Product Description
Karate: Olympic Style Kumite provides the tools to achieve a world or Olympic championship or succeed in any endeavor. The book's mental, psychological, and strategic sections will drive you to the top of your profession; it shows how to acquire the focus and commitment to become a champion. Physical, mental and spiritual training are balanced. The book delivers in-depth knowledge on mental superiority, sport psychology, elite physical conditioning, technical expertise, strategic and tactical concepts and coaching. It offers training plans that organize and make training efficient and effective. The importance of sport-specific plyometric training is emphasized. There is more to speed than simple neuromuscular reflexes. The instruction contained in this book will raise your expectations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Outstanding, well written.
This outstanding, informative, and well written Karate/Kumite manual will serve anyone who want to be a champion very well. This book covers all aspects of the sport: History, Psychological, Fitness, Technique, Strategy, and Tactics in knowledgeable detail. In addition, it outlines (in painful detail) the training schedule and program necessary to be the best. Everyone will find the first parts of this book applicable to almost every aspect of life, Karate and otherwise. The long detailed training procedures will be for those who would be Champions only.

Great, informative book...
A must read for anyone who strives to be the best they can in martial arts...or life in general.The guideposts and tools in this book are applicable to people of all ages and provide a handbook for expanding your capabilities in all aspects of life.Read this and learn what it takes to be a champion and what separates the best from the rest.

Olympic Style Kumite is a must read
Awesome!This is a most comprehensive overview of kumite.Excellent layout and useful guidebook for karate enthusiasts of all ages and all skill levels.A must own for anyone who loves karate and wants to hone their skills , improve their results, and expand their knowledge-base of this martial art.

The BEST Karate book
After reading martial arts literature for more than 20 years I am truly impressed with Robert Thoburn's book: "Karate: Olympic Style Kumite."This book combines substance with application and is developed from strong technical roots.Whether you are a martial arts historian, an international fighter or an active parent of a martial arts child this book has something for you.Finally, someone has stepped up and recommended a detailed training program complete with goal attainment accountability. Thoburn's book has helped myself and my students in our training and I am confident it will do the same for you. ... Read more

Product Description
This story follows Brian Sanders’ checkered career –from his dreams of being an Olympic boxing champion to his meteoricrise in politics.

Whether in disaster-hit South America or at the center of a hostage crisis, Brian emerges a winner – a stalwart who upholds human rights and high moral and ethical standards. The story is about the grit, determination and faith that go into the making of a champion. ... Read more

Product Description
Nicholas A. Hopping was hired by the American Olympic Committee for the training of Olympic Wrestlers as a journalism intern for the 2004 Olympics. He lived at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs; and he followed the wrestlers to their victory or defeat. Author Hopping captures the spirit of very American and makes the reader aware of the potential that the oldest, simplest sport like wrestling can make a difference in International Understanding and appreciation for the American contribution to promoting the Spirit of The Champion. Nicholas A. Hopping writes. "He never learned anything until he was tired.so he knew it, he knew it all too well, he knew what the moment called for, he knew he had to be hard, he had to cut off the part of him that wanted to quit, that wanted to walk away from the match, find a quiet corner in the locker room and be by himself, where no one was cheering for or against him, where no pressure existed, where he didn't have to be hard, where he didn't have to continue fighting, where he didn't have to be a champion.he knew about this place of peace and solitude.but the gladiator decided that he wanted nothing to do with it, that he didn't want to hide out in the locker room, that he did not want to relax and sit in the stands, that he wanted to be a participant and not an observer, that he wanted to be out on the mats, out where the action was, where the juice was, where he could ride the edge of victory and defeat with every twist and turn, with every action and reaction because he had once watched the battle in the arena wondering silently to himself, wondering why he wasn't out there, why the crowd wasn't cheering for him, wondering whether he had it in him, so he took the challenge and now he was on the mats, in the thick of wrestling's eternal inner struggle, and so he knew he had to be hard and not give in to fatigue, not worry about his scorched lungs, because he surely knew that he would rather pass out from exhaustion, fall face-down right here on the mat, than be sitting in those stands silently relieved of never having to face the gauntlet that the mat, the sport presented in himself." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

THE BEST WRESTLING BOOK EVER WRITTEN
"BY FAR THE BEST WRESTLING BOOK I'VE EVER READ!"
-Ben Askren, U.S. Olympian and 2x NCAA Champion
"A MASTERPIECE!"-Jim Beezer, [...]

