – yet his name remains largely forgotten. He retired at an early stage in his career, and the explanation so often given for this ultimately proved far removed from the real reason.
Roger Hughes' fascinating book is a positive celebration of Hocking’s life and career. Stories reveal how he went from riding a motorbike to work to becoming world champion – a riveting journey, made more so by being told by those who were close to him. Gary’s decision to move to car racing because it was safer, only to then be killed in a car, makes for a tragic end to his tale. This book explores the many suggestions as to how the accident happened.
With photos covering Hocking’s early career racing Nortons in South Africa, through to his final motorcycle ride, at the 1962 Isle of Man TT – a win that was, in many ways, so important to him – this book is a fitting tribute to a forgotten champion.

An engaging handbook chock full of all the right information for fitting English saddles to both horse and rider, ensuring comfort, health, and performance at a glance. 

If horseback riders could do one thing that would save them money, ensure their horse’s health and performance, and help them ride better (and feel better afterward), it would be assuring that their saddle fits their horse correctly, and that it is suitable for their own body and desired activities. Unfortunately, most riders don’t have access to or the money to pay experienced saddle fitters, who can analyze their equipment and help them determine whether the fit is passable or problematic. This means that a large number of riders just “hope for the best” with what they have, or struggle to grasp lengthy explanations of optimal fit and how to achieve it. And, in the end, a large number of horses suffer the consequences. 

Beverly Harrison started as a rider herself, and when she opened a tack shop, she quickly noticed the need for someone to guide horse owner’s in choosing a new saddle or refitting an older one. In order to be better informed for her customers, she became a Qualified SMS Saddle Fitter, and she made it her mission to help educate anyone involved with horses: 4-Hers, backyard riders, competitors, veterinarians—you name them, she’s probably taught them. 

Harrison figured that her educational efforts would benefit from colorful visual aids to engage her students. And so, a handbook full of her own delightful hand-painted illustrations was born. Readers easily gain a basic understanding of the different parts of the saddle, how they work and how they should fit, as well as what the addition of a rider means to it all. Topics include:

• Terminology and saddle construction
• Basic anatomy and physiology of horse and rider relative to the saddle
• Safety of materials and condition
• Step-by-step evaluations of fit for both horse and rider
• Instructions for creating a paper template
• Indicators of fit under saddle
• Impacts of girths and saddle pads
• Repair and maintenance advice

A saddle is part of most horses’ lives. It is anything but a benign piece of equipment: its placement on the horse’s back—a vital source of strength and locomotion—and its location between horse and rider, means that it can have either a negative or a positive impact on everything from health to performance. Harrison’s book makes it easy for all of us, wherever we are and whatever we like to do with our horses, to ensure our saddles are not the source of a problem, only an additional means of connection and communication. She empowers us by showing what is right, what is wrong, and what the next steps should be. And in the end, our horses are happier, healthier, and better able to do what we ask of them.

At a time when surfing is more popular than ever, it’s fitting to look back at the years that brought the sport into the mainstream. Developed by Hawaiian Islanders over five centuries ago, surfing began to peak on the mainland in the 1950s—becoming not just a sport, but a way of life, admired and exported across the globe. One of the key image-makers from that period is LeRoy Grannis, a surfer since 1931, who began photographing the longboard era of the early 1960s in both California and Hawaii. This edition brings back Grannis’s hair-raising, sold-out Collector’s Edition, curated from the photographer’s personal archives, to showcase his most vibrant work in a compact and affordable format—from the bliss of catching the perfect wave at San Onofre to dramatic wipeouts at Oahu’s famed North Shore. An innovator in the field, Grannis suction-cupped a waterproof box to his board, enabling him to change film in the water and stay closer to the action than any other photographer of the time. He also covered the emerging surf lifestyle, from “surfer stomps” and hordes of fans at surf contests to board-laden woody station wagons along the Pacific Coast Highway. It is in these iconic images that a sport still in its adolescence embodied the free-spirited nature of an era—a time before shortboards and celebrity endorsements, when surfing was at its bronzed best.

“Charles Farrell’s many personal encounters, questions, insights, and experiences as an observer of the sport… add a multifaceted richness to [this] essay collection…. Readers will find its vibrant psychological, social, political, and personal revelations are just the ticket for a read that is solid in its facts, unexpected in its focus and connections, and thoroughly delightful in its novel approach to boxing.”—Midwest Book Review

Mitch "Blood" Green had more things going for him to make big money in boxing than nearly any fighter in history. A six-foot-six, 225-pound heavyweight with a chiseled physique and a traffic-stopping look, Green had ironclad street credibility—he was the gang leader of the Black Spades—and four New York Golden Gloves heavyweight titles.

But his penchant for mayhem, drugs, and chaos, while keeping him in the news, torpedoed his pro boxing career. He lost a high-profile decision to Mike Tyson at Madison Square Garden, got into a tabloid-grabbing late-night street fight with Tyson at an after-hours boutique in Harlem, and then disappeared.

Until Charles Farrell found him.

In The Legend of Mitch "Blood" Green and Other Boxing Essays, Farrell captures life in the boxing business from its deepest interior, and offers additional portraits of characters as wide-ranging as Donald Trump, Floyd Patterson, Bert Cooper, Charley Burley, Peter McNeeley, and Muhammad Ali. Trenchant, fearless, and often flat-out funny, there has never been a boxing book like this, and there will never be another.

Achievable, riding-specific fitness for equestrians looking to up their game, get back in the game, or stay in the game.

In this accessible, highly illustrated guide, former Dartmouth Equestrian Team Coach Sally Batton shares her secret to 30 years of winning riders and championship teams: a unique series of progressive, mounted exercises that improves cardiovascular and muscular fitness for riders of all abilities and levels. Batton’s proven program, which she calls Equicize, can be used as part of a horseback rider’s daily warm-up by targeting specific muscle groups, or it can be a more intense workout in the saddle once or twice a week, making up the bulk of a mounted training session. Easy to learn and flexible by design, riders can pick and choose the Equicize exercises that best address their personal “problem areas,” or they can dedicate a specific number of rides per week to performing an entire sequence. As Batton explains, there are literally hundreds of ways to adjust, modify, and adapt this fun fitness program to suit specific circumstances.

No matter what level of fitness a rider starts at, when the Equicize system is practiced regularly, everyone will see improvement in balance, strength, coordination, and flexibility. And Batton has made it easy to incorporate her training into the modern rider’s full and complex life, with exercises designed to fit seamlessly into time that has already been set aside for grooming, tacking up, and riding. With sensible, achievable goals, easy-to-implement steps, progressive how-to photographs, and dozens of QR codes to scan and view engaging instructional videos to help readers perform the exercises for the best result, this book is both a superb launch point for ambitious riders looking to grow their abilities and a stable lynchpin for those aiming to stay in the game, and in the saddle, as long as possible.

With over 14,000 career passing yards and 121 touchdown passes in just four seasons, Patrick Mahomes has redefined the quarterback position and become a true icon of the game. From his record-breaking MVP season to leading the Kansas City Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl LIV, Mahomes' impact on the football world is undeniable. Explore the highs and lows of his career, from his college days at Texas Tech University to his meteoric rise to NFL superstardom, and delve into unique playing style, infectious energy, and unwavering dedication to excellence.

This captivating collection of quotes and facts dives into the extraordinary journey of the NFL sensation, filled with insightful quotes from teammates, coaches, and Mahomes himself. Whether you're a devoted Chiefs fan or simply a lover of football, this book offers a compelling glimpse into the life and career of one of the NFL's most dynamic players.

This title from the De Gruyter Book Archive has been digitized in order to make it available for academic research. It was originally published under National Socialism and has to be viewed in this historical context. Learn more here.

In When in Doubt, Stop the Bout, renowned boxing historian Mike Silver presents a shocking exposé of the sordid underbelly of professional boxing, and uncovers the sport’s criminally flawed infrastructure and those responsible for it.

From compromised referees to poorly trained ringside physicians to an insidious cartel of “sanctioning organizations” approving dangerous mismatches, Silver lays bare the corruption, the negligence, and the incompetence that has made a dangerous sport even more dangerous.

But aside from unmasking the chaotic mess that afflicts boxing, this book for the first time proposes groundbreaking practical solutions that will mitigate the danger and save lives. Penetrating and persuasive, When in Doubt, Stop the Bout will change forever how you see the sport of boxing.

Chin Na is one of the four major fighting categories in all Chinese martial styles.

The four categories are:

• Kicking (Ti)
• Striking (Da)
• Wrestling (Shuai)
• Seize-Controlling (Na)

Seize-Controlling Chin Na techniques can be effectively used against an opponents grabbing attacks as well as against wrestling. Pressing and striking Chin Na can be used to seal the opponents breathing, vein/artery, or Qi circulation, which can cause severe pain, numbness, and unconsciousness. Some techniques can even be fatal.

Most of Chin Na can be learned easily and be adopted into any martial style. Chin Na has been known as the root of the Japanese arts of Jujitsu and Aikido, and practitioners can use the study of Chin Na to increase their understanding of the theory and principles of their own arts.

This book is designed to make learning easier.

If you study a barehand art, likely there are Chin Na techniques you can adapt!

