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American Combat Judo: 186 Photographs, Illustrating Jiu-Jitsu, Police Tatics French Foot Fighting and Wrestling
 "American Combat Judo: 186 Photographs, Illustrating Jiu-Jitsu, Police Tatics French Foot Fighting and Wrestling" is Available on the iBookstore 		American Combat Judo: 186 Photographs, Illustrating Jiu-Jitsu, Police... By B. J. Cosneck
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As a student at the University of Illinois, "Barney" Cosneck won two Big Ten wrestling championships. Later he served as... More > Judo instructor in the armed forces, where he co-authored "How to Fight Tough" with Jack Dempsey. In "American Combat Judo" he has adapted the best of Japanese ju jitsu, French foot fighting, Chinese boxing and American wrestling to produce simple but effective techniques for defense and counterattack. Authored in 1944 and illustrated with 188 photo sequences, this book, considered one of the cornerstones of American WWII era "Combatives" is a unique window into self defense theory and the early evolution of combined martial systems. < Less
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Scientific Methods of Wrestling
 "Scientific Methods of Wrestling" is Available on the iBookstore 		Scientific Methods of Wrestling By Paul Prehn
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Prehn, a member of the Wrestling Hall of Fame, was one of the early 20th Century "Big Names." He dedicated a good portion of... More > his life to promoting Wrestling including acting as a professional wrestling coach for the Illini, successfully placing in top 10 matches such as the 1928 NCAA Collegiate Championship. As a G.I., he was a hand-to-hand instructor and won the 1918 Middle Weight Inter-Allied Games championship. He was Chairman of the Illinois Athletic Commission. Prehn was elected President of the National Boxing Association in 1928 which added wrestling to its responsibilities. Possibly his most important contribution is his wrestling manual. It includes many techniques which are now illegal, such as arm-bars and neck-cranks. Packed with more than 70 photographs, this manual, faithfully transcribed by Kirk Lawson, is one of the best "Scientific Wrestling" manuals of the early 20th Century and is an indispensible reference for modern wrestlers and historians alike. < Less
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The Art and Practice of Boxing
 "The Art and Practice of Boxing" is Available on the iBookstore 		The Art and Practice of Boxing By A Celebrated Pugilist
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Writing in 1825, the anonymous "Celebrated Pugilist" penned "The Art and Practice of Boxing." This early boxing manual, as... More > is typical, teaches footwork, striking, blocking, and training details. This includes specifics of diet, exercise, & grappling. However, he deviates from the norm in two important ways. First, he dedicates an unusual amount of his text to discussion (and derision) of methods and strategies which, though technically legal under boxing rules of the time, he considers "unmanly." Second, he cites an earlier Wrestling text, Sir Thomas Parkyn's "In-Play" for advice and description on performing some of the grappling and throwing which were part of orthodox boxing of the period. He includes in his text images of 9 techniques which he considers either confusing or foundational, rounding out his relatively short text with a recitation of Broughton's rules which, like this manual itself, were authored before the adoption of the London Prize Ring rules of 1838. < Less
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The Art of In-Fighting
 More Detail 		The Art of In-Fighting By Frank Klaus
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Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in Frank Klaus was a German-American boxer. His professional career spanning 39 matches... More > netted 32 wins 21 by KO. He won the Middleweight Championship of the world in 1913 and was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1974.

Acclaimed as an inside fighter, in approximately late 1913 or some time thereafter he penned his book of instruction on in-fighting.

Klaus packs a great number of photograph into his work for such a comparatively short and focused book: 27 in all including several “action shots” from his fights giving this book a ratio of about 1 photo for every 2 ½ pages of instruction.
Particular gems include “The Liver Punch,” “Feigning ‘Grogginess’,” and “Beating an Opponent by Punching his Gloved Hands or Arms.”

Truly a Historic Boxing “must have!” < Less
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The Hand-book to Boxing
 More Detail 		The Hand-book to Boxing By Owen Swift
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In 1840,Owen Swift published "The Hand-book to Boxing."
Drawing on his experience as a professional boxer, having killed at... More > least two men in the ring, his ambitious booklet attempts to treat the subject of boxing comprehensively.
Swift first offers a defense of pugilism, arguing for its legalization to the Marquis of Normanby. He follows with a brief history of boxing from ancient greeks to contemporary times. He continues with a discussion and advice for the proper forms to enjoy boxing as an upper class spectator. Thense he careens into a discussion of boxing schools and differences between “modern” and “old” styles. Finally, at long last, he gives instructions for how to box and train, the requirements of Seconds, and the "new rules of prize-fighting."
Swift wraps up with a chronology of boxing spanning from 1740 to November 1840.
This inclusive and unique manual is a requisite for pugilism enthusiasts, martial artists, and boxing historians alike. < Less
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How to Wrestle, Instructions of Frank Gotch
 More Detail 		How to Wrestle, Instructions of Frank Gotch By George Robbins
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Writing decades after Gotch's death in 1917, George Robbins pens this instructional manual on Frank Gotch's wrestling... More > style.
It is unclear where Robbins got his material and quotes from Gotch, but working for the Sporting Staff, The Chicago Daily News would have potentially given him access to Gotch personally at some point and the two may have even been friends. The 27 instructional pictures included are clear, well done, drawings which some have suggested may have partially been redrawn from the photographs of Gotch's earlier book, "Wrestling and How to Train."
The real gems of this little instructional manual are Gotch's discussion of his famous "toe hold," including, most interestingly, its origins, and instruction on the Strangle hold with a drawing of the legendary "Farmer" Burns demonstrating.
Altogether, this manual is a unique and important bit of catch wrestling history. < Less
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Banned from Boxing, The forgotten grappling techniques of classic pugilism, 2nd Edition
 More Detail 		Banned from Boxing, The forgotten grappling techniques of classic... By Kirk Lawson
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"I recommend Kirk's 'Banned from Boxing'..."
-Terry Brown