"BANNED AT FARGO, OUTLAWED BY USA WRESTLING, WITH NO PUBLISHER TO TRUST AND NO ALLY IN THE FIELD...THE SILENT GLADIATORS IS THE LONE WOLF OF WRESTLING BOOKS!" -Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

"AMATEUR WRESTLING'S FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!"
-Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado.)

"THE SILENT GLADIATORS IS TO WRESTLING TO WHAT JON KRAKAEUR IS TO OUTDOOR ADVENTURE...THIS BOOK IS A CREDIT TO OUR GREAT SPORT!"
-Lonnis Nash, Buchanon H.S. Coach (Fresno, California)

"THE SILENT GLADIATORS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO READ!" -Mike Tyson, Professional Hitman

"I WRESTLED IOWA IN THE EARLY 80'S, THIS BOOK IS OUTSTANDING!... IT CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF WRESTLING!"
-Pete Bush, Assumption H.S., (Davenport, Iowa)

"THE SILENT GLADIATORS MAKES WWF LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMERS WHO ENJOY WEARING SPANDEX...THIS BOOK IS UNTOUCHABLE!"
-Rowdy Rowdy Piper, WWF Legend

"ABSOLUTELY ADDICTING TO READ!"
-Steve Millward, Bald Eagle H.S. (Pennsylvania)

"THIS BOOK IS GREAT!"
-Bobby DeBerry, Sunnyside H.S. 13x Arizona State Champs

"I TRULY ENJOYED THE BOOK. YOU WERE ABLE TO SHOW THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ROLLAR COASTERS A WRESTLER GOES THROUGH WHEN COMPETING BETTER THAN ANY OTHER BOOK I HAVE READ. ANYONE THAT HAS WRESTLED WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WITH THIS BOOK...THERE ARE DEFINTELY PASSAGES FROM THE BOOK THAT I WILL SHARE WITH MY FUTURE WRESTLING TEAMS."
-Travis Young, Head Coach Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265

"A GREAT READ...I REALLY ENJOYED IT AND WILL GET THE WORD OUT...THANKS FOR SENDING IT MY WAY."
-John Phillips, Irvine, Ca. High School Head Coach

Amazing story of sacrafice
Hopping was able to give us a glimpse into an unknown world of struggle and sacrifice that few of us can imagine. For anyone who has ever participated in any of the amatuer olymic sports should have an immense appriation for the athletes in this book. Hopping as an author does exactly what he needs to do as well. He provides that fly on the wall perspective do help us undrstand he incredible monotonous grind that these guys go through while bringing forward the drama of the Olympic process. I feel that anyone who loves sport, has an appreciation for sacrafice, or is simply interested into delving into a great slice of life story should read this book.

Real Insight into the sacrifice necessary
Nicholas Hopping's The Silent Gladiators provides real and powerful insight into the sacrifice required for an American to pursue the dream of becoming an Olympic wrestler.The author demonstrates how truly thankless this pursuit is for almost all who start down this path and also shows how truly different individuals with different approaches to the sport handle the demands of chasing Olympic gold.The one minor complaint I have with this book is that often there is very little detail provided for the key matches that are described in the book.Many of these bouts can be seen on-line via sites like Youtube and it was difficult at times to watch the videos and feel a strong connection with the narrative in the book.Other than that, I would recommend this book to anyone who has wrestled or has any interest in learning what wrestling is all about.

Great insight, for the TRUE wrestling fan
I have been involved in wrestling since age 8; wrestled at the the HS and collegiate level, coached all levels of wrestling and am currently a HS official and youth wrestling coach....I enjoyed this book very much.It was recommended to me from a former wrestler at the U of Minn who is a successful HS coach.I believe that the book was VERY easy to read.I am not a reader, I have read one other book in the last two years simly because most books can't keep my interest....The Silent Gladiators was a book I couldn't put down, from start to finish.I thought the basis of the book was excellent.I attended the same JUCO as Jamill Kelly, left one year prior to his arrival, and was very familiar to his story and the book told the same story....so its basis of fact was solid.Other post have said it needed more editing or its contraversial...maybe it did need more editing, but i didn't notice, nor do I care, I thought it was very interesting....and as for being contraversial....sometimes the truth needs to be told in order for people to change or look themselves in the mirror....The Silent Gladiators is a good start.I would and HAVE recommended this to ALL of my friends invovled in wrestling.Thank you Nicholas Hopping for your work and courage.....done only as a wrestler could do.Please read and pass on to your friends in wrestling.

