Fighting Books

They say that Texas high school football is legendary, one particular legend is of a high school football team that foiled a bank robbery. Believe it or not but that legend is true and the facts detailed in Gary Kerbow's "Friday Night Farmers". This is a great read if your into high school football. It's not just a story about football but also about the town that embraced the team as both grew up together. The book was written after Lewisville captured 1993 season in which Lewisville won it's first state championship. That season and the 1972 season (Lewisville lost in the State Championship game that year) are the major focus of the book. (By the way the Farmers also went on to win the 96 state title). Other great years and teams are detailed in this book but it is much more than just a narrative of past football seasons. Included are profiles of former great players, biographies of all Farmer head coaches, history of the school band and a detailed history of the town itself. The very informative appendix provides a wealth of information such as an all time roster, year by year team records, and much more. I definatley recomend this book for any one that loves high school football, and Texas high school football in particular.

A book that collects technical of a style not very known, the boxing of the dog, but that collects superior techniques of defense in situations of inferiority and simple ways of arranging unfavourable situations. Basic for those that are black belts or equivalent. Many tehniques of kicking, one solo kuen and the paired practice. An excellent book.

Gave this book to my Father for Christmas. He is a big gamecock fan and loved it. I know several others who have this book and they also enjoyed it.

The savage fighting that burned across the rolling terrain of central Adams County, Pennsylvania, during the first three days of July 1863, has frequently been recounted by participants in conflicting ways. Though the veterans are long gone, many of the debates continue to captivate Gettysburg enthusiasts. One such little-described polemic involved men of Colonel Samuel Sprigg Carroll's Second Corps brigade, the Gibraltar Brigade, a "western" unit composed of regiments from Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana. The hard-bitten veterans of the Gibraltar Brigade had little time to relax after their hard march to Gettysburg. Early in the evening of July 2, three of Carroll's regiments were ordered from where they lay near Ziegler's Grove toward East Cemetery Hill which was under Confederate assault. The tired Ohioans, Indianians and West Virginians arrived at the Evergreen Cemetery Gate on the Baltimore Pike to find part of General Howard's Eleventh Corps line retreating up the east slope of the hill. The fiery Carroll deployed his men into line of battle and drove more than 50 Confederates from Captain R. Bruce Ricketts' Pennsylvania battery thereby securing this part of the Federal line. Or so it seemed, for unbeknown to those involved, disparate opinions of what actually happened in the July 2 gloom were soon to erupt into a sometimes caustic feud that pitted Second Corps veterans against General Howard's men and partisans. The dispute over who actually saved the Federal batteries on East Cemetery Hill commenced before the start of the Spring 1864 Campaign and endured into the twentieth century. Though such debates as the Meade-Sickles and Hancock-Howard controversies have received extensive coverage, little has been written on the Carroll-Howard quarrel. More than anything else, the protracted disagreement between the Second and Eleventh Corps veterans recounted in The Gibraltar Brigade on East Cemetery Hill reveals how comrades in battle could differ on specifics of that fighting and for such a long time. It also demonstrates how fervently these veterans contended for the honor of their regiments and corps.

The 2004 college football season has come to an end with Pete Carroll's University of Southern California Trojans having completed the most perfect season in collegiate football history. There have been many "perfect" teams; that is, teams that went undefeated and untied en route to a consensus National Championship. USC itself has enjoyed their fair share of these kinds of wire-to-wire perfect seasons. But the stars have never been aligned for any team quite like the 2004 Trojans. First of all, they are the sixth team to be ranked number one in the nation from the pre-season polls through the bowl games. USC is the only team to do it twice. The 1972 Trojans, considered by many to be the greatest team of all time, accomplished the feat. But SC was also ranked number one from the end of the 2003 regular season through the bowls, and carried that right through 2004 without interruption.

The 2004 Trojans also boast the Heisman Trophy winner, two-time junior All-American quarterback Matt Leinart. His teammate, All-American sophomore running back Reggie Bush, was a New York finalist for the award. USC won a repeat National Championship, a feat rarely done. They are in the middle of a 22-game winning streak. They beat Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, a game that was previewed as the greatest game in college football history. The 1944-45 Army Cadets featured a similar winning streak and two Heisman winners, Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis. There are other teams that compare, but nobody has done it quite the way Carroll's team is doing it.

A few came close. The 1983 Nebraska Cornhuskers featured an undefeated regular season that included winners of the Heisman and Outland Trophies. They lost to Miami in the Orange Bowl. The 2003 Oklahoma Sooners looked to be on a similar path, but their Heisman winner, Jason White, faltered in the Big 12 championship game as well as the Orange Bowl.

In light of USC's recent dominance, it is worth considering their place in history. Not just the current Trojans, but USC's football program going back to the beginning of the 20th Century. It is time to take the mantel of "greatest program in the history of college football" away from the struggling Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and lay it squarely with the deserving new champions from USC. Furthermore, USC continues to lay claim to the greatest historical athletic program in college history, as well.

The two-time defending National Champions are a dynasty. If Leinart returns for his senior year in 2005, they will be better than they were this season. Leinart will be a senior, the Heisman favorite (as he was all of this year), and a three-time All-American. He will walk away from his career with more honors than any player ever; three National Championships (?), two Heismans (?), the Johnny Unitas Award, the Walter Camp Award, the Maxwell Trophy, the Davey O'Brien Award, et al. He will probably be the number one pick in the NFL draft.

The 2003-04 Trojans are very possibly the greatest two-year dynasty ever. If they win a third title in 2005, that will be a first. They lose a couple of linebackers, but aside from Leinart, Bush will be a junior, running backs LenDale White and Herschel Dennis return, the whole offensive line returns, the tight ends and receivers are back, and the defense will be, for the most part, experienced. The 2005 Trojans have the potential to be the greatest single-season team ever assembled, better even than the 1972 Trojans. Soph-to-be Jeff Byers was the nation's best lineman coming out of high school and could win the Outland Trophy before graduating. Soph-to-be linebacker Keith Rivers was the top prep at his position and may garner a Butkus trophy some day. If Leinart leaves for the NFL, USC will re-tool at quarterback with one of two blue chip recruits.

In 2005, John David Booty will be a red-shirt sophomore. He was the top prep quarterback in America at Louisiana's Evangel Christian High School. His competition? Mark Sanchez, the top prep quarterback in the U.S. at Mission Viejo High (the nation's number two team) in Orange County, California in 2004. USC has had the number one recruiting class in the country for three years in a row. Last year's was considered the greatest of all time. The 2005 class, which will be finalized in February, promises to be just as good. The pipeline is endless. In light of the fact that they will enter next season ranked number one, favored to win their third National Championship in a row, they are worthy of continued hype. Consider that if Troy runs the table in '05, their winning streak will probably be 35. With either Booty or Sanchez living up to the challenge, maybe with senior running back Bush winning the Heisman and starring with a cast headlined by juniors Rivers and Byers, the 2006 Trojans could challenge Oklahoma's 57-game winning streak of the 1950s. Now we are looking at four National Championships in a row, but wait, there is more. Booty could quarterback the team in 2006 and 2007. Sanchez would be a red-shirt junior and senior in 2008-09. Considering that the last two SC quarterbacks (Carson Palmer in 2002 and Leinart in '04) won the Heisman, USC could conceivably come away with four more of the trophies before the end of this decade. The scenario could be:

2005: Senior quarterback Matt Leinart, USC.
2006: Senior running back Reggie Bush, USC.
2007: Senior USC quarterback John David Booty, USC (Oklahoma running back Adrian Petersen will be a pro by then).
2009: Senior quarterback Mark Sanchez, USC.

Steven Travers is the author of the Best Selling "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman". A graduate of the University of Southern California, he is currently working on a new book, "The Turning of the Tide", with former Trojan football stars Sam "Bam" Cunningham and John Papadakis. "The Turning of the Tide" documents how the 1970 USC-Alabama game ended segregation in the American South. In addition to the book, a film and documentary are in development. Steven can be reached at USCSTEVE1@aol.com.

By David Orton, July 15, 2001,
Published in the September 2001 edition of the online magazine of the New Brunswick Environmental Network, "Elements"

This commentary will outline why I think this book is important, explain the critique in
Global Showdown,and bring out what seems to me to be some of the important questions,
which reading this book raises for the radical, deep ecology-influenced environmental
movement.

First, one has to say that this book is an excellent source of information on the various
corporate structures which are trying to make the world safe for international Capital - for
example the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank -
and the ideas of the mainstream groups in opposition to this. I agree with the authors when
they note that "civil society politics are the politics of the twenty first century." (p. 5)
Although most of us reading this commentary share an opposition to the belief that trade is
the supreme good, there is an ongoing discussion on what will be the nature of such politics.
This book advocates a mainstream view of civil society politics that ultimately can be
accommodated within industrial capitalism. (The People's Summit in Quebec City in April
of 2001, was partly financed by the federal and Québec governments.)

Global Showdown shows the historical emergence of global economic institutions and,
following the ending of the Second World War, how United Nations supervision of such
institutions was replaced by US control, with what has come to be called "The Washington
Consensus."
"Led by American business interests, the free-market doctrine would
eventually force most governments in the world to give up controls on
foreign investment, liberalize trade, deregulate their internal economies,
privatize state services, and enter into head-to-head global competition."
(p. 57)
Because of the necessary exposure of the labyrinth corporate and bureaucratic structures
which underpin the ever expanding globalization of Capital, this book is not easy, although
it is essential reading.

