Jennifer LawlerRezensionen

The most complete, authoritiative and informative martial arts encyclopedia ever compiled.

The Martia Arts Encyclopedia is the mst comprehensive reference tool available to partitioners of the martial arts. It is intended to serve as a general reference tol for begining martial artists, advanced practitioners and those who are simply interested in learning more about martial arts.

The Martial Arts Encyclopedia includes entries for:

General martial arts information.
Different schools and styles.
Forms and techniques.
Essential literature.
Biographies of famous martial artists.
Weapons.
Countries of origin.

No serious student of the martial arts should be without this book. Thoroughly indexed and cross-refenenced, this easy to use tool wil answer everything you wanted to know about martial arts but didn't know where to look.

Contents

Preface
Pronunciation
General section
Schools and style
Forms & techniques
Weapons
Biography
Literature
Cuntries of origin
Selected readings (bibliography)
Index

Weight Training for Martial Artists is a complete reference for the martial artist who wants to build strength, power and speed without sacrificing flexibility. Author Jennifer Lawler has selected only the exercises that will bring maximum results to your martial arts training and organized them into training plans that you can easily customize according to the martial art you practice. Want to improve your speed, strength, flexibility, endurance, upper body power? It's all here, plus tips on selecting the right equipment, lifting correctly, avoiding injuries and getting the most out of every workout.

Flexible plans to fit any workout schedule.
Warm-ups and stretches to prevent injuries.
Exercises to improve specific martial arts skills.
Correct lifting techniques for maximum results.
Flexibility exercises to prevent stiffness.
Isometric exercises for when you're on the go.
Traditional martial arts strength training exercises.
Lifting programs for every martial art.
Workout plans for endurance, strength and flexibility.
Tips for staying motivated and sticking to your workout plan.
Completely customizable training programs.
Training log to keep track of your progress.

Contents

Introduction
Chapter One Weight training basics
Weight training basics
Weight training approaches
Strength training methods
Choosing a fitnes center
Choosing weight training equipment
Chapter Two Weight training goals
Îoing the correct number of reps
How weight training works
Lifting weights correctly
Spotting and free weights
How often should I lift?
STimulating muscle growth
Making lifting more challenging
Chapter Three The martial artist's training program
How to use this program
Warm-ups and stretching
Stretching tips
Strength training without equipment (isometrics)
Building strength through martial arts techniques
Using weight equipment
Traditional strength training methods
Flexibliity training
Cool down
Chapter Four Training programs for specific martial arts
The basic workout
Judo-jujutsu workout
Aikido workout
Karate workout
Taekwondo workout
Chapter Five Training for body conditioning
Power plan
The flexibility plan
The endurance plan
Combination workouts
Chapter Six Customizing your weight training
Identify your goasl
Building your program
Chapter Seven Injury prevention
Injury prevention
Overuse injuries
Hyperextension injuries
Acute injuries
Avoiding injury
Chapter Eight Motivated
Fighting loss of motivation
Setting goals
Avoiding burnout

As a female participation in violent sports such as boxing, hockey and martial arts grows, so do the questions. It can no longer be called a 'novelty' or a 'gimmick' as it has been in the past. So, why do women participate in violent sports, and what does it mean? PUNCH! includes the author's personal experience as an athlete and the experiences and thoughts of other women, some well-known, some not, all of them defying traditional gender roles. Through interviews and research with athletes, coaches and observers, as well as with trained mental health professionals interested in the phenomenon, the reasons why women participate in contact sports-and what the get out of them-are examined.

When I was 27 years old, I hit a man hard enough to brrak his ribs. I did a lot of soul-searching afterward. I decided I liked it. Like most women my age-like most women, period-growing up I was trained to be a nice girl. I spent most of my life following the litany of things nice girls do-and the things nice girls don't do. When you are raised to be a nice girl, the list of things you cannot do is long. It's best if you memorize it. You wouldn't want to be mistaken for someone who's not nice. You must always defer to other people, especially men. You must never swear in public. Or in private, either. You must always be polite, and you must never say what you think. When you are a nice gil, you put your esires last, this is because you're nice and you want other people to know it. Otherwise, what's the point? You must always worry about the other person. You must ask yourself, what does that other person think? You must make sure you ask this question every time you encounter another person, which means you ask this question a lot. Nice girls don't sweat in public. A nice glow, that's what they're allowed. They never raise their voices, and they don't draw attention to themselves. Women who do-they're not our kind. They're not our class. Nice girls do not hit men hard enough to break their ribs. Sometimes I embarass my mother, who only wanted me to grow up to be a nice girl, liked by other nice girls. She wanted me to marry a nice boy and live in the nice suburbs and procreate nice children. Instead, I married the first man who kicked me in the head...-Jennifer Lawler, from the introduction to PUNCH!