Great Book
Sensational book about the journeys that various members of the 2004 US Olympic Wrestling team took to make the team and reach their ultimate goal of winning a Gold medal. ... Read more

Product Description
Taekwondo Kyorugi is the authority on taekwondo sparring. Written by Korean Olympic Gold Medalist Kuk Hyun Chung, WTF Deputy-Secretary General Kyung Myung Lee and Renowned Martial Arts Author Sang H. Kim, it is a direct translation of the original Korean text. Learn the skills, drills, strategies and methods used by Korean coaches and competitors for years. Footwork, kicks, hand target drills, heavy bag workouts, coaching, combinations, strategy, professional training, opponent analysis, conditioning, weight control, competition tips, official Olympic rules, scientific analysis of scoring, & more! 120 photos ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Perhaps One Of The Finest Books Ever Written On The Subject
Having been involved in the martial art of Tae Kwon Do for over 25 years and currently holding a 4th dan black belt in the art, I am always more critical on books and DVD's on the subject of Tae Kwon Do more so than I am towards most any other martial art, with an occasional exception or two. Therefore, I was almost a little reluctant to read this book, but relented anyhow after skimming through the first few pages.

Now normally I try and write a fairly complete and descriptive review on each unique section in a book, however, in this case I am going to forego my normal style and simply base my review on the overall quality of the entire book.

If you are already a senior ranking student (gup) or black belt in Tae Kwon Do, then this book will not only be a welcome addition to your martial arts library, but the information provided within it is very valuable and relevant to the subject of "free sparring" in Tae Kwon Do. I can't imagine anyone not being able to learn a considerable amount about the subject even at just a first cursory look through this book.

I found the material very well organized and easy to understand, if you already have a significant amount of experience in Tae Kwon Do. If you are a novice or beginner student, then I would recommend that you hold off on getting this book until you within a year or so of testing for black belt.

This book recommends that you primarily use the following three kicks in competition.

Roundhouse Kick
Back Kick
Axe Kick

I should make note that its not that other kicks aren't used, it's just that these kicks tend to be more effective in the competition arena.

This book covers just about every possible subject that could or would come up on the subject of Tae Kwon Do "free sparring," although not all subjects are covered in great detail, they are discussed to varying degrees and offers the reader a pretty good overall view of the subject. I highly recommend this book to all individuals interested in Tae Kwon Do "free sparring."

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

Instructing Book for TKD Players
I am a Japanese student. In Japan, there are few Japanese books of WTF taekwondo, so people uses English TKD books to learn taekwondo. And this book is one of the most popular TKD books in Japan. This fact would represent value of the book.
As for me, this book is felt to be very useful,too. It helped me constructing training menus and sparring strategies. It contains lots of helpful instructions.

Good for the serious competitor
I've never been a fan of point sparring, but I have to admit this is a pretty good book.It's definetly not for the beginner, though.The technique section is very basic, giving only the briefest of discriptions on the kicks, but also providing suggestions on how the moves are best utilized.The book then goes into stratagies for TKD style sparring, though most of the drills and principles can be used by karateka as well.What does show a lot of depth is that the authors include chapters on sports medicine, nutrition, mental preparation, and conditioning.A lot of that information is useful to any serious martial artist who participates in point sparring, and I'd recoment the conditioning excersises be applied to any program.The book ends with a chapter on Olympic TKD rules, including weight classes and a list of fouls.A glossary follows.As this book was designed to prepare competitors and coaches for Olympic-level competition, I'd call it an essential publication to anyone who is competing at the national levels in any martial art point sparring.

A lot more than it looks
I think this is a great book. If you ar looking for a big book with a lot of pictures in it, then this is not the book for you since wery few of the combinations are shown. But if you already know how to kick and how to punch, then that should not be a problem for you. Everyone involved in sparring as a practicioner or as a coach could learn a lot from this book. I certainly did, even thaug i practice ITF Taekwon-Do, since a lot of the bodywork and qualities you need are similar.

Didnt like it
I didnt like this book and it was very boring. Its said the same things many times and the only thing I found useful were the moves that it showed. If this is the best book of TKD sparring I wonder what kind of books the others are. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Pragmatic and Useful Manual of Judo Newaza
Straight to the point and informative, the book: 'OLYMPIC JUDO: Ground Work Techniques' (c. 1986) by Neil Adams & Cyril Carter, is a useful compilation of eight proven newaza techniques used by Neil Adams, a 1981 World Judo Champion, in 95 pages with clear black & white photographs.