You will learn over 150 Chin Na techniques

• Fundamental principles that make Chin Na work.
• Speed, power, grabbing, escaping, and countering techniques.
• Finger Chin Na.
• Wrist Chin Na.
• Elbow Chin Na.
• Shoulder, neck, and waist Chin Na.
• Leg Chin Na.
• Muscle Grabbing Chin Na.
• Cavity press Chin Na.
• Using Chin Na in a fight.
• Dealing with injuries.

The ability to control an opponent through Chin Na is one of the highest measures of martial skill. You will improve your martial skills with the many training methods, attacks, and counterattack techniques detailed in this book. Your are going to increase your fighting options!

Remember, Chin Na can be integrated with any open hand martial style.

King James, the greatest of all time.

Named 'The Chosen One' at just age 17, and with the iconic number 23 set to retire with him at the end of his career, LeBron fulfilled his destiny of surpassing scoring records and becoming one of basketball's most well-known stars. A legend on the court and a humble family man at home, LeBron is a man of dedication and honour in every sense, with memorable thoughts about life, sports, family and more.

Packed full of insightful and encouraging quotes, this pocket-sized tome covers all zones of LeBron's accomplished and fascinating life. From his early years of childhood and rise to basketball stardom with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat to admiration and adoration from more of the greats, this little book highlights why the four-time crowned MVP is deemed one of the greatest of all time.

"People will hate you, rate you, shake you, and break you. But how strong you stand is what makes you."
LeBron James on resilience and determination.

Progressive training plans and interactive programs that transform boring ring work into invigorating horse play.

More and more horse owners hope to engage their horses’ minds as much as their bodies during the time they spend together, both under saddle, and on the ground. The happy news is that the training activities we have come to know as “groundwork” not only have an important place in starting colts and schooling young horses, they can also serve to diversify the means of skill-building as any horse matures. In addition, exercise in hand can serve as an important part of reconditioning a horse after extended time off, rehabbing following illness or injury, and allowing horse and handler an alternative means of connecting and spending time together when riding can’t be, or just isn’t, part of the picture.

Using dozens of detailed color diagrams to “map out” exciting ideas for on-the-ground training courses at a variety of levels, as well as instructional photographs to demonstrate horse and rider position as they navigate specific obstacles, German Equestrian Federation (FN) accredited trainer and judge Waltraud Böhmke provides an excellent source of training inspiration in these pages. Known for her incredibly beneficial in-hand courses, Böhmke’s guidance helps readers train their horses to be well-behaved, collaborative partners. And when good behavior and teamwork are achieved, both horse and handler are more relaxed and respectful in each other’s company. With numerous opportunities to establish meaningful boundaries, which ensure your horse feels secure in your company as you come to trust and rely on each other to navigate obstacles of different kinds, the partnership between you can grow.

Inside find:

• Dozens of “tasks,” activities, and obstacles, along with clear instructions so you can learn and practice them individually before incorporating them in a series or course.
• Sensible suggestions for sequences of exercises to consolidate and review the individual lessons.
• 26 complete courses for you and your horse to try on your own or with friends, providing valuable training feedback so you can adjust plans and schedules according to your horse’s progress and needs.

With expert guidance to provide the horse with positive training experiences while improving the handler’s timing and self-confidence, this book is a handy and digestible reference for anyone looking for new ways to keep their horse engaged, happy, and connected as you strive for educational growth and understanding.

Explore dozens of F1 race tracks - from legendary circuits to brand-new destinations - in high-definition satellite photography.

From the glamour of Monaco and the brand-new Las Vegas strip, to the heritage of Silverstone and Monza, Formula One Circuits from Above showcases 27 legendary F1 race tracks as you've never seen them before. This stunning illustrated book highlights the signature properties of iconic circuits around the world in incredible detail, providing an unparalleled insight into the unique strengths and challenges of each.

This revealing commentary is accompanied by fascinating text by bestselling F1 writer Bruce Jones on the history of each circuit, as well as the outstanding drivers and unforgettable moments that have defined them. Whether you're a seasoned F1 fan or a newcomer to the sport, Formula One Circuits from Above captures all the colour, drama, history and excitement of Formula One.

Fully updated for the 2025 season, and with more than a thousand sets of complete Grand Prix results, this is the ultimate reference book for Formula One fans.

The Formula One Yearbook 2025 is the essential resource for any motorsport fan. This massive stats and records bible includes the full results of every Grand Prix in F1 history and much more besides. Featuring detailed driver and constructor statistics (sourced from industry-leading data providers Motorsport Stats), championship standings and season reviews, it offers a comprehensive overview of Formula One history in a single, strikingly designed package.

Alongside the facts and statistics you'll also find fascinating commentary from leading F1 writer Bruce Jones. Add in all-time records for drivers and constructors, and you have have a complete Formula One chronicle spanning more than 70 years of incredible racing.

An in-depth look into the physics behind martial arts.

Whether you are an experienced martial artist or a curious enthusiast, this book gives you an “unfair advantage” by unraveling the complex science of effective fighting techniques and examining the core principles that make them work. Did you know?

• Momentum is for knocking people over
• Energy is for breaking bones and causing pain
• A haymaker travels 3.14159 times farther than a jab
• You are only an “object” when you are rigid

Fight Like a Physicist blends inquiry, skepticism, and irreverent humor—all while punching holes in myth and mysticism. Highlights include

• Making physics your “unfair advantage,” in the ring and on the street
• Examining center of mass, pi, levers, wedges, angular momentum, and linear momentum for martial artists
• Reducing traumatic brain injury in contact sports
• Exposing the illusion of safety provided by gloves and helmets
• Overturning conventional wisdom on compliance during an assault
• Busting up Hollywood action clichés

Fight Like a Physicist reads like a manifesto on the rational practice of martial arts. It’s intelligent, fun, and dangerous—and nothing short of iconoclastic.

Thanks in part to the Netflix phenomenon Drive to Survive, F1's popularity has exploded in recent years. More viewers than ever now enjoy the high-octane, wheel-to-wheel battling of this global championship – and this little guide is the perfect companion.

The Little Guide to Formula One features quotes from some of the greatest racing drivers of all time, including Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, and many others. Also included are numerous facts and trivia about the sport which has capitivated billions around the globe for more than seven decades.

Perfect for seasoned F1 lovers or new fans learning the sport, this pocket-sized guide to the world's most popular form of motorsport captures the history, the people, the thrills, and – most importantly – the need to win.

'Being second is to be the first if the ones who lose.'
Ayrton Senna

'There's a lie that all drivers tell themselves. Death is something that happens to other people, and that's how you find the courage to get in the car in the first place. The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel. But more powerful than fear itself is the will to win.'
James Hunt

In 2015, Max Verstappen became the youngest driver to ever start an F1 race, aged just 17 years and 166 days.

Welcome to Wrexham!


Everyone in the world is talking about Wrexham AFC – the Red Dragons are on fire. In 2023, the team achieved their fairy-tale dream of promotion after 15 agonising years of languishing at the very bottom of the lowest league. They did it, in part, thanks to two Hollywood superstars, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who purchased the club in 2020, and promptly took the team on a superhero-inspired adventure back to the top of the turf.

This provincial Welsh football club has now been catapulted onto the world's stage, thanks to the hit Disney+ documentary that followed the celebrities' acquisition, the mega-watt signings, and the dramatic twists and turns that felt straight out of a Hollywood script.

"I love every second of hating it. Wrexham AFC is the greatest drug on earth."
Ryan Reynolds

Founded in 1864, the same year Abraham Lincoln was re-elected as president amidst America's Civil War, Wrexham is the oldest football club in Wales.

Der vorliegende Band enthält die gesammelten Beiträge des 53. Forschungsseminars Radein, welches im Februar 2020 stattfand. Der Sammelband untersucht aktuelle Entwicklungen von Sport-, Entertainment- und Medienmärkten. Dabei werden gemeinsame Fragestellungen herausgearbeitet aber auch unterschiedliche Ansätze aufgezeigt. Insbesondere Aspekte der Digitalisierung, welche sich auf jeden der Märkte auswirken, werden in den Fokus gestellt.

Logistics are a critical element in the planning and realization of any large-scale event. Managing Global Sport Events: Logistics and Coordination provides a critical look behind the scenes of these large-scale sport events by combining the previously separate but inextricably bound areas of sport, logistics and coordination management.

The coordination and logistics activities behind global sports events such as the Olympic Games or Formula 1 Championships are unparalleled, but have largely been ignored by scholars around the world. Managing Global Sport Events presents the latest developments in this intriguing area of study, offering insights from a team of experts across sport, event, and logistics management.

This first volume of the ground-breaking Sports Management series enters unchartered territory and advances our inter-disciplinary knowledge across sport, event and logistics studies, informing both contemporary sport management theory and practice.

Data and analytics have the potential to provide sports organizations with a competitive advantage both on and off the field. Yet even as the use of analytics in sports has become commonplace, teams regularly find themselves making big investments without significant payoff.