Contents

Preface
Introduction: Women and violent sports
Chapter One Why now?
Chapter Two How women get involved
Chapter Three Why women stay involved
Chapter Four What kind of women are they?
Chapter Five Men versus women
Chapter Six Why peopole disapprove
Chapter Seven What should be done?
Appendix Title IX
Appendix Brighton declaration
Appendix Windhoek call for action
Appendix 'Our ice rink'
Works cited (bibliography)

from cover

Martial Arts for Women is a one stop reference for women in the martial arts. No matter what your rank, style or ability level, you are sure to find a wealth of advice on the topics that are uniquely important to female martial artists including:

-finding the right shcool, fitting into a traditionally male dominated sport
-dealing with menstruation and pregnancy, getting in touch with women's groups, andfinding the right equipment
-learning how to get the most from yur workout, how to define your martial arts goals, and
-how to use your strengths to your best advantage

Of course, you will also find plenty of how-to information on traditional martial arts topics like conditioning, kicking and striking skills, self-defense, sparring, forms, board breaking, and injury prevention-all written by a female martial artist for women in the arts.

Bonus! If you are new to the arts or unhappy with your school, go straight to Chapter 9: Choosing a Marial Arts School where you will find dozens of tips on choosing a school that meets your goals in an atmosphere that is best for you. A questionnaire and checklist are included to help you thoroughly and fairly evalutate each school on price, services, facility and instructional quality.

Jennifer Lawler is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She trains at New Horizons Black belt Academy of Tae Kown Do in Lawerence, Kansas, under Masters Donald and Susan Booth. She also teaches Tae Kwon Do and self-defense classes. She is the author of several books, including The Martial Arts Encylcopedia. She has published numerous articles on martial arts and women. She recently earned her Ph.D. in English. She lives in Lawrence with her husband, Bret Kay, who is also a martial artist, and her daughter Jessica (plus two dogs who think they're children).

Contents

Chapter 1: What are Martial Arts?
Sport versus Art
Martial arts skills
Benefits of Martial Arts training
Martial Arts Styles
Chapter 2: Attitude
Gender Differences
Misconceptions
Balancing Martial Arts and Family Life
Intrinsic Motivation
Winning Spirit
Chapter 3: Practical Advice
Menstruation
Dressing for Class
Perseverance
Adjusting ot Contact
Chapter 4: Self-Defense
Self-Defense and your life-style
Considerning Scenarios
Weapons
Being Prepared
Self-Defense Techniques
Chapter 5: Sparring
Sparring Psychology
Sizing up your opponent
Conditioning for Sparring
Finding your sparring style
Chapter 6: Techniques
Jumping kicks
Upper Body power
Flexibility
Speed
Agility
Improving Martial Arts Techniques
Chapter 7: Physical Concerns
Injury Prevention
Warming up
Cooling Down
Rehabilation
Safety Gear
Pregnancy
Physical limitations
Chapter 8: Competition
Choosing a Tournament
Sparrring Competition
Preparing for Competition
Chapter 9: Choosing a School
Choossing a martial arts style
Determingin your martial arts goals
Determining the quality of teaching
Checking the condition of the school
Choosing the right size of school
Figuring cost

Live like a black belt without ever throwing a punch!

In the hours spent perfecting their skills in the dojo, or training hall, martial artists practice much more than how to master a punch. They also learn essential lessons that help them become stronger, calmer, and more courageous people-and enhance their lives. In Dojo Wisdom, Jennifer Lawler, a writer, martial arts teacher, and second-degree black belt, shares 100 of these life lessons from the martial arts to help anyone find his or her inner warrior. Each lesson begins with a description and explanation, then offers a short exercise to illustrate how to apply the teachng to everyday situations.
Dojo Wisdom will show you how to:

Develop your perseverance and patience
Strengthen your endurance
Center yourself during moments of stress
And much more!

This accessible, encouraging, and inspiring book can show you-whether or not you ever step onto the mat-how to tap into a power you never knew you had.