'OLYMPIC JUDO: Ground Work Techniques' demonstrated entry methods into matwork, such as tai-otoshi into juji-gatame (p. 18); or Seoi-nage into Sode Goruma [sic] jime (p. 78).The book also demonstrated on page twelve the 'Rolling juji-gatame' the variation (kazure) on juji-gatame which the author used to win his 1981 World Championship.

Clearly demonstrating eight techniques with several variations and combinations from tachi-waza in a professional and objective manner, 'OLYMPIC JUDO: Ground Work Techniques' is an unusually instructive manual on matwork by a gifted Newaza practitioner.Chapter Seven, Variations on strangles, is particularly worth studying; and this insightful manual also contained two full chapters on Sankaku-jime and its variations.

World Judo Champion and author, Neil Adams, in his book: 'OLYMPIC JUDO: Ground Work Techniques' has produced a very good informative manual on Judo matwork and shared detailed descriptions of eight of his Tokui Waza which helped him become a successful Judo competitor.As a good Newaza companion to this work, please read: FIGHTING JUDO (c. 1985) by Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki, for further knowledge on the effectiveness of Judo matwork. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Notable Sports Figures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 3097 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Takes a close look at the people in sports who have captured attention because of success on the playing field, or controversy off the playing field. This work features biographies on more than 600 people from around the world and throughout history who have had an impact not only on their sport, but also on the society and culture of their times. It also includes not only the record-breakers that dominated and changed their sport, but also the controversial figures that made headlines even apart from athletic events. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur, Cotto represented Puerto Rico in the lightweight and light welterweight divisions at various international events including the 1999 Pan American Games, the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 1998 Junior World Championships where he won a silver medal. Cotto began his professional career in 2001, and on September 11, 2004, he defeated Kelson Pinto for the WBO junior welterweight championship. He defended the title successfully a total of six times, before vacating it when he ascended to the welterweight division. On his first match on this division he defeated Carlos Quintana for the vacant WBA welterweight championship. Cotto successfully defended this title against Oktay Urkal, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley and Alfonso Gómez, before losing it to Antonio Margarito. On February 21, 2009, he defeated Michael Jennings to win the vacant WBO welterweight championship. Defending the title against Joshua Clottey before losing it to Manny Pacquiao on November 14, 2009. ... Read more

Product Description
Athletes who know how to win are rare. These visceral, inventive geniuses and cool magicians somehow find a way to pull it out and engineer most of the upsets, comebacks, and miracle endings that break the hearts of those who come up short or flop. Then there are the numerous good-but-not-great individuals or teams who step up for one clutch moment, game, or match, play over their heads, and win the day on a combination of guts and skill.

Readers love learning about the all-pro quarterback whose offbeat comment in the huddle led his team to a last-second Super Bowl triumph; and two great horses who battled head-to-head on all three legs of a Triple Crown only one of them could win; an Olympic swimmer who sacrificed his spot in a race so that a teammate could win a gold medal; a pitcher who never played in the big leagues again after losing a World Series game on the only hit he gave up; a 45-year-old coach who had never played in the goal and prevailed in a Stanley Cup game; and the American wrestler who did the impossible and won an Olympic gold medal by upsetting an opponent who was considered unbeatable. And that’s only six of the eighty-four exciting stories.

This is a book to pick up when you have a few minutes or more, dip into, and have fun. You’ll then want to read more stories right away, or look forward to the next time. Over half of the stories won’t be immediately familiar to most readers, although many will stimulate pleasant recollections. The vignettes covering the more celebrated events contain surprising data and fresh observations, and will make even the most knowledgeable readers smile.
Guts In the Clutch: 77 Legendary Triumphs, Heartbreaks, and Wild Finishes is full in scope and loaded with fascinating anecdotes. This unexampled book includes
a range of remarkable stories from 12 sports: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Track and Field, Golf, Boxing, Thoroughbred Racing, plus an assortment of rare vignettes from several other sports, including Swimming, College and Olympic Wrestling, Soccer, and Gymnastics.

A book about legends must include the Boston Celtics, New York Yankees, and Montreal Canadiens sports dynasties along with the struggles of their perennial victims: Lakers (until 1985), Red Sox (until 2004), and Bruins (still waiting). Two other storied runs, UCLA basketball and thoroughbred racing’s Calumet Farm, will also trigger memories and deliver fresh insights.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Richard Noyes was formerly Associate Director of the Center for Advanced Engineering Study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He now creates innovative products and services for public and private sector organizations.

Pamela Robertson has held executive positions in several Fortune companies. She also led a marketing management consultancy that delivered strategic direction, product and service development, integrated marketing, and branding to organizations nationwide. Robertson is currently a marketing leader at Experian, the global solutions organization.

Pamela and Richard come from extended families of sports enthusiasts. They also belong to a wide-ranging network of sports fanatics. The unified posse helped craft most of the stories. In fact, members attended many of the contests we write about. We hope that our readers have as much fun with Guts in the Clutch as we had researching and writing it.

Foreword by Drew Olson of ESPN Radio and past president of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Praise from David Houle, Emmy and Peabody-Award-winning producer of documentaries on Hank Aaron (Academy Award nominee) and the Harlem Globetrotters: "The best compilation of fascinating sports stories I have read."

... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A great holiday gift!

(disclosure: I read this book in galley form and reviewed it).

Since it's rainy and glunky in Chicago these days (it's a seasonal thing), I picked up "Guts in the Clutch" for a second read last Saturday and I have to admit that it was even better than the first go-through.I had been blown away by Richard and Pamela's attention to detail and the nuance of so many moments in sports, but this second read revealed things I'd either missed the first time, or perhaps not made the time to contemplate.

Ultimately, this book isn't only about sports but about people and how they experience challenges.The seemingly endless number of vignettes read like little adventures.

I'm biased because i know the authors and I liked the book the first time around.I liked it even more the second time, and it occurred to me that it would make a great gift this holiday season.I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Wonderful and Inspiring
"Guts in the Clutch" is filled with stories that make you want to cheer even louder for any player or coach who has the strength and determination it takes to become legenadary in sports.A wonderful read for an avid sports fan or great inspiration for anyone looking for motivation to achieve their own personal best.Entertaining and thoroughly researched, this book uniquely tells the "stories behing the stories" of many of sports greatest legends.

A Sports Book for Everyone
I had the good fortune to read a copy of this book in manuscript form more than a year ago.It was good then and the authors have made it even better since then.Simply put this is a sports book for everyone!

This is a book for the sports follower who likes the highlights: the top ten plays, the day's highlights, the championship game, the MVP moments and basically the top performances.More importantly this is a book about the human condition of sports and about the triumph of individuals in pressure situations.Even the non-sports fan can be roused emotionally by those unique moments in sports when sports is transcended and the extreme emotional highlights of humanity come to the fore.It is often in sports that the heroic, the triumphant, the inspirational performance and the transcendent moment of the human spirit is there for all of us to see. "Guts in the Clutch captures the top 77 such moments in one place.

If you are a sports fan, or just a human looking for inspiration, this book is a most worthy investment.In three words:Buy this book!

David Houle

Great Gift Book
I enjoyed Guts in the Clutch very much.It would make a great gift for Father's Day or a birthday.You can read about one athlete's achievemnents, put it down, and pick it up again later.The author's write in such a way that they draw you right in each time and keep your interest throughout.

Gut Pleasing
Guts in the Clutch is a unique look at famous, and not so famous, sports legends. Noyes and Robertson flawlessly recreate the drama, the tension and the magic of these one-of-a-kind moments. But it's not all compelling sports stories - there's plenty of human interest fun, too. I'm still laughing at the Jack Dempsey quote, "Honey, I forgot to duck" after he lost the heavyweight championship fight to Tunney in 1926. I'm definitely adding that to my one-liner repertoire. Thanks guys, for the enjoyable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Notable Sports Figures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 2831 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Takes a close look at the people in sports who have captured attention because of success on the playing field, or controversy off the playing field. This work features biographies on more than 600 people from around the world and throughout history who have had an impact not only on their sport, but also on the society and culture of their times. It also includes not only the record-breakers that dominated and changed their sport, but also the controversial figures that made headlines even apart from athletic events. ... Read more

Product Description
George Foreman's mother worked hard to support George and his six brothers and sisters but she did not make much money and the family moved from one rat-infested partment to another, when she could not pay the bills.George grew up on the streets, fighting, robbing and mugging people.He dropped out of school but got a second chance, when he entered Job Corps.George learned the "sweet science" of boxing in Job Corps.After graduating Job Corps, he earned his GED, qualified for the 1968 Olympic boxing team and won the gold medal.He went on to be Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world, overcoming his difficult childhood to become a famous public figure.

