Norse Warfare: A Portrayal of Combat, Raids, and Plunder in the Viking Age

 

The Vikings burst onto the scene in a flash, startling the world with the reach and extent of their raids and the overwhelming destruction they wrought. Their unconventional war strategies, which left the enemy helpless and defenseless, built their reputation as brutal, bloodthirsty barbarians with no regard for God or human life. The reckless raiding of churches and monasteries was due in large part to their ignorance of the unspoken rules of warfare, giving holy sites immunity, but it earned the Christian world's contempt.

 

Fighting Science: The Laws of Physics for Martial Artists

It has been said that a successful martial artist doesn’t need size or strength, because “it’s all in the technique.” It has also been said that the power of a martial artist seems to increase quickly with weight, and the best lightweight fighter in the world will be defeated every time by an unranked heavyweight in a bar brawl. This book explores the science behind power in the martial arts. Once we understand the principles of physics that apply to balance, body mass in motion, inertia, direction, rotational speed, friction, torque, impulse, and kinetic energy, the need to memorize hundreds of martial arts techniques vanishes. The principles of physics apply to all people at all times regardless of which martial art we study; regardless of whether we are standing, sitting, kneeling, prone, or supine; whether we are big or small, strong or weak.

 

Science of Takedowns, Throws, and Grappling for Self-Defense

 

The odds are, if you're attacked on the street you will have to defend yourself against a bigger and stronger assailant, or against one with a weapon. When this happens, strength alone will not be enough to stop your attacker. Science of Takedowns, Throws, and Grappling for Self-Defense addresses the concepts and mindset required to survive an encounter with a larger attacker or one with a weapon. Illustrated with hundreds of photos, it shows you what types of throws, takedowns, locks, and presses work on the street and teaches you how to apply concepts like timing and positioning to make your techniques more effective, how to defend against common attacks with a weapon and what you can do to use that weapon in your favor, which mistakes are the most common and how to prevent them from weakening your defense, and much more.

 

Best Swordsman, Best Sword: Samurai vs. Medieval Knight

 

Our purpose with this book is to pit a samurai against a medieval knight to determine who proved to be the better swordsman, who wielded the better sword, and who came from the superior culture. Our analysis will encourage you to think about the many nuances of swordsmanship in different terrains and cultural settings, and how a Japanese samurai might have acted and reacted had he crossed swords with a European medieval knight, and vice versa. It is of interest to those who have some experience practicing with the sword, but primarily to those who like to ponder the use of the sword in a historical context; neither for sports or to settle points of honor, nor for health or personal fulfillment, but on the battlefield where the objective was to kill the opponent. The intent is to discern relationships between seemingly separate histories and lead us toward a broader horizon regarding historical swordsmanship.

 

We the People: New Socialism for a Modern World

Democratic socialism is a branch of politics that is built on certain core values, the first of which is the development of a society that openly embraces equality and social justice through powerful action. To retain vitality, a democratic nation must constantly press the frontier forward, and the first responsibility of a political leader is a desire to listen to the voices of the masses. In light of the fiery political debates since President Barack Obama took executive office in the United States, particularly with respect to social issues such as universal healthcare, affordable education, and the rights of workers to organize, this brief analysis sheds light on a subject that many Americans do not understand and even fear, or at least have failed to examine in depth. It defines our understanding of democratic socialism and also discusses what it means to the ordinary citizen when we say that we want to be free of government interference. It builds on the ideology of former prime minister of Sweden, Olof Palme, who many view as the epitome of social justice, and questions the extent to which his ideas have merit and can be implemented in modern American society.

 

 

Statue of ancient Greek boxer resting on a boulder after a match, from the Thermae of Constantine, third to second century BCE. Note the leather straps used by the boxer to protect the knuckles and increase the damaging power of the strike. (Image source: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Wikimedia Commons.)