'In this inspiring book, Jennfer Lawler helps us cultivate the much needed and often neglected qualities of discipline, commitment and focus. very useful!'-Marilyn Paul, author of It's Hard to Make a Difference Whan You can't Find Your Keys

'Jennifer Lawler proves that the wisdom of the marital arts can truly be incorporated into our dialy lives to make us stronger and more courageous. The 100 lessons in this book will awaken the warrior in all of us!'-Charlotte Kasl, author of If the Buddha Dated and If the Buddha Married

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 'if you know theart of breathing, you have the strength, wisdom and courage of ten tigers.'
2 A punch is just a punch
3 Revel in your awkwardness as much as in your mastery
4 Use your attacker's momentum against him or her
5 Know the vital points, strike to the vital points
6 You are worth defending
7 Locate and summon your Chi
8 The sound of your shout gives you power
9 Strike through the target
10 You cannot spar from five feet away
11 Accept criticism and correcton
12 Hone your tools through continual sharpening
13 Do not push when you mean to strike
14 Learn to bow and you will stand tall
15 Love your teacher
16 Bring only what you can carry
17 Listen to wise people; remember, not all wise people sit atop mountains in Tibet
18 Discipline is not punishment
19 'Useless' knowledge may have hidden uses
20 you owe your teacher more than tuition
21 Chamber your kick high even when your target is low
22 Practice eight directional awareness
23 Never lose sight of the blade
24 Perform all aspects of formal courtesy
25 See the blow coming without fear
26 Strike without fear
27 The angry mind forgets skill and discipline
28 Never cease to study
29 Self-consciousness prevents physical action
30 Keep your guard up and your elbows in
31 Know where your oppoonent will be when the strike lands
32 Finish the technique
33 Your competitor can be your partner
34 Your oppoonent is our teacher
35 Never assume a woman is not as strong as a man
36 Train becaues you are a warrior
37 Strategy and tactics flow from your beliefs
38 Develop aiki, or impassive mind
39 Persist and you will find indomitable spirit
40 When you get fatigued, increase the pace
41 Act directly from will
42 A physical attack should never surprise you
43 Strive to be the physical expression of the Way
44 Hope for nothng, fear for nothing
45 If I am humble, I can never be overcome
46 You must learn the jump spinning wheel kick
47 Meditate through physical action
48 The centered Self reacts to few distractons
49 Play
50 Know what to do next
51 Be a master of the moment
52 Speed is power
53 Accept te cycle of yin-yang
54 The master of the tea is a warrior, too
55 Train to use more than one weapon, then use the unexpected weapon
56 Accept hard training
57 Physical effort transforms the mind and spirit
58 Do not let the attacker set the rules of engagement
59 Don't always keep score
60 Losing teaches more than winning
61 No one fails who keeps trying
62 If you think you don't have enough, you will never have enough
63 We're all teachers and we're all students
64 A kick must be repeated 10,000 times before o know how to do it
65 If yu don't fall down now and then, you're not tring hard enough
66 To jump, both feet must leave the ground
67 Anticipate your opponents moves
68 Don't telegraph your moves
69 Keep your eye on the Way, not the destination
70 Patience
71 Self-understanding requires self-acceptance
72 Intensity overcomes obstacles
73 The Way is different for everyone
74 Disharmony shatters focus
75 Acting with integrity brings freedom
76 Clear mind, correct action
77 The unverse wants to be in rhythm with you
78 Don't show your power to anyone
79 Sometimes you yield, sometimes you stand your ground
80 Train outside the dojo
81 Don't resist your potential
82 Pace yourself in training and you'll never exceed your limits
83 Breakthroughs happen as the result of sustained effort
84 Embrace the dragon
85 Someone else's win is not always our loss
86 If you act with integrity, everything you do will be powerful
87 The Path is sometimes straight and sometimes circular
88 The nature of the scorpon is to sting
89 Frequent encounters with fear make you strong
90 A thousand risks are not too many
91 Your relationship with your opponent teaches you about yourself
92 Protect and nurture the beginner
93 Being a warrior is not about fighting, it is about finding the Truth
94 The master does what is right without speaking
95 Strive to be impervious to darkness and to fear
96 Do not look back once the Path is chosen
97 The warrior must be single-minded
98 You are the kata, and the kata is beautiful
99 Consult your intuition before taking action
100 Triumph

Disappointing. Had hoped since martial arts and writing are both interests of mine, if not passions, this book would be better. But the analogies felt contrived and superficial.

Maybe Jennifer Lawler can blame this on her editor.

Let me state from the start that I love the idea of this book. But the practical result left me cold.

I should point out that I love to read specialized encyclopedias. But a good encyclopedia-for-reading requires certain traits. For starters, it must have a reasonable number of long articles -- say, 1000 words. On the other hand, it should not be all really-long articles. I have one "encyclopedia" that is really more an anthology of essays -- only a couple of dozen items, mostly 5000+ words. You can't just sit down and casually read it.