With a list of review questions and a glossary of terms, this brief publication is ideal for middle school readers and at-risk youth. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Adrian Diaconu, Leonard Doroftei, Marian Simion, Nicolae Linca, Ionuţ Gheorghe, Dorel Simion, Claudio Rasco, Daniel Dumitrescu, Simion Cuţov, Victor Zilberman, Francisc Vaştag, Alec Năstac, George Olteanu, Bogdan Dobrescu, Sabin Bornei, Marian Velicu, Ion Alexe, Nicolae Berechet, Costică Dafinoiu, Dumitru Cipere, Ion Monea, Valentin Silaghi, Mircea Şimon, Mircea Fulger, Mircea Dobrescu, Gheorghe Lungu, Calistrat Cuţov, Gheorghe Negrea, Constantin Dumitrescu, Gheorghe Fiat, Vasile Tiţǎ, Georgian Popescu, Dumitru Panaitescu, Constantin David, Marin Gaşpar, Dumitru Şchiopu, Alexandru Turei. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Adrian Diaconu (born 9 June 1978) in Ploieti, Prahova, Romania) is a Romanian professional boxer, living and fighting out of Montreal, Canada. Diaconu is the former WBC Light Heavyweight Champion. Diaconu represented Romania at the 2000 Sydney Olympics as a Middleweight. Olympic results were: Following the 2000 Olympics, Diaconu turned professional as a light heavyweight. He then went onto win his first title in June 2005, taking the Canadian Light Heavyweight Title after a 5th round knockout of Conal MacPhee. In December 2005, Diaconu won the WBC International Light Heavyweight Title after knocking out Darrin Humphrey (then 21-4). He followed that win up by defeating Max Heyman to take the vacant NABA Light Heavyweight and Trans American Light Heavyweight titles. Diaconu vacated his Canadian title to face Rico Hoye in a WBC Light-Heavyweight eliminator bout. He was successful, dominating Hoye (then 21-1) until a referee TKO stoppage in the 3rd round. The fight was the headline bout of ESPNs Wednesday Night Fights held on 9 May 2007 after being postponed from its original 23 March date. With the win, Diaconu became the mandatory ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=10656380 ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: László Papp, István Kovács, László Bognár, Zsolt Erdei, Gyula Káté, Pál Bedák, Pál Lakatos, György Gedó, Károly Balzsay, György Mizsei, Zsolt Bedák, Róbert Isaszegi, János Váradi, János Kajdi, István Lévai, Zoltán Béres, Tibor Csík, András Botos, Vilmos Balog, Ferenc Nagy, Imre Szellő, Gyula Török, Miklós Varga, László Orbán, Lajos Szigeti, Norbert Kalucza, Imre Mándi, Frigyes Kubinyi, Dezső Frigyes. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: István Kovács (born August 17, 1970 in Budapest), nicknamed Ko-Ko or sometimes The Cobra is a retired Hungarian boxer. As an amateur he won the bantamweight gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and was a world champion at the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships in flyweight and at the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships in featherweight. As a professional he held the WBO featherweight belt in 2001. Kovács began his sports career as a football player, training among others in the youth team of MTK Budapest. He started boxing relatively late at the age of 15 in EVIG SE. He moved to Vasas SC in 1988 where he was trained by Gyula Bódis. His first international success also came in 1988 when he won the junior-flyweight gold medal at the Junior European Championship in Gdask. He soon started to dominate the lower weightclasses on the Hungarian scene among such rivals like Olympic bronze medallists János Váradi and Róbert Isaszegi, and in 1990 he was already a member of the Hungarian team at the World Cup in Dublin where he won a silver medal. In 1991, already as a flyweight, he won the gold medal at the European Championships in Gothenburg and later that year he also won the World Championship in Sydney. Due to his outstanding achievements he was elected as Hungarian Sportsman of The Year the end of the year, ahe...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=6336951 ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Olympic Boxers of the United States Virgin Islands, Julian Jackson, Peter Jackson, John Jackson, Julius Jackson, Peter Felix. Excerpt: Julian Jackson (born September 12, 1960) is a former professional boxer and former three-time world champion of the middleweight ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Barry Mcguigan, Wayne Mccullough, Andy Lee, Damaen Kelly, Darren Sutherland, John Caldwell, Kenny Egan, Paddy Barnes, Francie Barrett, Brian Magee, Michael Carruth, Kevin Mcbride, Charlie Nash, Tony Byrne, Larry Flood, John Mcnally, Hugh Russell, Robert Hilliard, John Joe Nevin, Fred Tiedt, Freddie Gilroy, Jim Mccourt, John Joe Joyce, William Murphy, Tom Corr. Excerpt:Medal record Andy Lee (born June 11, 1984 in London ), is an Irish professional boxer from Limerick , Ireland who fights in the Middleweight division. Background Lee was born in Bow, London , England to Irish parents. In 1998, his parents returned to Castleconnell, County Limerick , Ireland with their six children. Lee had been boxing at the Repton Boxing Club in London from the age of eight and upon moving to Ireland Lee and his brothers, Tommy and Ned, joined St. Francis ABC in Limerick City where his boxing career took off. Amateur World Junior championships Lee represented Ireland at the 2002 World Junior championships in Santiago de Cuba in the middleweight (75 kg) category. Lee fought five times in a week beating Ismail Sillakh and USA favourite Jesus Gonzales but lost the final to Cuban boxer Noelvis Diaz to claim the silver medal. Irish senior titles In February 2003, Lee, aged 17, fought for the Irish senior amateur title in the middleweight division. That year he was beaten in the final by Belfast man Eamonn O'Kane. The following year Lee won the title after overcoming Patrick Murray for the honour and in 2005 Lee retained the title beating O'Kane in the final. 2004 Summer Olympics At the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok , which doubled up as a qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens , Lee was beaten on points by eventual winner Gennady Golovkin by 29:9. Lee's next chance to q... ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Olympic Boxers of Tajikistan, Sergei Kharitonov, Jahon Qurbonov, Rustamhodza Rahimov, Anvar Yunusov, Sherali Dostiev, Abdusalom Khasanov. Excerpt: Sergei Valerievich Kharitonov (Russian: , Sergey Valerievich Haritonov, Russian pronunciation: ) (born August 18, 1980) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has previously fought in Japanese MMA organization PRIDE Fighting Championships, and currently fights for DREAM. He has notable wins over Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, Mike Russow, Murilo Rua, Fabricio Werdum and Pedro Rizzo. Sergei Kharitonov was born on August 18, 1980 in Plesetsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. His parents were very athletic: Sergei's mother was a volleyball coach, and his father at various times studied boxing, skating, soccer, and long distance marathon running. Under their influence, Sergei was very active physically while growing up. Kharitonov graduated from a high school with a specialization in music (accordion). Following the advice of his parents as well as his own dreams, Sergei went to the Airborne troops academy in Ryazan, Russia, and enlisting in the Russian Airborne Troops after finishing the academy. Kharitonov credits the army and the academy with giving him psychological skills he relies on during his fights. Sergei remains on the active duty while training full time with the Russian Top Team. He is married to his wife, Natalia. Kharitonov sometimes gets confused with his full namesake Sergey Haritonov, a much less prominent mixed martial arts fighter from Estonia. Sergei started being interested in sports when he was still in kindergarten, being taught at first by his father. Kharitonov started training boxing seriously when he was ten or eleven years old, foll... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=3999944 ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Olympic Boxers of Tonga, Paula Mataele, Bowie Tupou, Paea Wolfgramm, Doug Viney, Samson Po'uha, Silo Havili, Sione Vaveni Talia'uli. Excerpt: Paula "Tongan Tornado" Mataele (born June 30, 1977) is a professional Tongan Super Heavyweight kickboxer and boxer fighting out of Mejiro Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He's fighting in K-1 and was a K-1 Fighting Network Romania finalist in 2007 . Paula was born in Auckland, New Zealand on June 30, 1977. His first name is pronounced Pola in Tongan language. He had an extensive amateur boxing career before he turned pro in 2002. He was a part of Team Tua working as Tua's sparring partner. Mataele had 4 pro boxing bouts in New Zealand before moving to Las Vegas in 2003 to train with Ray Sefo at his Fighting Academy, a year later he moved back to Auckland and started kickboxing. Despite the fact that he had only four weeks of kickboxing training, he made his K-1 debut at K-1 New Zealand "The Battle of Anzacs" on April 23, 2004 and knocked out his opponent Darren Berry in 49 seconds. ... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=17998777 ... Read more

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Systematic training in taekwondo, based on scientific principles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The breakthrough
This is THE breaktrough or the breakaway from the prevailing concept of teakwondo. It reveals the rational base of this Far Eastern discipline thus giving the only relevant orientation to its development into an Olympic sport. Applying periodic training is the very essence of this transformation where scientific research gains its real value. This is an important turning point - for the taekwondo as well as for all related martial arts on their way to become global combat sports. The book, of course, could only give a review of this new, value and style neutral approach to combat sports training. It doesn't claim to and cannot give all possible explanations or detailed instructions for composing any specific, individual training scheme - that can only be done after a diagnosis in each individual case separately. (Especially the most critical issue, i.e., optimal inclusion of technical and tactical exercises into conditioning cycles will always remain to be resolved by a contestant him- or herself or by his or her coach.) Being well supported with data and refering to a reach list of research, the book is still easy to read and can be understood by any interested and open minded reader. Its main value lies in its omnipresent hint: valuable knowledge on the optimization of training in combat sports is already at disposal in various works on periodic training in other sports. In order to make use of it, we have disect rationally what we are really doing and optimize our efforts to reach our sporting goal - to win a competition. The self-imposing conclusion: the more rational approach to the so far traditional, intuitive training (even in regard to the emotional balance or psycho energy) the more chances for the contestant to become successful. In taekwondo and combat sports as in any other sports.