This book is a practical, nontechnical guide to incorporating sports data into decision making, giving leaders the knowledge they need to maximize their organization’s investment in analytics. Benjamin C. Alamar—a leading expert who has built high-performing analytics groups—surveys the current state of the use of data in sports, including both specifics around the tools and how to deploy them most effectively. Sports Analytics offers a clear, easily digestible overview of data management, statistical models, and information systems and a detailed understanding of their vast possibilities. It walks readers through the essentials of understanding the value of different types of data and strategies for building and managing an analytics team. Throughout, Alamar illustrates the value of analytics with real-world examples and case studies from both the sports and business sides.

Sports Analytics has guided a range of sports professionals to success since its original publication in 2013. This second edition adds examples and strategies that focus on using data on the business side of a sports organization, provides concrete strategies for incorporating different types of data into decision making, and updates all discussions for the rapid technological developments of the last decade.

Fully updated - includes the full story of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.

The Official History of the FIFA World Cup is the definitive inside story of the 22 FIFA World Cups to have taken place since the inaugural tournament in 1930. Packed with stunning photography, unique official documents and in-depth statistics, it is a must-read for any football fan around the world.


No other event in the sporting world can rival the glamour, impact, fervent following and universal appeal of the FIFA World Cup. This unique official book tells the stories behind the scenes, as well as analyzing the most famous incidents. It features the biggest stars and many previously unknown ones too, all with a unique worldwide point of view.

This book is about how new media, and in particular, digital and social media, has changed the world of sports forever. The way fans receive information, communicate and form communities now predominantly lives online.  

But perhaps even more significant is the evolution of the sports media industry, where digital media has impacted the broader media industry, stimulated new media organisations, changed old media organisations and altered old conventions of journalism in equal measure.

It is no exaggeration to suggest that new media has turned the sports industry on its head. The implications for this are profound – both exciting and disturbing. So too is the impact on the way we form communities, the quality of news created, the way we receive information and prioritise news and content – all fundamental to our democratic processes and social and political lives.

 This study draws on the expertise of academics, scholars, experts and professionals at the forefront of the sports, media, and journalism fields. Calling upon the worldwide appeal of the sporting industry, this book is a prevailing testament to the pure influence of digital media on ALL parts of society.

The secrets of internal power are revealed in this expert guide to Internal and External martial Qigong.

This comprehensive martial arts training guide explores White Crane Kung Fu (Gongfu), one of the most famous martial styles developed in China. Martial Arts Qigong is integral to White Crane kung Fu and is a proven way to build explosive fighting power, known as Jin.

In addition to fighting power, martial Qigong builds robust health and longevity. By focusing on the spine and torso, Shaolin White Crane develops and maintains a strong, supple upper body. Flexibility and strength of the spine are notable results of this training.

It is commonly recognized that Shaolin White Crane is the root of Okinawan Karate, and has heavily influenced Japanese martial arts. From this book, a Karate practitioner will be able to trace this root back, and gain profound comprehension of empty-hand styles.

• Long time hidden secrets of White Crane revealed.
• A comprehensive analysis of Internal and External martial Qigong.
• Complete sets of White Crane Hard and Soft Qigong training.
• A thorough examination of martial power (Jin).
• Presents more than 60 White Crane Jin patterns.
• Learn mental and physical training for explosive fighting power.
• Over four hundred action photographs and illustrations.

The Montreal Canadiens are one of the most storied franchises in hockey. No club has won more Stanley Cups than the Canadiens, but they are about so much more than championships. For many French Canadians and fans around the world, the Habs are a source of pride and an inherent part of their identity.

From Maurice Richard inspiring generations of French Canadians in La Belle Province to how the infamous “Richard Riot” may have helped spark a revolution in Quebec, the bleu, blanc, et rouge have been an important part of many people’s lives, on and off the ice. You can now relive some of the team’s rich history and memorable moments, such as the club’s origins in 1909, their first overall selection in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, and the 24 Stanley Cups in between. You’ll even find some obscure incidents, like the time “the Gumper” got egged, and some of the more heartwarming moments, like when the Montreal faithful welcomed back captain Saku Koivu after his battle against cancer. Chances are, if you’re holding this book in your hands, you’re a Habs fan, and with every turn of the page you’ll fall in love with the team all over again.

Featured in Wall Street Journal's Best Books on Angling

A Top 10 Indie Next Pick

Chris Dombrowski was playing a numbers game: two passions—poetry and fly-fishing; two children, one of them in utero; and an income hovering perilously close to zero. Enter, at this particularly challenging moment, a miraculous email: can’t go, it’s all paid for, just book a flight to Miami.

Thus began a journey that would lead to the Bahamas and to David Pinder, a legendary bonefishing guide. Bonefish are prized for their elusiveness and their tenacity. And no one was better at hunting them than Pinder, a Bahamian whose accuracy and patience were virtuosic. He knows what the fish think, said one fisherman, before they think it.

By the time Dombrowski meets Pinder, however, he has been abandoned by the industry he helped build. With cataracts from a lifetime of staring at the water and a tiny severance package after forty years of service, he watches as the world of his beloved bonefish is degraded by tourists he himself did so much to attract. But as Pinder’s stories unfold, Dombrowski discovers a profound integrity and wisdom in the guide’s life.

Chin Na is one of the four major fighting categories in all Chinese martial styles.

The four categories are:

• Kicking (Ti)
• Striking (Da)
• Wrestling (Shuai)
• Seize-Controlling (Na)

This book is also laid out according to actual fighting scenarios as follows:

• Chin Na Against Barhand Attacks
• Chin Na Against Blocking
• Chin Na Against Kicking
• Chin Na Against Knife Attacks
• Offensive Chin Na Techniques

With over 375 techniques, practitioners can discover a variety of techiques suitable to their needs and martial arts style. Effective application of Chin Na requires speedy execution of a block or yield, a set up, and then a proper technique. By experimenting with different situations presented in this book, you can find those techniques that work best for you.

Seize-Controlling Chin Na techniques can be effectively used against an opponents grabbing attacks as well as against wrestling. Pressing and striking Chin Na can be used to seal the opponents breathing, vein/artery, or Qi circulation, which can cause severe pain, numbness, and unconsciousness.

Most of Chin Na can be learned easily and be adopted into any martial style. Chin Na has been known as the root of the Japanese arts of Jujitsu and Aikido, and practitioners can use the study of Chin Na to increase their understanding of the theory and principles of their own arts.

This book is designed to make learning easier.

In an era of buyouts by consortia and sovereign wealth funds, the relationship between football clubs and their fan communities has never been under such strain.

Examining models of football club ownership and how they clash with fan ideals, Contradictions in Fan Culture and Club Ownership in Contemporary English Football considers the fan – or at least, some idealised, all-encompassing image of the fan – as the underlying foundation for the ideological structures of football. Grounded in discussions of class, chapters tackle the dynamic by which football organisations, as global businesses, often operate in ways contrary to the perceived ‘essence’ or values of the sports club at the heart of their operation. Providing insight into different notions of football club ownership, specifically the Public Limited Company (PLC), the billionaire’s ‘plaything,’ the sportswashing project, the ‘remodel’ and asset stripping, the authors raise significant issues and dilemmas faced by football club fandoms. Does the unifying entity that holds a significant place in the hearts and minds of individuals and communities even exist anymore?

Showcasing a robust conceptual model primed for use in future studies, this work offers a close analysis of the culture of the fast-moving football club ownership world, football fandom and consumption, and what it might mean for the future of the sport.

Xingyiquan (Hsing I Chuan) is one of the best known Chinese internal martial arts.

Xingyi means "Shape Mind", and Quan means "Fist" or "Style". The name derives from the style's imitation of the movements and inner characteristics of twelve animals. The style was created by Marshal Yeuh Fei, a famous general of the Chinese Song Dynasty.

The practice of Xingyiquan, like Taijiquan, improves Qi circulation in the body and maintains health. In addition, the training builds up an abundant level of internal Qi so that both the physical body and the mental body can be strengthened.

This book presents traditional Xingyiquan training, including two sequences with many of their martial applications, and the famous fighting set "An Shen Pao". The most unique part of this book is the discussion of Xingyiquan theories and principles, drawn from many of the ancient poems and songs. Understanding these will greatly speed your training.

• Deepen your Understanding for Great Xingyi.
• Inspiration and Advice for a Lifetime of Practice.
• For All Levels of Experience.

This title from the De Gruyter Book Archive has been digitized in order to make it available for academic research. It was originally published under National Socialism and has to be viewed in this historical context. Learn more here.

‘Fighting Scholars’ brings to the fore the ethnographic study of combat sports and martial arts as a means of exploring embodied human existence. The book’s main claim is that such activities represent privileged grounds to access different social dimensions, such as emotion, violence, pain, gender, ethnicity and religion. In order to explore these dimensions, the concept of ‘habitus’ is presented prominently as an epistemic remedy for the academic distant gaze of the effaced academic body. The different contributions of this volume are aligned within the same project that began to crystallize in Loïc Wacquant’s ‘Body and Soul’: the construction of a ‘carnal sociology’ that constitutes an exploration of the social world ‘from’ the body.

The book is divided into three sections. In the first section, the editors introduce the field, providing a typology of existing literature. The second section contains the contributions of the authors, discussing their respective approaches to embodied ethnography, their use of the concept of ‘habitus’, and ethnographic findings. The third section contains a conclusion by the editors – reflecting on existing conceptions of ‘habitus’ and interdisciplinary possibilities for rethinking the concept – and an epilogue by Loïc Wacquant critically assessing the whole volume.

Fully updated for the 2024 season, and with more than a thousand sets of complete Grand Prix results, this is the ultimate reference book for Formula One fans.

The Formula One Record Book 2024 is the essential resource for any motorsport fan. This massive stats and records bible includes the full results of every Grand Prix in F1 history and much more besides. Featuring detailed driver and constructor statistics (sourced from industry-leading data providers Motorsport Stats), championship standings and season reviews, it offers a comprehensive overview of Formula One history in a single, strikingly designed package.

Alongside the facts and statistics you'll also find fascinating commentary from leading F1 writer Bruce Jones. Add in all-time records for drivers and constructors, and you have have a complete Formula One chronicle spanning more than 70 years of incredible racing.

Master the Way of the Sword!

Discover the King of Short Weapons - the Lord of One Hundred Arms!

Improve your balance, strength, focus, and martial skills with this elegant and effective Chinese weapon, from America's most respected author and teacher of Shaolin Kung Fu. Mastering the Art of the Northern Shaolin Sword requires extensive physical training, which will result in a strong, finely-tuned body and mind. And as self-defense, Shaolin Sword is indispensable, improving your perception, timing, and reactions, allowing for the quickest and most appropriate response to any given situation.

Sword training is one of the highest accomplishments in Chinese martial arts. Northern Shaolin Sword is a complete book for martial artists seeking to refine their skill and spirit.

• In-Depth History, Fundamentals and Forms.
• Two-Person Routines, Applications and Fighting Strategies.
• Three Complete Sword Sequences, including the Rarely Seen or Taught Matching Set.
• Easy-to-Follow Step-by-Step Photos with Detailed Instruction.

Every autumn American football fans pack large college stadiums or crowd around grassy fields to root for their favorite teams. Most are unaware that this most popular American sport was created by the teams that now make up the Ivy League. From the day Princeton played the first intercollegiate game in 1869, these major schools of the northeast—Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale—shaped football as we now know it. Almost every facet of the game still bears their imprint: they created the All-America team, produced the first coaches, devised the basic rules, invented many of the strategies, developed much of the equipment, and even named the positions. Both the Heisman and Outland trophies are named for Ivy League players.

Crowds of 80,000 no longer attend Ivy League games as they did seventy years ago, and Ivy teams are not the powerhouses they once were, but at times they can still be a step ahead of the rest of football, as in 1973 when Brown and Penn started the first black quarterbacks to face each other in major college history.

In this rich history, Bernstein shows that much of the culture that surrounds American football, both good and bad, has its roots in the Ivy League. The college fight song is an Ivy League creation (Yale's was written by Cole Porter), as are the marching bands that play them. With their long winning streaks and impressive victories, Ivy teams started a national obsession with football in the first decades of the twentieth century that remains alive today. But football was almost abolished early on because of violence in Ivy games, and it took President Theodore Roosevelt to mediate disagreements about rough play in order for football to remain a college sport. Gambling and ticket scalping were as commonplace then as now, as well as payoffs and recruiting abuses, fueled by the tremendous amount of money generated by the games, revenue that was oftentimes greater than that collected by the rest of the university. But the Ivy teams confronted those abuses, and in so doing helped develop our ideals about the role of athletics in college life. Although Ivy League football and its ancient rivalries have disappeared from big-time sports by their own accord, their legacy remains with every snap of the ball.

The go-to reference for riders and trainers aiming to improve equine conditioning in ways that are strategic, engaging, and fair to the horse.

For just about everything we do with horses—from trail riding to top level competition—a healthy state of fitness is key to both performance and longevity. Every horse will go better for longer if his mind and body are well prepared for the “ask.”

When it comes to improving fitness, whether for humans or animals, the success of an exercise relies on dosage. How an exercise is applied, the duration and frequency of execution, and the weekly schedule within which it is incorporated determine its impact on fitness.

Equine training and conditioning expert Jec Aristotle Ballou has now provided a book that takes the guesswork out of fitness gains. It clarifies how long and frequently to do a particular exercise and provides guidance in how to combine it with others for best results. The result is maximized health and athleticism in the horse.

The 33 workouts in these pages help accomplish the performance goals that many riders strive for but fall short of reaching—stronger, more agile, and more balanced horses. They do this by circumventing the tension, both physical and mental, that often spoils conditioning attempts made within a discipline-specific or skill-based training session. By providing the right amount of stimulus while avoiding boredom, fatigue, and habituated neuromuscular patterns, Ballou’s workouts lead to positive physiological gains. Her plans include:

• Ways to measure a horse’s current fitness.
• Guidelines for active and passive rest.
• Basics for stretching, warming up, and improving mobility.
• Unique groundwork that keeps both you and your horse engaged.
• Hill hikes and terrain tests with multiple benefits.
• Suggested schedules for basic fitness goals, as well as special considerations for young horses and trail riders.

With easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions and clear illustration, this book is a fundamental piece of any conscientious rider’s training plan and a key component to keeping horses performing happily for more years of their lives.

An unforgettable pilgrimage through America's oldest major league ballpark

The Green Monster. Pesky's Pole. The Lone Red Seat. Yawkey Way. To baseball fans this list of bizarre phrases evokes only one place: Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Built in 1912, Fenway Park is Americas oldest major league ballpark still in use. In Faithful to Fenway, Michael Ian Borer takes us out to Fenway where we sit in cramped wooden seats (often with obstructed views of the playing field), where there is a hand-operated scoreboard and an average attendance of 20,000 fewer fans than most stadiums, and where every game has been sold out since May of 2003. There is no Hard Rock Café (like Toronto's Skydome), no swimming pool (like Arizona's Chase Field), and definitely no sushi (which has become a fan favorite from Baltimore to Seattle). As Borer tells us in this captivating book, Fenway is short on comfort but long on character.

Faithful to Fenway investigates the mystique of the ballpark. Borer, who lived in Boston before and after the Red Sox historic 2004 World Series win, draws on interviews with Red Sox players, including Jason Varitek and Carl Yastrzemski, management, including Larry Lucchino and John Henry, groundskeepers, vendors, and scores of fans to uncover what the park means for Boston and the people who revere it. Borer argues that Fenway is nothing less than a national icon, more than worthy of the banner outside the stadium that proclaims, “America's Most Beloved Ballpark”. Certainly as one of New England's greatest landmarks, Fenway captures the hearts and imaginations of a deferential and devoted public. There are T-shirts, bumper stickers, banners, and snow globes that honor the ballpark. Fenway shows up in popular films, novels, television commercials, and in replicated form in people's backyards—and coming in 2008 to Quincy, Massachusetts, is Mini-Fenway Park, a replica stadium built especially for kids.

Full of legendary stories, amusing anecdotes, and the shared triumph and tragedy of the Red Sox and their fans, Faithful to Fenway offers a fresh and insightful perspective, offering readers an unforgettable pilgrimage to the mecca of baseball.

Messi is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.

The humble and shy youngster from a working-class family in Rosario, Argentina, who was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at the age of 11, would become one of the most famous footballers of all time and realise a boyhood dream by captaining Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022.

Messi's popularity around the globe remains undiminished, adored by millions of football fans who put rivalries aside to salute this incredible footballer. He has won every major honour there is to win, including the coveted Ballon d'Or on a record seven occasions and a record two World Cup Golden Ball awards.

His incredible career is mostly centred around his 21-year stay with Barcelona where is revered as a footballing god. Now playing for Paris St Germain, the Argentine genius continues to take the beautiful game to unchartered levels which has spanned a glittering career of more than 20 years - he is, quite simply, a maestro with the gift to do the seemingly impossible.

"I have fun like a child in the street. When the day comes when I'm not enjoying it, I will leave football."
Lionel Messi on retirement

"I start early, and I stay late, day after day, year after year. It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success."
Messi on Twitter, 13 August 2018

"There is only one Messi."
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager 2018

Encompassing some of the most revered moments in sports history as well as some of the most forgotten, The Salt Lake Loonie & Other Stories Every Sports Fan Should Know by Brett and Jesse Matlock is a survival guide to table-top sports talk.

Arming the greenhorn and the journeyman sports fan with new insights and takes on sports stories that cover the classical to the comical—what was the "Curse of the Bambino"? Who won the so-called "Battle of the Sexes" in tennis? What is the real story behind "The Salt Lake Loonie"? Organized by themes and identified by fun sport symbols, The Salt Lake Loonie makes for an easy and engaging read. Fast Facts are interspersed throughout, arming the greenhorn and the journeyman sports fan alike with new insights and fun and interesting bits of trivia. With an introduction by Olympic gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser and illustrations by Dwight Allott, The Salt Lake Loonie is destined to be the “sports bible” that every fan will love.

The best of both Eastern and Western Sword Fighting Techniques

Sword fighting is a vigorous activity that develops strength, speed, and overall physical fitness. It also promotes mental acuity and quick thinking. Once you have developed the requisite skills to the point where you no longer have to think about them to perform them properly, you can focus your attention on out-witting your opponent in an exciting game of physical chess.