"...the most important work on classical boxing I have seen so... More > far."
-Ken Pfrenger

"'Banned from Boxing' is a unique valuable resource..."
-Tony Wolf

"Invaluable Contribution to Martial Arts"
-Internet review

Revisiting the subject in this revised and expanded 2nd Edition work, Kirk Lawson, a Martial Artist with more than 25 years of experience in the Martial Arts, both Western and Eastern, and an avid Western Martial Arts researcher, explores the exciting and mostly forgotten world of grappling in historic boxing.

Using antique boxing manuals as reference as well as a healthy dose of experience, Kirk systematically presents in easy to follow terms and sequences the throws, trips, and grapples of historic boxing.

With 90 historic images and new illustrations, modern martial artists and boxing historians alike will find this book an indispensable reference. < Less
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The Art of Boxing and Manual of Training
 More Detail 		The Art of Boxing and Manual of Training By William Edwards
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Billy Edwards, born in England, traveled to the United States of America to pursue his passion of boxing. Facing such greats... More > as Mike Donovan and Sam Collyer throughout his career, Edwards earned and held the title of Lightweight Champion of America during 1868-1872.

In 1888, Edwards published his manual, together with the help of his friend, long-time sparring partner, and oft-times professional ring opponent, Aurthur Chambers. This manual catalogs footwork, striking technique, throwing, diet, exercise, and training recommendations for both amateur and professional boxers. Edwards provided his manual liberally with illustrations, 26 in all, in which he and Chambers pose. Additionally, Edwards includes and recommends for amateur use the American Fair-Play Rules for boxing, a little known and never officially adopted rule set.

Most uniquely, this manual was actually used a significant court case, namely Louisiana State vs. Olympic Club, 1894. < Less
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The Walking Stick Method of Self Defence by H.G. Lang
 More Detail 		The Walking Stick Method of Self Defence by H.G. Lang By Kirk Lawson
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In the early 1920's, Superintendent of Police in India H.G. Lang introduced the Walking Stick Method of Self Defense based... More > upon the instruction of Swiss la canne Professor Pierre Vigny. He published this historic manual documenting his cane fighting system.

This manual, faithfully transcribed by Kirk Lawson from the original (copyright held on text formatting and images), Lang included 116 pages of text in his orginal manual including 66 pages of specific instruction and 60 images illustrating his techniques.

Special thanks to Ralph Grasso for preserving this historic text in his library. Additional thanks to Joseph P. Sullivan for providing a copy to me.

Finally, special thanks to The Exiles (http://www.the-exiles.org) for hosting the original PDF transciptions. < Less
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American Jiu Jitsu
 More Detail 		American Jiu Jitsu By Len Lanius
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Born about 1865 in Cincinnati, Len Lanius began wrestling around the age of 12, eventually wrestling on the Vaudeville... More > circuit before retiring and joining the Sports staff with the Cincinnati Post. Lanius claimed to have held the title of Lightweight Champion Wrestler of the World, which would have been around 1890.After the famous Gotch-Hackenschmidt matches of 1908, Lanius started developing his “American Jiu Jitsu.” In his own words, “it was the invasion of the Jap wrestlers around that time that put me to work on perfecting a style of defense to check their attack. Their methods were quite baffling.”In March of 1921, Lanius demonstrated his creation, “Yankee Jiu Jitsu,” to the Rotary Club and, again in June of 1921, he demoed his Jiu Jitsu to the Kiwanis. In 1922 he published this book, “American Jiu Jitsu.”Special thanks to Jason Couch and the Martial History Magazine at: http://martialhistory.com for making the original of this document available for republishing. < Less
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About Kirk Lawson

Kirk Lawson is a leading member of the Western Martial Arts community, participating as both a scholar and practitioner. Originally a 20-year veteran of the Asian Martial Arts with ranks in Tang Soo Do, Akido and Judo, Kirk has turned his attention to the historical martial systems originating primarily in Europe and also in America.

In addition to his interest and practice of classical pugilistic methods, Kirk is a leading member of the Bartitsu Society, a student of the Tomahawk and Bowie Knife, a Free-Scholar in the Cumann Bhata, and a Coach in the IBKBA.

In addition to leading his Western Martial Arts study-group "Cumann Bhata-Dayton", Kirk regularly transcribes and reproduces historical Western Martial Arts Manuals, providing free electronic versions online. Kirk's original works include his contributions to Volumes I & II of the Bartitsu Compendium, and the authorship of "Banned From Boxing! The forgotten grappling techniques of historic Pugilism."