Advanced for Americans, Basic for Europeans
It demistifies lots of the information of taekwondo training and has somevery good tips in all aspects of Taekwondo training.

It is a goodintroduction to periodization, although it over looks the 4 year Olympicplan. He always eluded on how to include all aspects of training, because Iwas looking for something where all aspects of Taekwondo Training would beincluded.

As far as strength training, the author didn't have a clue onSport Specific Training, not knowing how to apply the Principle of DirectAction. Squats, Lunges and the other exercises don't mimic the exactmovement of a kick. Bungee Cord, and Air Shied/Heavy Bag Training areDirect Actions(the exact competition technique)

Teaching Methodology issound, although many of the techniques and tactics are very absolite istodays era. Most of those combinations have not been used at the Elitelevel for years. He also ignored the all important sparring strategy ofProgressions(each scoring techniques set up the next one by telling youropponent who to react), which is the basis of Modern Elite OlympicTaekwondo Competition.

Another thing he ignored was the classificationsof exerciese. Indirect Actions-Exercises that aren't related toTaekwondo(to develop General conditioning), Direct Actions-Exercises thatare related to taekwondo, but not to competition, such as paddle kicking,Bungee Cord Training, and Flash Drills. And Exercises forCompetition-desinged to develop the competition prowess, such asSimulations, Progression practice, and accual sparring. I believe heignored these aspects because he did not know how to apply them.

Thechapter on Mental training was also lacking. He wished to instruct peoplemore on emotion control, concentration and visualization, but bearlytouched the subject, taching the most basic of drills. Trance training,Skill accuacition through imagary training, and reaching that"ZONE" are advanced techniques but required to when at the Elitelevel.

The section on anotomy and injuries was very nice, I had noproblems with that.

For all american coaches it is a great introductionto the planning principles. About 90% of American taekwondo coaches"SUCK" in the matter that half the time they don't know what theyare doing, and are engaged in "by the feel" training, and refuseto alwknowledge the existance of these advanced training methods. Thekoreans and many others would consider the information on this book toobasic to waste their time with, but American coached who read this bookwill be amazed that there was so much information they didn't knowabout.

The Century Video Series "Gold Medal Training Systems"have thousands of examples of competition specific drills, and TudorBompa's Theory and Methodology of Training and/or Thomas Kurz's Science ofSports Training can enable you to fully understand the principles onlymentioned, and even ignored in this book.

A Book for Serious Martial Artists and Coaches
This is a book that was read for its content. It's 248 pages are very rich in that respect. It demystifies taekwondo and dissects it. The authors have done significant research, but will not be loved by everyone for doingthis. I like what they've done, and I respect the fact that they arebreaking ground, trying to move this martial art into a more structuredworld. The book is well laid out and can be understood by most taekwondostudents, even those with no formal physical education training. This bookis for serious students who are targeting taekwondo as major part of theirlife for a long time.

The section on psychological training is veryhelpful. It has triggered a number of ideas for expanding the programs atthe school my family attends. I will be following up their references forsuitability for our school.

The description of the exercises pullstogether in one book, a great deal that appears in a number of othertaekwondo texts.

The tactical training section is solid. It's full offirst rate material.

I'm pleased that there is a section on anatomy withsketches, and a frank discussion about injuries. Having just attended theCanadian Junior Taekwondo National Championship in Moncton, and watchingthe parade of injured kids with broken noses, etc. it's an importantsubject. In fact, if the authors had done more, it wouldn't have beenamiss.

This is a book to keep as a major reference. I will be using thisfor many years as my kids move into more advanced competition. It will bethe basis for their training program. ... Read more

Product Description
One of a series of titles which look at what people need to succeed and get to the top in a range of different sporting fields. ... Read more