The Art and Science of Sword Fighting takes an innovative, progressive approach to swordsmanship. Consisting of an eclectic collection of high-percentage sword fighting techniques borrowed from many diverse sources, these universal concepts can easily be applied to fighting with a wide variety of swords.

The Art and Science of Sword Fighting is aimed at creating a formidable general practitioner, someone who is comfortable fighting with a variety of swords. This approach provides a solid foundation in the general art of sword fighting, a necessity for beginners and experts alike. Later, once you have determined what your strengths are and where your personal interests lie, you may choose to go on to specialize in a particular brand of swordsmanship. Regardless of what that style may be, this strong foundation will serve you well.

By not focusing on the historical context of any particular style, advanced practitioners, regardless of personal style or affiliation, might transcend stylistic differences to come together as a swordsman or a swordswoman in order to discover the universal concepts that underlie all styles. Such collaborations serve to improve the collective understanding of sword fighting.

The Art and Science of Sword Fighting is divided into two main sections.

• Part One focuses on wielding a one-handed sword.
• Subsections include offense, defense, fencing, and advanced techniques.
• Part Two focuses on wielding a two-handed sword.
• Subsections include offense, defense, fencing, and advanced techniques.

This book takes a bold, progressive approach to the topic of next generation fencing. The condensed course of study is designed to teach you how to use just about any sword; an eclectic approach to the art of swordsmanship aimed at ferreting out the universal concepts common to wielding a sword. By taking this fresh, methodical approach to the topic, any student can quickly learn the Art and Science of Sword Fighting.

Fundamentals from the world’s “long-reining maestro."

If long-reining (long-lining) is an essential building block in a horse’s training, this book is the essential building block in every horse person’s education. Readers are primed in classically correct long-reining basics by renowned German trainer Wilfried Gehrmann, giving them a safe and solid launch point for the development of a sport horse in a variety of disciplines. General guidelines are given for:

- Preparing the horse for work in long-reins and the related equipment.

- Handling the reins and whip.

- Positioning of the handler’s body—both when moving with the horse and when asking the horse to move in longe circles and other figures.

- Development of lateral work.

- Long-reining over ground poles and jumps.

- Starting the driving horse.

- Working the vaulting horse.

- Acquiring the skills needed for advanced movements in-hand and under saddle, such as piaffe and passage.

South Asian American men are not usually depicted as ideal American men. They struggle against popular representations as either threatening terrorists or geeky, effeminate computer geniuses. To combat such stereotypes, some use sports as a means of performing a distinctly American masculinity. Desi Hoop Dreams focuses on South Asian-only basketball leagues common in most major U.S. and Canadian cities, to show that basketball, for these South Asian American players is not simply a whimsical hobby, but a means to navigate and express their identities in 21st century America.

The participation of young men in basketball is one platform among many for performing South Asian American identity. South Asian-only leagues and tournaments become spaces in which to negotiate the relationships between masculinity, race, and nation. When faced with stereotypes that portray them as effeminate, players perform sporting feats on the court to represent themselves as athletic. And though they draw on black cultural styles, they carefully set themselves off from African American players, who are deemed “too aggressive.” Accordingly, the same categories of their own marginalization—masculinity, race, class, and sexuality—are those through which South Asian American men exclude women, queer masculinities, and working-class masculinities, along with other racialized masculinities, in their effort to lay claim to cultural citizenship.

One of the first works on masculinity formation and sport participation in South Asian American communities, Desi Hoop Dreams focuses on an American popular sport to analyze the dilemma of belonging within South Asian America in particular and in the U.S. in general.

Winning Judo offers realistic and practical instruction for success in competitive judo. Written for beginner and experienced athletes, author Steve Scott shares the skills you need to be successful at all levels of competitive judo.

He will teach you how to train your body, enhance your competition skill set, and establish a winning mental game. You will learn how to

• Understand the three levels of training intensity
• Scout and read your opponents
• Develop tactics for regaining and keeping your lead in the scoring
• Manage tempo, pace, and positioning
• And much more

Judo is based on sound principles of movement and biomechanics. Understanding how and why a technique works or doesn’t work provides a solid advantage when under stress in competition. With over 450 photographs, Steve will explain the proper ways to exploit

• Success with throws
• Managing transitions and defenses
• Aggressive defenses that win matches
• Ground fighting and breaking down your opponent
• Defending against and initiating armlocks
• Chokes and strangles

To be successful in judo, athletes and their coaches need clear objectives and informed knowledge of what to do during the ever-changing dynamics of a judo match. Steve Scott has developed and coached many competitors to championships at World, Pan American, and Olympic judo teams. Written by popular demand, he brings his lifetime of experience in one authoritative and focused book on winning in competitive judo.

Discover the original purpose and training of taekwondo

The principles and techniques illustrated in this book, having been handed down over the decades, if not centuries, emphasize a core philosophy rich in defensive strategy.

Taekwondo, literally translated, can be defined as "foot, hand way" or "the way of smashing with hands and feet." Such descriptive nomenclature understandably implies a curriculum rich in self-defense. Too often, however, this is simply not the case. Given the current popularity of sport competition in the martial arts, many techniques of defensive value have been stripped away or forfeited altogether in favor of those certain to score in the ring. While the thirst for Olympic gold has clearly played a significant role in propelling taekwondo into the forefront, it should be remembered that this native Korean martial art contains over 3200 distinct self defense techniques.

This book describes in detail, the history and evolution of Taekwondo from its ancient roots to modern day applications. Also included are exercises in "Ki" or internal energy development, meditation practice, and practical self-defense strategies. This work focuses on the traditional aspects of Taekwondo rather than on its sportive component.

How a Grand Prix dressage rider competed at the highest level before finding her way to liberty work, and the extraordinary lessons that molded her perceptions, understandings, and feelings along the way.

In her deeply personal and strikingly beautiful book, Froment traces her evolution as a horsewoman, a dressage competitor, and now a world-renowned performer and trainer of liberty horses—horses that perform free of anything on their bodies. Readers meet the ponies she learned on, and the challenging mounts that helped her grow as a junior rider. There were horses she immediately loved and horses she had to work to connect with—and eventually there were Mistral and Sultan, who she calls her “yin and yang,” and who elevated her aspirations both beside and on the back of a horse. It is with these two special souls that Froment further explored riding the Grand Prix movements with only a neck rope—no bridle or bit, and often bareback as well—and demonstrating to the world the potential that is there for all riders to enjoy, if they are open to the experience and are willing to take the time for it to evolve.

Readers will be entranced by Froment’s willingness to bare her soul, powerfully articulating her feelings when confronted with jealousy, with performance expectations, with the possibility of losing the horse she loved to an unknown buyer, with retiring a beloved partner, and with the changing circumstances and altered allegiances of her heart when her daughter Louise is born. As tender as a story about riding, competing, and performing with horses at the highest levels can be, The Horses Who Made Me is first a story of one woman’s personal journey, eternally questioning herself, and second, an inspiration for anyone who is forever striving for a better way of training horses, because of the profound beauty you just might find.

ADDING POWER TO THE FIGHTING TECHNIQUES OF KARATE

Hojo Undo means 'supplementary training', and using these tools is the key for developing the devastating power of karate techniques. Without Hojo Undo, a practitioner cannot reach the profound strength levels required for a lifetime of karate training.

This book details how to construct and use many training tools; provides accurate mechanical drawings, comprehensive training methods, and an historical context to understand why Hojo Undo was created in 'old' Okinawa.

• Warm up exercises
• Detailed construction drawings
• Build your own Hojo Undo tools!
• Learn how to use the tools to develop devastating power
• Link your increased power to fighting techniques
• Hear what Okinawan Masters say about Hojo Undo training

Confronts the pressing problems surrounding race and diversity in the front offices of the American sports industry

From the years of the Negro Leagues in baseball up to today, when college basketball programs entice and then fail to educate young Black men, sports in America have long served as a barometer of the country’s racial climate. Just as Black employees are often barred from the upper echelons of corporate America, they are underrepresented in the front offices of the sports industry as well. In this compact volume, Kenneth L. Shropshire confronts prominent racial myths head-on, offering both a history of—and solutions for—the most pressing problems currently plaguing sports.

Despite the fact that Black athletes represent a huge majority of the American sports industry, the majority of ownership stake in professional basketball, baseball, and football teams is still held by white owners. And yet, when confronted with programs intended to diversify their front offices, many teams resort to the familiar refrain of merit-based excuses: there simply aren't enough qualified Black candidates or they don't know how to network. These hollow excuses not only stigmatize and exclude Black employees, but directly contradict the important value Black candidates can bring to these roles. In the insular world of sports, where former players often move up to become coaches, managers, executives, and owners, Black candidates are eminently qualified. After decades of active involvement with their sport, they often bring to the table experiences more relevant to the Black players on their teams. As a central aspect of American life, the sports industry has a responsibility to be a leader in the fight for racial equality—a responsibility that has not yet been met.

In Black and White takes the industry to task, revealing claims of colorblindness and reverse racism as self-serving deflection and scrutinizing professional and collegiate sports, sports agents, and owners alike. No mere critique, however, the volume looks optimistically forward, outlining strategies that will drive the sports industry toward greater racial equality, and help it lead the way for racial justice efforts throughout America.

