Martina

Complete Kickboxing- The Fighter-s Ultimate Guide to Techniques- Concepts and Strategy for Sparring

5 stars (A well-rounded compilation of facts) - The collaborative work of martial arts experts Martina Sprague (kickboxing, modern freestyle, Kenpo karate) and Keith Livingston (kickboxing, Tae Kwon-Do, Kenpo Karate, boxing, Aikido, Ju-Jitsu, and former I.K.A. light heavyweight Rock Mountain champion), Complete Kickboxing is a "martial arts student friendly" instructional guide and reference for kickboxing techniques, concepts, sparring exercises and competition strategies. Beginning with the fundamentals of movement, stance, punching and kicking, and progressing to instructions on more advanced jump kicks and sweeps, strategies for short and long range fighting, outsmarting one's opponent, and the business mechanics of competition in the professional ring, Complete Kickboxing is an indispensible resource for novice and career kickboxers alike. A well-rounded compilation of facts, advice, and insight efficiently organized for improving one's skill and strengthening weaknesses. 5 stars (Outstanding) - Martina Sprague's and Keith Livingston's Complete Boxing is correctly titled. First of all there are 480 pages with over 1000 photos! And the Table of Contents takes up six pages with double columns on each page. This puppy is huge but it costs only $29.95. Even if you disagreed with some of the material - not that fighters are strongly opinionated - you're still getting more than your money's worth. It's that loaded and that good. As the title says, the book is about kickboxing, that is, full-contact fighting. Not point fighting where eight times out of 10 the technique wouldn't have had an effect. In kickboxing, the players are really hitting and trying to defeat the other fighter by hurting him so badly that he can't continue, or by knocking him out. So you're not getting foo-foo techniques here; the material in this book is designed to hurt. The authors have been there and done that. Combining their vast experience, they have produced a tremendous book - a huge b...
Turtle Press (CT) :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Martial Arts & Self-Defense :: Kickboxing :: General :: Boxing :: Turtle Press :: Keith Livingston :: Martina Sprague :: :: Complete Kickboxing- The Fighter-s Ultimate Guide to Techniques- Concepts and Strategy for Sparring

The Rivals- Chris Evert vs Martina Navratilova Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship

4 stars (Match Point (4.5 Stars)) - This is a well-written account of women's tennis between the years of 1971 and 1987 as told through the stories of Martina and Chrissie (no last names needed!). In those years, there really weren't any other women stars with staying power, and these two women were the face of the sport. The contrast in their childhood upbringings and off-court relationships and training practices are covered well and thankfully not in laborious detail. I would have liked to hear more from Tracy Austin, Hana Mandlikova, and other players to help balance the Martina/Chrissie rememberances, but other than that, this book is very good. 5 stars (Aces, straight sets, a winner) - For those of us old enough to remember the growth of tennis, particularly women's tennis, in the early 70's through 80's, this is an insider's walk down memory lane. Well researched, well written, and sensitive, it tells the inside story of what (and who) made the two title women tick, but also provides the necessary background for what was going on around them. Fans of women's sports,heck, sports in general, but particularly tennis, will enjoy this read. 5 stars (Best sports book I've ever read) - I thought I knew so much about Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova until I read Johnette Howard's extraordinary book. From start to finish, I couldn't put it down. The narrative is so compelling. It's not so much a biography as a wonderful story that unfolds page after page. The book is full of anecdotes that stay with you, and Howard draws detailed, insightful, often poignant portraits of Martina and Chris that go far beyond anything I've ever read about them before. Most importantly, to me, Howard excelled at putting Chrissie and Martina's rivalry in human terms. And she provides the sort of historical context that makes this not just a sports book, but a book that reads like a short cultural history of the time that Martina and Chris came along. The chapter about Martin...
Broadway :: Biography & Autobiography & Sports :: Women :: United States :: Tennis players :: Tennis :: Sports rivalries :: Sports - General :: Navratilova :: Martina :: :: Evert :: Ch :: The Rivals- Chris Evert vs Martina Navratilova Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship