Martial Arts and Well-Being explores how martial arts as a source of learning can contribute in important ways to health and well-being, as well as provide other broader social benefits. Using psychological and sociological theory related to behaviour, ritual, perception and reality construction, the book seeks to illustrate, with empirical data, how individuals make sense of and perceive the value of martial arts in their lives. This book draws on data from over 500 people, across all age ranges, and powerfully demonstrates that participating in martial arts can have a profound influence on the construction of behaviour patterns that are directly linked to lifestyle and health. Making individual connections regarding the benefits of practice, improvements to health and well-being – regardless of whether these improvements are ‘true’ in a medical sense – this book offers an important and original window into the importance of beliefs to health and well-being as well as the value of thinking about education as a process of life-long learning. This book will be of great interest to a range of audiences, including researchers, academics and postgraduate students interested in sports and exercise psychology, martial art studies and health and well-being. It should also be of interest to sociologists, social workers and martial arts practitioners. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781315448084, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

This volume offers a wide-reaching overview of current academic research on women's participation in combat sports within a range of different national and trans-national contexts, detailing many of the struggles and opportunities experienced by women at various levels of engagement within sports such as boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts.

This edited volume draws upon work from a wide range of established and emerging international scholars to provide an interdisciplinary analysis of sport’s complex relationship with masculinity. With a particular focus on Latin America, it examines the changing relationship between a range of contemporary sport and sexuality and gender expression, as related to lesbian, gay and/or trans athletes. Experts from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia provide historical, sociological and anthropological perspectives on heteronormativity, masculinity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and the gender binary as they relate to sports clubs, Mexican martial arts, football, softball, sports media, games, and physical education. It will be invaluable to scholars and students in the fields of Gender Studies, Queer Studies, Sports Studies, and Men’s Studies.

This manual explains how the body functions and how training for the martial arts affects it.

In this eBook,Grand Master Daw takes you through his martial arts history and tells of how the MFMA came to be. We can all learn from this book. Funny, informative and entertaining, the best stories are usually true. With this book, you will know the truth behind Grand Master Daw, and the MFMA. Think you know GM Daw? Think again. Read the book, discover the true story and enjoy the ride.

The ongoing troubles in Northern Ìreland have largely overshadowed the presence of over 40 ethnic and religious minority groups in the Province. This study of these groups focuses on the issues of racism, anti-racism, sectarianism, representation in the media, and the law.

There are many exercise programs out there to choose from; however, choosing martial arts as that exercise venue is a big decision. As in all sports, dedication and discipline are required in your chosen sport to become good. In choosing the martial arts as your pursuit, that dedication and discipline is at a very high standard. It becomes a lifetime devotion which is geared towards a code of honor, a creed to follow, and responsibility to carry your skills to a higher human level. This book is not just about martial arts or about you making a survival choice regarding a self-defense endeavor; it is also about life and longevity as well as how to stay and maintain that state of physical well-being. This maintenance or balance formulates the essence of “Taijiquan” the philosophical concept for both its defense training and its health benefits. I hope in reading this book it will help you to choose wisely. What would happen if the masters of different martial art’s academies join forces to devise one master form of martial arts? This should include all the martial arts systems, styles, philosophies, and functionalities and to embrace the hidden secrets of their individual styles and formulate one master super self-defense universal system that is all incorporating and encompassing. A structure in which entails the very essence of human survival. This new system of martial arts would maintain the subsistence for the sacredness and protection of our evolutionary way. This “way” is the continuation of the human-species. Longevity depends on maintaining your survival skills and survival skills depend on maintaining your health. It is all tied together and there is no separation of these factors. This book is about that; to maintain and live a healthy and long life through the use of the martial arts format. I called the union above “The Yoda System.”

Mixed martial arts (MMA)—unarmed fighting games permitting techniques derived from a variety of martial arts and combat sports— has exploded from the fringes of sport into a worldwide phenomenon, a sport as controversial as it is compelling. This is the first book to pay MMA the serious philosophical attention it deserves. With contributions from leading international scholars of the philosophy of sport and martial arts, the book explores topics such as whether MMA qualifies as a martial art, the differences between MMA and the traditional martial arts, the aesthetic dimensions of MMA, the limits of consent and choice in MMA and whether MMA can promote moral virtues. It also explores cutting-edge practical and ethical topics, including the role of gender in MMA, and the question of whether trans athletes should be allowed to compete in the women’s divisions. The contributors to this anthology take down, ground and pound, and submit many essential questions about this fascinating recent development in the culture of sport and spectacle. This is important reading for anybody with an interest in combat sports, martial arts, or the philosophy, sociology, culture or history of sport.