It began with Magic, Bird, and Dr. J. Then came Michael. The Dream Team. The WNBA. And, most recently, "Spree" Latrell Sprewell--American Dream or American Nightmare?--the embodiment of everything many believe is wrong--and others believe is exciting--about the game.
Today, despite the NBA strike, despite home run derbies, despite football's headlock on network television ratings, despite the much-heralded return of baseball, basketball has assumed a role in American culture and consciousness impossible to imagine 20 years ago, when arenas were empty and the NBA finals were broadcast via tape delay in the wee hours.
So what happened? How did a "black sport," plagued by drug scandal and decimated by white flight, come to achieve such prominence? What are the subtle and not-so-subtle racial codes that define how the game is played and perceived, and the reception of its high-profile stars? What does the shift in popularity from the predominantly white, working-class ethos of baseball to the black, urban ethos of basketball suggest about contemporary life in America? What linkages exist between basketball and hip-hop culture and how did these develop? How has the arrival of women on the scene changed the equation?
Bringing together journalists, cultural critics, and academics, this wide-ranging anthology has something for everyone, from hard-core fan to casual observer.
Contributors: Todd Boyd, Kenneth L. Shropshire, Gerald Early, James Peterson, Susan J. Rayl, Davis W. Houck, Mark Conrad, Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Earl Smith, Sohail Daulatzi, Larry Platt, Tina Sloan Green, Alpha Alexander, Tara McPherson, Aaron Baker.

The surprising roots of the self-defense movement and the history of women’s empowerment.

At the turn of the twentieth century, women famously organized to demand greater social and political freedoms like gaining the right to vote. However, few realize that the Progressive Era also witnessed the birth of the women’s self-defense movement.

It is nearly impossible in today’s day and age to imagine a world without the concept of women’s self defense. Some women were inspired to take up boxing and jiu-jitsu for very personal reasons that ranged from protecting themselves from attacks by strangers on the street to rejecting gendered notions about feminine weakness and empowering themselves as their own protectors. Women’s training in self defense was both a reflection of and a response to the broader cultural issues of the time, including the women’s rights movement and the campaign for the vote.

Perhaps more importantly, the discussion surrounding women’s self-defense revealed powerful myths about the source of violence against women and opened up conversations about the less visible violence that many women faced in their own homes. Through self-defense training, women debunked patriarchal myths about inherent feminine weakness, creating a new image of women as powerful and self-reliant. Whether or not women consciously pursued self-defense for these reasons, their actions embodied feminist politics. Although their individual motivations may have varied, their collective action echoed through the twentieth century, demanding emancipation from the constrictions that prevented women from exercising their full rights as citizens and human beings. This book is a fascinating and comprehensive introduction to one of the most important women’s issues of all time.

This book will provoke good debate and offer distinct responses and solutions.

This Book Stands Alone as an Introduction to the Context of Self-Defense.

There are seven elements that must be addressed to bring self-defense training to something approaching ‘complete.’ Any training that dismisses any of these areas leaves you vulnerable.

We strongly recommend this book to anybody wishing to learn self-defense, or understand how to stay safe should violence rear it's ugly head.

1. Legal and ethical implications. A student learning self-defense must learn force law. Otherwise it is possible to train to go to prison. Side by side with the legal rules, every student must explore his or her own ethical limitations. Most do not really know where this ethical line lies within them.
2. Violence dynamics. Self-defense must teach how attacks happen. Students must be able to recognize an attack before it happens and know what kind they are facing.
3. Avoidance. Students need to learn and practice not fighting. Learning includes escape and evasion, verbal de-escalation, and also pure-not-be there avoidance.
4. Counter-ambush. If the student didn’t see the precursors or couldn’t successfully avoid the encounter he or she will need a handful of actions trained to reflex level for a sudden violent attack.
5. Breaking the freeze. Freezing is almost universal in a sudden attack. Students must learn to recognize a freeze and break out of one.
6. The fight itself. Most martial arts and self-defense instructors concentrate their time right here. What is taught just needs to be in line with how violence happens in the world.
7. The aftermath. There are potential legal, psychological, and medical effects of engaging in violence no matter how justified. Advanced preparation is critical.

Any teacher or student of self-defense, anyone interested in self-defense, and any person who desires a deeper understanding of violence really should read this book.

Survival Favors the Prepared Mind—Robert Crowley

AWARDS

• eLit Award GOLD WINNER - 2012
• USA Best Books Award FINALIST - 2012
• Eric Hoffer Award HONORABLE MENTION - 2012

Martial artists that reach a certain level of proficiency with their barehanded fighting forms, may choose to expand their knowledge to include weapons techniques.

Over the past 5,000 years, the Chinese have developed a vast array of weapons, built for a multitude of purposes. These weapons and their derivitaves are found in all martial art styles, including Kung Fu, karate, Taekwondo, and Indonesian styles.

You may ask

• What weapon should I choose?
• What are their original or main purposes?
• What is the history of these weapons?
• What weapon is right for my body type or strength?

Ancient Chinese Weapons: A Martial Artists Guide is an easy reference guide designed to offer the answers. It is profusely illustrated, easy to navigate, and conveniently broken down into the four main classifications: Long Weapons, Short Weapons, Soft Weapons, and Projectile / Thrown Weapons.

Contents include:

• Techniques and fighting strategy for many kinds of weapons
• The history and evolution of Chinese weapons
• Weapons classifications
• Over 130 illustrations

Inside you will find ancient Chinese weapons of many types, from swords and spears, sharpened coins to flying claws! Even if you're not a martial artist, but have an interest in history and warfare, you'll find this guide an invaluable resource.

The daring exploits of motorcycle race legends Valentino Rossi, Barry Sheene, Casey Stoner and John Surtees are all gloriously celebrated in MotoGP: The Illustrated History.

Updated for 2023 and packed with more than 150 stunning photographs, this authoritative and long-overdue illustrated history celebrates high performance motorbike racing since the start of the world championship in 1949.

Each racing decade is dissected and discussed, as are the big incidents, top personalities and technological innovations. To complete the book, motorcycle racing's greatest names – including John Surtees, Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts, Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Marc Marquez – provide exclusive personal insights and accounts of what it is like to race at speeds of 200mph. MotoGP: The Illustrated History is a unique book which brilliantly conveys the exhilarating spirit of this stunning sport.

Clever ways to improve your horse’s performance when groundwork is all you can do.

There are dozens of reasons you might not be able to ride your horse. Weather can have an impact on your riding and training choices, sometimes keeping you out of the saddle, as can an injury to you or your horse, or changes in lifestyle or horsemanship goals. But time not riding does not need to be time wasted, explains trainer and popular instructor Vanessa Bee. As Founder of the International Horse Agility Club, Bee brings to the stable a unique set of skill-building techniques and exercises that anyone can use to better understand how the horse moves and how to influence that movement, resulting in better behavior on the ground, improved performance under saddle, and strengthened connection whenever and however you and your horse interact.

Bee's degree in education and experience as a teacher, as well as a horse trainer and riding instructor, informs the way she presents her easily achievable lessons that you can do right in the barn with limited equipment, including:

• Exercises to help you get to know your horse better.
• Safe handling techniques.
• Specific ways to build a trusting relationship.
• Fun games and ideas for engaging the horse's mind and body.
• Challenges that test willingness, balance, and focus.

With five foundation skills providing a clear place to start, and step-by-step instructions for 50 individual tasks and activities on the ground that not only engage both horse and rider but build toward immense rewards under saddle, this vibrantly illustrated book delivers for riders of all ages and abilities. Whether your goals are better dressage scores or quiet trail rides, or just safe and fulfilling time spent in the company of horses, Rainy Day Horsemanship has the positive steps you can take, starting today, whatever the season, whatever the weather.

Get your daily Toronto Maple Leafs fix with Leafs 365. From the franchise’s early beginning as the Arenas and the St. Patricks to the incredible four-goal comeback against the Lightning in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Leafs 365 includes 365 short stories about everybody’s favourite hockey team — one for every day of the year — to remind you why you still cheer for the blue and white season after season.

Some people say that the Leafs are cursed, but any team that brings you this many moments worth revisiting must be blessed. You may not be old enough to remember the team’s last Stanley Cup, but chances are you can recall Auston Matthews’s four-goal debut or the sense of optimism when the Leafs signed John Tavares. And while there are plenty of stories in this book that might make you question why you still root for the Buds, like the Game 7 meltdown to the Bruins in 2013 or losing to the Hurricanes, who had a Zamboni driver in net in 2020, the lowlights are what make the best times sweeter and worth celebrating. Chances are, if you’re holding this book in your hands, you’re a Leafs fan, and with every turn of the page you’ll fall in love with them all over again.

A highly illustrated guide to the most effective and beneficial stretches for horses.

Stretching is a necessary part of any athlete’s exercise and maintenance routine. Long recognized to promote flexibility and prevent injury in humans, stretching can bring the same benefits to horses when made part of their daily care. This illustrated handbook makes it easy for riders and owners to include simple exercises that improve performance and increase longevity in their usual training schedule.