This volume falls victim to the first of those problems. Most of the articles are short -- a paragraph or two. You can't really get to know any of these women. As a very-very-quick reference, it's tolerable, but if you have even the faintest interest in a particular woman, there won't be enough here to satisfy you. And if you don't have the faintest interest, then you won't read that article anyway, so what's the point of such a short item? :-)

Even with all those short articles, I was surprised by what wasn't in here. No Rosamund Clifford, for instance. Admittedly "Fair Rosamund" wasn't really of importance in her own right -- but lots of people will want to know that, yes, she was real; yes, Henry II of England kept her as his mistress; no, Eleanor of Aquitaine didn't poison her!

There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of genealogies at the end -- but they often somewhat miss the point. For one thing, they don't have birth and death dates. And they often suffer from a severe lack of context. For example, "England (Chart 6)," on p. 193, is the descendants of "Richard of Conisburgh" and "Anne Mortimer." But "Richard of Conisburgh," better known as Richard, Earl of Cambridge, was the second son of Edmund, Duke of York, who was the fourth son of King Edward III to reach adulthood, and Anne Mortimer was the ultimate heir of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, the second son of Edward III. Which means that, after the death of King Richard II son of Edward III, Anne Mortimer's descendants eventually were the heirs of Edward III in female line, and Richard of Cambridge was, ultimately, after the "Lancastrian" line of John of Gaunt, the heir of Edward III in male line. This is important, because it was through Anne Mortimer (who, like Rosamund Clifford, doesn't have an entry!) that the English crown was transmitted to King Edward IV and, ultimately, to the royal family of today. (Unless you accept Henry VII Tudor as the rightful king, anyway, which he simply wasn't.) Further down in that same genealogy -- which signally omits, for instance, Edward IV's brother George of Clarence -- we are told that Richard III married "Anne Beauchamp." Richard's wife was Anne Neville, who was descended from the Beauchamp Earls of Warwick, but her father was Richard Neville, not someone named Beauchamp. Oy.(Incidentally, Anne doesn't have an entry either, either under "Neville" or even under "Beauchamp." Oy.)

On the other hand, there is an entry for Esther. Esther, as in, the wife of King Xerxes of Persia in the Biblical Book of Esther. Even if you set aside the fact that the book of Esther is fiction (Xerxes's historical wife was Amestris, if it matters, and Amestris wasn't Jewish), Xerxes ruled in the fifth century B.C.E. Which is a thousand years before the earliest possible date for the Middle Ages. Oy.

Of course, it's easy to understand where errors like that come from when you observe the sources cited for England. For instance, the entry on Eleanor of Aquitaine cites two sources. One is D. D. R. Owen's Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen and Legend, which is the only one of the four biographies of Eleanor I've read which actually deserves the name -- but the other is Alison Weir's Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life. Alison Weir is a writer of historical fiction who pretends she's writing history. Her work simply should not be cited by a book that claims to be non-fiction!

As I say, all this might be blamed on an editor -- an editor who demanded the book be too short by about 80%. An editor who perhaps thought invocations of Alison Weir might increase sales. An editor who included genealogies without proofing them. I don't know. I do know that the result is neither very reliable nor very interesting.

I can only hope someone will steal the idea and do it right.

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[Corrections 3/29/2021: changed "short item." to "short item?" * changed "at the en" to "at the end"]½

Un completo diccionario enciclopédico ilustrado donde encontrar cualquier dato relativo al Imperio Bizantino: Más de 1500 entradas, de Adrianopolis a Zoe,sobre Historia, mapas, genealogías, una guía de pronunciación, etc.

I liked this book. It offered advice on traveling one's writing journey in snippets that could be absorbed at the reader's pace. It didn't have to be read as a continuous book, but allowed one to read a short portion, glean a bit of knowledge and move on. Significant to this, it didn't say "I'm the only way" and suggested that the reader take what works and discard the rest. The concept of taking the ideas from martial arts training and translating them to a writer's viewpoint added a good option by showing that a writer can learn from many different occupations and ways of life.

I'd recommend this to any writer who's just getting started, who has an interest in Martial Arts, or who needs a boost of advice.½

Most useful for explaining the differences between the many disciplines that fall under the umbrella of "Martial Arts", such as Jujitsu, Karate, etc. At its best when explaining how each discipline is taught and what you can expect if enrolling in classes of any of those ancient arts. More of a primer for someone who wants to be instructed in Martial Arts rather than a DIY instruction manual for techniques.½