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My Karate Odyssey is accomplished karate instructor Hoosain Narker's six months journey across North & Central America with his karate suit, backpack & laptop as travelling companions.
Bill Bryson meets Bruce Lee in this raucously funny story of one scrawny American’s quest to become a kung fu master at China’s legendary Shaolin Temple. Growing up a ninety-pound weakling tormented by bullies in the schoolyards of Kansas, young Matthew Polly dreamed of one day journeying to the Shaolin Temple in China to become the toughest fighter in the world, like Caine in his favorite 1970s TV series, Kung Fu. While in college, Matthew decided the time had come to pursue this quixotic dream before it was too late. Much to the dismay of his parents, he dropped out of Princeton to spend two years training with the legendary sect of monks who invented kung fu and Zen Buddhism. Expecting to find an isolated citadel populated by supernatural ascetics that he’d seen in countless badly dubbed chop-socky flicks, Matthew instead discovered a tacky tourist trap run by Communist party hacks. But the dedicated monks still trained in the rigorous age-old fighting forms—some even practicing the “iron kung fu” discipline, in which intensive training can make various body parts virtually indestructible (even the crotch). As Matthew grew in his knowledge of China and kung fu skill, he would come to represent the Temple in challenge matches and international competitions, and ultimately the monks would accept their new American initiate as close to one of their own as any Westerner had ever become. Laced with humor and illuminated by cultural insight, American Shaolin is an unforgettable coming-of-age tale of one young man’s journey into the ancient art of kung fu—and a funny and poignant portrait of a rapidly changing China.
An aging amateur takes his shot at glory in the world of mixed martial arts. As a younger man, Matthew Polly traveled to the Shaolin Temple in China and spent two years training with the monks who had invented the ancient art of kung fu. Fifteen years later, his weakness for Chinese takeout and Jack Daniel’s had taken its toll. Firmly into middle age and far removed from his past athletic triumphs, Polly decided to risk it all one last time. Out of shape and over the hill, he jumped headlong into the world of MMA. In Tapped Out, Polly chronicles his grueling yet redeeming two-year journey through an often misunderstood sport. From Thailand to Russia, Manhattan to Las Vegas, Polly studied with the best trainers, concluding with a six-month fight camp at Randy Couture’s legendary gym. He explores the history of fighting sports and joins a fascinating subculture of men who roll around on sweaty mats with one another in appreciation of the purity of contained combat. And in the end, Polly straps on the gloves, gets into the cage, and squares off with a fighter fifteen years younger. An honest and humorous look at a hard-core sport, Tapped Out is a fascinating look into the fastest growing sport in America and what it takes to be an MMA fighter.
Following the author’s landmark decision to quit his job on Wall Street and become a martial arts student, this chronicle captures one man’s ongoing adventure across the Far East. Beginning in Taiwan, this autobiography documents how the protagonist learned the Chinese language, kung fu, and twe so, then journeyed on to the Shaolin Temple in mainland China. His next trek found him studying at the last Muay Thai temple in Thailand. Reflecting on a decade of travel, this recollection illustrates a perpetual quest as the author continues to voyage and practice both familiar and obscure fighting styles. Tracing his expeditions through 10 countries altogether, the odyssey also ventures through Hong Kong, Cambodia, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, and Burma.
From the author of "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body" comes a book that introduces martial arts practitioners to three "internal" arts and their subtle powers. Inner martial arts rely on internal energy for power rather than on muscles or tension. 15 photos.
The Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Kung Fu and modern Chinese Buddhism, is the oldest and most mysterious Kung Fu school in the world. It is an exotic and mythical destination of daydreams to millions of people. In the history of the temple, very few foreigners have ever had a chance to study there. Foreigners have been allowed to study in many of the Shaolin schools, near the temple, which have taken the Shaolin name as a marketing ploy, but less than fifty foreigners have studied at the original Shaolin Temple. Antonio Graceffo was lucky enough to be one of the few, and this is the chronicle of his experience. Antonio has twenty-five years of experience with martial arts, so it is with a knowing eye that he observed the training at the temple. But it is his background that gives him a very unique perspective. An Italian-American from Brooklyn, New York, and a former investment banker, Antonio was educated in some of the best universities that Europe and Asia had to offer. His articles are informative, humorous, and irreverent. He doesn't pull any punches writing about the filthy conditions and the diminished mental capacities of people who spent a lifetime learning to kick, but never bothered to learn to read and write. The title says it all. Put a Chinese-speaking Italian-American, from Brooklyn in the holiest of Buddhist temples, and watch the racial harmony flow.
Paddy Macklin, a self-taught sailor, decided to sail around the world in the smallest boat possible, single-handed, and hopefully, without stopping. He survived, sailing the Southern Oceans in winter and rounding both southernmost capes in the world, but by the skin of his teeth. His extraordinary little craft, "Tessa" was knocked down several times in the Southern Ocean and completely rolled twice. "In the space of about 40 seconds I was thrown out of my bunk onto the ceiling (deckhead) then back to my bunk again...throughout the time I spent upside down, the most noticeable thing was the complete silence". It was the damage done by these two 360 degree knockdowns that forced Paddy and Tessa to break their journey in New Zealand, pulling into Timaru where sailing friends towed them into port, and helped piece together the shattered sailor and his little craft. As Paddy noted, "It's not the huge seas that damage a strong, well-found yacht; it's the breaking tops of the seas - several tons of very fast-moving water - that present the greatest danger. Throughout his sojourn, Paddy was able to communicate twice a week with family back in England and this has been diarised and interspersed with the Captain's log thus giving a more personal insight into the character of Tessa's captain, how terrorised he was by the gigantic seas, how pleased he was to make friends with dolphins, birds, and whales, how wonderful it was to sight land, and how he managed to remain sane during an odyssey that few of us would ever dream of undertaking. It's a brave - or perhaps mad - person who would pit his strength against the might of nature. Paddy is one of the few.
Now a major film, starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, and Jeff Bridges, this New York Times bestseller is a disturbing and often hilarious look at the U.S. military's long flirtation with the paranormal—and the psy-op soldiers that are still fighting the battle. Bizarre military history: In 1979, a crack commando unit was established by the most gifted minds within the U.S. Army. Defying all known laws of physics and accepted military practice, they believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls, and—perhaps most chillingly—kill goats just by staring at them. They were the First Earth Battalion, entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries. And they really weren’t joking. What’s more, they’re back—and they’re fighting the War on Terror. An uproarious exploration of American military paranoia: With investigations ranging from the mysterious “Goat Lab,” to Uri Geller’s covert psychic work with the CIA, to the increasingly bizarre role played by a succession of U.S. presidents, this might just be the funniest, most unsettling book you will ever read—if only because it is all true and is still happening today.
Aikido Ground Fighting presents effective ground techniques that remain true to aikido founder Morehei Ueshiba's teachings while addressing a potential weakness in the system: while aikido is renowned for its submission and compliance techniques as well as grappling from a standing position, it is not known for its effectiveness when it comes to ground fighting. Aikido Ground Fighting is a unique look at the roots of aikido techniques (in particular, the kneeling practices of suwari-waza) and how they might be applied to defense on the ground. Written by a direct student of Morihei Ueshiba in collaboration with other aikido teachers, this book remains steadfastly true to the founder's teachings while presenting innovative and effective techniques. Containing never-before-published pictures of Ueshiba as well as step-by-step photographs clearly demonstrating techniques, Aikido Ground Fighting is designed for aikido students looking to become more well-rounded martial artists as well as practitioners of all martial arts seeking effective self-defense techniques. From the Trade Paperback edition.