Optimal equine performance requires strength, flexibility, coordination, and resilience. The practice of stretching makes it possible to develop and maintain all these elements in harmony. It also provides valuable transition time from hours that may have been spent in a stall to the gymnastic expectations we have for horses under saddle: rhythm and elasticity of the gaits, willingness to go forward, beautiful and dynamic movement, reliability and surefootedness, and more.

With clear descriptions of the anatomical and physiological principles of stretching, readers gain an understanding of the exercises that may be best for their horses and disciplines in mind. Then, detailed instructions are provided explaining:

• Simple, quick-to-do joint and muscle evaluations.
• Stretches targeting specific muscle groups.
• Stretches to promote suppleness and relaxation.
• Stretches to warm up and prepare for work.
• Stretches for cool down and recovery.

Color photographs demonstrate evaluations and stretches step-by-step, supplemented by detailed explanations of what you may discover in your horse’s reactions. Perhaps best of all, readers are provided a therapeutic reason for more hands-on time with their horses, and new ways to listen to him, to understand him, and to ultimately improve his well-being and performance.

The speed and brutality of a predatory attack can shock even an experienced martial artist.

The sudden chaos, the cascade of stress hormones―you feel as though time slows down. In reality, the assault is over in an instant. How does anyone prepare for that?

As a former corrections sergeant and tactical team leader, Rory Miller is a proven survivor. He instructs police and corrections professionals who, in many cases, receive only eight hours of defensive tactics training each year. They need techniques that work and they need unflinching courage.

In Training for Sudden Violence Miller gives you the tools to prepare and prevail, both physically and psychologically. He shares hard-won lessons from a world most of us hope we never experience.

• Train in fundamentals,combat drills, and dynamic fighting.
• Develop situational awareness.
• Condition yourself through stress inoculation.
• Take a critical look at your training habits.

“You don't get to pick where fights go,” Miller writes. That's why he has created a series of drills to train you for the worst of it. You will defend yourself on your feet, on the ground, against weapons, in a crowd, and while blindfolded. You will reevaluate your training scenarios―keeping what works, discarding what does not, and improving your chances of survival.

Miller's internal work, world work, and plastic mind exercises will challenge you in ways that mere physical training does not. Sections include:

• Stalking
• Escape and evasion
• The predator mind
• Personal threat assessment

This is a fight for your life, and it won't happen on a nice soft mat. It will get, as Miller says, “all kinds of messy.” Training for Sudden Violence prepares you for that mess.

Hockey lovers will be fascinated by the truth about how the National Hockey League was founded and how, through less than savory means, it captured permanent possession of the Stanley Cup.

Deceptions and Doublecross begins with the 1917 conspiracy among a Montreal contingent of the National Hockey Association to oust Toronto owner Edward James Livingstone from the league. The result was the transformation of the NHA into the NHL, with Frank Calder as president, leaving Livingstone out in the cold.

Under Calder's iron-fisted direction, the NHL became the only major hockey league in North America, and gained exclusive claim to the Stanley Cup.

Born in Genoa in 1960, Paolo Cangelosi began to practice Ju Jitsu at the age of eight. Soon after, he encountered Master Fu Han Tong, a charismatic Kung Fu master trained and taught alone, in a shed in the center of Genoa. Cangelosi’s development from student to master is a story of dedication, detachment, and a personal journey that takes from from Italy to China, Hong Kong, and Thailand, and on to international recognition as one of the leading practitioners of these ancient arts.

Cangelosi’s peregrinations and adventures form a gripping spiritual and physical quest full of strife, beauty, encounters with extraordinary people, and noble healers.

In this passionately told biography, one of Cangelosi’s followers and alumni, Nathalie Tocci, tells her own and Paolo Cangelosi’s stories.

An exciting follow-up from the bestselling author of How Good Riders Get Good and Know Better to Do Better.

We all start somewhere with horses. As a toddler on a pony. As a teenager with friends who ride. As an adult who always loved horses, but life just got in the way…until now.

Some of us start over. We sell our horses to go to school, to have careers or babies (or both). We decide to quit dressage and start reining. We fall off…and get back on.

There are all sorts of beginning places, and they can be for the first time or after a “gap.” They can mean you are beginning, or your horse is. They can mean you barely got started, or you started badly. Renowned horseman Denny Emerson knows all about the importance of these beginnings. Through an impressive career in the saddle that spans decades, he has worked with all different breeds, competed at the top international levels of eventing and endurance, lost horses and found new ones, taught young riders and adult amateurs, traded Western tack for English and back again, been injured…only to rehab, climb back in the saddle, and start over.

In his third book, Emerson once again masterfully intertwines his entertaining reflections from a life embedded in the equestrian world with serious philosophical questions faced by the industry today and practical advice honed by his immense experience. Readers will discover:

• How to make your beginning with horses easier…and how to make it harder.

• How having the right horse versus having the wrong horse can affect a beginning…or mean you should begin again.

• The importance of a team (family, friends, trainers, coaches) you trust and rely upon.

• Ways to identify how you learn, see, hear, and feel, and how to apply that knowledge with horses.

• The need for knowing how far you want to go and how much are you willing to give up to go there.

With inspirational stories of beginning and beginning again from top equestrians, as well as personal reflections from “regular” horse people around the world, these pages promise to inspire a start or a change, and provide a roadmap we all can follow, whatever our ambitions. Emerson reassures us that it doesn’t matter where your beginning point is—start where you are. And, even better, there is a do-over button—you just have to decide to push it. This book is for every horse person who continues to dream of something else or something more, and just needs someone to say: “Begin.”

Engaging new ways to understand and implement time-proven systems of horse training. 

The “Scales of Training,” “Training Scale,” and “Training Pyramid” are familiar terms to riders. Around the globe and across disciplines, equestrians hear reference to them or study them as a part of their equestrian education. Dressage rider and trainer Sue Grice grew up with these concepts, too, and like many, found them to be not only fairly boring, but also confusing when it came to actually implementing them as part of daily training. In the course of her work with other riders, she came to realize that although many seemed to know about the Scales of Training in theory, few actually applied them in practice. Grice determined that this was because there was really no clear framework or methodology for implementing the system in a progressive manner. 

So Grice conceived a new approach based on the standard but with a focus on a better rate of success. Success could be achieved when the rider was engaged with the system and understood how to continually adhere to it, even as advances (or falters) might occur. For over 30 years she has continued to develop and apply her ideas, and now she has finally brought them together to share with the world in this book. 

Here readers find a detailed plan for applying what Grice calls the “Training Spiral.” She does not try to rewrite what history has shown to work in the development of the riding horse, but instead simply provides a fresh framework that enables riders and trainers to: 

• Apply the classical elements of the Training Scale in a more progressive and logical manner, and,

• Employ them systematically within daily training as well as over a longer period of time. 

Grice provides clear explanations of how to use each of the six elements (Rhythm, Suppleness, Contact, Impulsion, Straightness, and Collection), how the elements are to be used in order, and what can go wrong if they are applied in the wrong order. Clear examples are given at all levels of training, and detailed case studies demonstrate how the Training Spiral can succeed where traditional systems have failed. The spiral structure provides a means of applying the Scales of Training in practice that is not just logical but also extremely easy to follow. The clarity of Grice’s approach also helps horses understand what is being asked of them, leading to a happier relationships between horses and riders, and training that progresses more quickly and easily overall. 

The Training Spiral is an invaluable and immensely practical guide for trainers and riders at all levels, from novice to advanced. 

A wry and witty commentary on college sports and identity in the complicated social landscape of the South.

Ed Southern, lifelong fan of the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons, the smallest school in the NCAA's Power 5, set out to tell the story of how he got tangled, in vines of history and happenstance, with the two giants of his favorite sport: the Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers. He set out to tell how a North Carolina native crossed the shifty, unmarked border between Tobacco Road and the Deep South. He set out to tell how the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant, from beyond the grave, introduced him to his wife, a Birmingham native and die-hard Alabama fan.

While he was writing that story, though, 2020 came along.

Suddenly his questions had a new and urgent focus: Why do sports mean so much that so many will play and watch them in the face of a global pandemic? How have the South’s histories shaped its fervor for college sports? How have college sports shaped how southerners construct their identities, priorities, and allegiances? Why is North Carolina passionate about college basketball when its neighbors to the South live and die by college football? Does this have anything to do with North Carolina’s reputation as the most “progressive” southern state, a state many in the Deep South don't think is “really” southern? If college sports really do mean so much in the South, then why didn’t everyone down south wear masks or recognize that Black Lives Matter, even after the coaches told us to?

Fight Songs explores the connections and contradictions between the teams we root for and the places we plant our roots; between the virtues that sports are supposed to teach and the cutthroat business they've become; between the hopes of fans and the demands of the past, present, and future.

Everything you know about riding and the horse’s movement isn’t what you think it is! Did you know that:

In these pages, physical therapist and equine movement specialist Stefan Stammer uses a startlingly unique collection of color illustrations to make movement patterns in the horse visible to the human eye, in order to help riders better understand the principles of energy and motion happening within the horse. By forming new mental images for the rider, Stammer’s goal is to profoundly impact the rider’s daily work with her horse so that it is harder for her to make common mistakes or interfere with the horse’s natural mechanisms.

With his hind end as his engine, the horse generates kinetic energy (the energy his body possesses due to its motion). For optimal movement and performance, this energy should flow through the horse’s body to the horse’s mouth, where it is fine-tuned with the rein aids before cycling back to the hind end. However, this movement flow is often unintentionally disrupted on its way through the horse by the rider. When, however, the cycle of kinetic energy within the horse is supported through the correct understanding and application of biomechanics—the mechanical laws relating to his and his rider’s movement and structure—the outer shape of horse and rider together achieve “positive tension.” This is the rhythmic stimulation of all the neuromuscular functions necessary to perform harmoniously and at peak ability.

Most importantly, once the rider understands the basic principles of the biomechanics of a horse in movement, her “feeling” in the saddle will improve. Better “feel” is an integral building block for the small and subtle steps of progress, which should accompany a rider for her entire life with horses. This smart, fascinatingly composed book is for any horseperson looking to limit riding and training mistakes, grow an understanding of how the horse best functions, and optimize equineability and performance.

The must-have reference for effective and responsible shoeing for the good of the horse.

All horses have four hooves that are integral to their overall health, their athletic ability, and ultimately, their longevity, whether their “job” is simply grazing in a pasture or competing at the highest levels. But not all horses are the same—the individual needs of each horse require an understanding of responsible, informed hoofcare on the part of the owner, rider, or trainer. This highly illustrated guide by one of the world’s leading minds in the area of farriery provides an unparalleled look at advances in shoeing and general hoof maintenance, with the goal of helping owners to comprehend the “whys” of certain choices, recognize variations in shoeing options, and become better consumers of horse shoes and horseshoeing all around.

Steve Kraus, Head of Farrier Services at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and instructor at the Cornell Farrier School, is uniquely qualified to provide a varied and thorough exploration of hoof-related topics, including: 

• Equine conformation—how to assess it in relation to soundness and performance, and how farriers use it to guide shoeing choices.
• To shoe or not to shoe? Using sense and science to analyze which horses are better served with shoes and which may be comfortable and healthy barefoot.
• Types of horseshoes and traction devices, modification devices, adhesives, materials, and more.
• Shoe loss—why it happens and how to prevent it.
• Farrier training—where and how it happens, how to find a good one and what you should expect.
• Horse handling for shoeing—how to prepare your horse and yourself.
• The future of farriery with 3D printing.
• And so much more.

 With plenty of “adventures from the road” and lessons learned during his years of shoeing horses professionally, Kraus provides a guide that is not only massive in value, it’s entertaining, to boot. An excellent resource for all serious horse people who wish to keep their horses comfortable and performing their very best while making informed decisions and having intelligent conversations with hoofcare professionals.

The Judo Advantage explores the dynamics of how and why the human body works most efficiently for throwing, submission, and pinning techniques.

Although judo provides the basis for the author’s analysis, his insights also relate to other grappling sports such as Russian sambo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and Olympic and collegiate wrestling.

You will learn how to

• Gain a competitive edge using the principles of human biomechanics.
• Master the ability to control your opponent’s movements.
• Improve fluency for seamless transition between techniques.
• Generate incredible power and speed.

This book features:

• In-depth analysis of stances, balance breaking, throws, takedowns, transitions, ground fighting, trapping, footwork, combinations, gripping, posting, linear and angular movement, torque, generating power, evading, generating force, changing directions, and stability
• Over 200 action photos
• Drills and winning insight for coaches and athletes of grappling arts

Steve Scott merges traditional martial wisdom with modern kinesiology, the study of human anatomy and movement. This new biomechanical perspective helps competitors develop every facet of their grappling skill, giving them a clear advantage in controlling opponents.

Every equestrian wants to know: what is the difference between the horse that “dances” when you are on him, and the one that doesn’t? According to Visconte Simon Cocozza, Trainer and Examiner for the La Fédération Française d'Equitation (FFE), it all comes down to the horse’s posture.

The horse’s ability to use the powerful mechanisms already built into his body relies not upon the strength we can see on the outside but the strength on the inside. This invisible and complex arrangement of internal “core” muscles control the horse’s posture, suppleness, and agility. Their good condition is the key to the dance.

Equine core muscles are very difficult to isolate with the traditional training techniques common to horse sports. However, by examining what we do with the human body when faced with a weak core, we can find new methods for conditioning these areas of the equine body. Cocozza has taken principles of the human practice of yoga and used them to develop novel ways of reaching deep within the horse’s body and:

• Gently “unlock” areas that may be a little “rusty.”
• Improve core fitness.
• And even relieve pain related to conditions such as kissing spine.

In this highly illustrated book, he provides step-by-step instruction explaining easy mounted exercises that enhance the horse’s posture, and boost his confidence in his body and movement, making him easier to ride, and ultimately, the dance partner you’ve always imagined.

Examining the Gap Between Martial Arts Training and Real World Violence.

Experienced martial artist and veteran correction officer Sgt. Rory Miller (RET) distills what he has learned from jailhouse brawls, tactical operations and ambushes to explore the differences between martial arts and the subject martial arts were designed to deal with: Violence.

Section One: The Matrix. Introduces the myths, metaphors and expectations that most martial artists have about what they will ultimately learn in their dojo. This is then compared with the complexity of the reality of violence. Complexity is one of the recurring themes throughout this work.

Section Two: How To Think. Examines how to think critically about violence, how to evaluate sources of knowledge and clearly explains the concepts of strategy and tactics.

Sections Three and Four: Violence and Predators. Focuses on the dynamics of violence itself and the predators who perpetuate it. Drawing on hundreds of encounters and thousands of hours spent with criminals Sgt. Miller explains the types of violence; how, where, when and why it develops; the effects of adrenaline; how criminals think, and even the effects of drugs and altered states of consciousness in a fight.

Section Five: Training. Centers on training for violence, and adapting your present training methods to that reality. It discusses the pros and cons of modern and ancient martial arts training and gives a unique insight into early Japanese kata as a military training method.

Section Six: Making Physical Defense Work. Is all about how to make self-defense work. Miller examines how to look at defense in a broader context, and how to overcome some of your own subconscious resistance to meeting violence with violence.

Section 7: Aftermath. Deals with the aftermath—the cost of surviving sudden violence or violent environments, how it can change you for good or bad. It gives advice for supervisors and even for instructors on how to help a student/survivor. You may even learn a bit about enlightenment.

This book will change your perception of the world, martial arts and violence.

The only complete reference explaining classical arena tracks and how to use them. 

Rider and trainer Christian Baier has been educated in horses and equitation all over the world. In his work to develop an international rider and trainer education and certification system, he realized the equestrian lexicon lacked a practical reference that brought all the classical “arena tracks”—patterns and figures used in training the horse in a schooling area—together in a simple way that is easy to understand. The arena tracks guide the rider in how to safely work the horse within a specific space in an organized way. They are also an integral tool in the conscientious trainer’s development of the horse’s body and conditioning. For the instructor, arena tracks are an important tool for communicating with the student. 

Ultimately, these classical tracks are at the foundation of everything we do in an arena with a horse, from the beginner rider just off the longe line, learning basic navigation around the ring, to the most experienced rider working a horse at the highest level of international competition. Even jumping courses consist of a combination (or variation) of arena tracks strung together from start to finish marker! 

In these pages readers not only find handy quick-reference sections on the correct arena tracks for training and riding, but also a unique collection of over 50 select exercises for using them in the development of a sport horse on the flat and over fences. Putting the arena tracks into practice is the basis for correct systematic training and education in both dressage and jumping. Baier shows the reader exactly how, with distinct sections devoted to clear illustrations of where to go and fundamental explanations for what to do. Progression in ability and understanding of both horse and rider is the goal, with tracks featured from simple to most complex, and the sections dedicated to cavalletti and jumping moving from the very first time riding over a pole to advanced exercises and courses at a very high level. 

The exercises shared in this book, used in combination with a working knowledge and understanding of the classical arena tracks, can lead to huge leaps in the growth and advancement of horse and rider—sometimes even after years of feeling “stuck.” Arena Tracks is a fabulous reference for all riders to keep in the barn and for any instructor dedicated to teaching the classical art of riding, as well as being a much-needed learning tool for equestrian federations, associations, and schools worldwide. 

Over the course of her riding and horse training career, Kathrin Roida has progressively gained a deep appreciation for the benefits of gymnastic exercises, particularly those that can be taught to the horse from the ground. “In-hand” training has long been used to help develop the dressage horse, conditioning and suppling his body while at the same time preparing his mind to grasp the movements that may eventually be expected.

Roida relies on these techniques when working with young horses, which she prepares for under-saddle training with exercises first learned on the ground, improving balance and enhancing confidence by refining the horse’s sense of his body and where it is in space. Roida also uses in-hand techniques to vary the training of the fully schooled riding horse and to solve problems that may be more safely dealt with from the ground. In this book she details her methods, sharing the stories of a number of horses of different ages, breeds, and training backgrounds, and demonstrating the steps to teaching them:

• shoulder-in
• travers
• renvers
• pirouettes
• half-pass
• piaffe & passage
• canter work
• the Spanish walk

Throughout her conscientious attention to what is best for the horse ensures that not only do the lessons result in a horse that is healthy in body but also one that is healthy in mind and happy in his work.