Maude Barlow is the chairperson of the Council of Canadians. Barlow has played a major
role in educating and arousing Canadians to fight back against the forces of globalization and
increasing corporate governance. Anyone who has heard her speak, knows she is a very
effective and knowledgeable speaker, who "eats up" the apologists for more unrestricted free
trade. Tony Clarke is the director of the Polaris Institute of Canada. This institute, which
emerged in 1997, describes itself in its mission statement as seeking "to provide a compass
for social movements", in order "to bring about democratic social change" in this era of
corporate driven globalization. Both authors know their stuff, and reading this book brings
about a growing rage at the sell-out, and its extent, of the interests of the Canadian (and the
world's) people to a transnational corporate agenda.

Barlow and Clarke do not basically oppose globalization; they seek "fair" trade, not free
trade. The authors want "Canada to help bring democratic governance to the operation of
the global economy." (p. 176) They want to democratize, not dismantle, the institutions of
global economic governance. Taken for granted is the spread of capitalist industrialism all
over the globe. Barlow and Clarke want to control globalization from below, not the
corporate control from the top. So they do not oppose global trade, foreign investment or
capitalism. They support "compensating" corporations when the state expropriates. (p. 193)
Their book reflects the Declaration of the Second People's Summit of the Americas in
Québec City (April 19, 2001), which said:
"We want socially productive and ecologically responsible investment.
The rules applied across the continent should encourage foreign investors
who will guarantee the creation of quality jobs, sustainable production
and economic stability, while blocking speculative investments."

Barlow and Clarke do not share the anarchist critique of the state, which they essentially
dismiss without discussion. They even give support in the book to arresting anarchists involved
in property damage at the Seattle demonstration in 1999! (p. 13.) (Anarchism advocates
some type of stateless society, that is a society without government, or at least extremely
limited government, and sees attempts to work within existing states as futile activity.)

The authors' view seems to be that we once had "democracy" in Canada and that the state
was in control of the economy. I think this assumption is false. They want the nation state to
become strengthened and "redemocratized".

This is a progressive book, but it stays within a "human" context. The Earth itself and the
millions of nonhuman organisms are largely excluded from the authors' human-centered vision
of democracy. The primacy of the Earth is absent. There is no fundamental ecological critique
in Global Showdown. There is no sense of having exceeded the ecological footprint of
industrial humankind. The "democratic rights" put forward as desirable, presuppose a high
standard of living. There is no understanding that socially worthy measures may be just as
ecologically harmful and unsustainable as socially unworthy ones. There is no understanding
that the ecological question is deeper, and of a different nature, than trying to democratically
control the global economy. Human history shows much waste and ecological destruction, so
a politics of controlling globalization, or for that matter a politics of anti-globalization or
anti-capitalism, while important, is not sufficient. There is no sense that there are too many
people and that the existing lifestyle "role model" in North America or Western Europe is
a recipe for ecological disaster for the rest of the world. There is no sense that economic
growth and consumerism need to be ended, for a sustainable planet to exist for all species,
not just humans. Finally, there is no sense that, even from a social perspective, for us to
achieve global sustainability means focusing on redistributing wealth nationally and
internationally, not promoting more "investment" and economic growth.

The radical ecocentric activist who is also socially aware sees that the forces of
globalization and increasing world trade attack all the social buffers from the marketplace as
"impediments" to trade, but also sees how these forces undermine the ecological integrity of
the planet. In Global Showdown and in the anti-globalization movement in Canada, it is the
first concern which is overwhelmingly dominant.

Final Reflections
I think it important to try and think outside of the existing paradigm and the self-
destructive industrial growth society that seemingly overwhelms us. We do not have to
accept thinking within the framework of the current society. (This is what Arne Naess referred
to as "shallow" ecology.) A major issue is how to deal with "property" - a human- and
class-centered concept. Governments and corporations want to turn everything into private
property, as in the fishery. (Yet even many inshore fishermen, while they oppose ITQs
[Individual Transferable Quotas], see no apparent contradiction in "selling" lobster licenses
for hundreds of thousands of dollars.) To preserve Nature's "Commons" we need to move
to "usufruct rights" and to see the concept of private property as a social fiction used to
justify Earth exploitation. Usufruct rights, in a society that is Earth-centered and socially just,
would be accountable to an all-species community of life forms and not privately transferable.

To corporations and the governments which serve them, anti-globalization activists have
become the new subversives and are being defined as "nonpersons" against whom very
severe measures can be used. "Democracy" can always be withdrawn in the interest of Capital.
If rubber bullets and tear gas do not suffice, then live ammunition will be used, as was the
case recently in Sweden, the home of social democracy. Corporations want consumers not
politically active citizens.

Global Showdown ignores the dilemma that long-time activists face, that as the world
becomes increasingly complex, most citizens do not seem to want to spend the time to
understand and work to change it. Yet democracy requires such an involvement.

In a recent book by Hugh Brody, The Other Side of Eden: Hunters, Farmers And
The Shaping Of The World, he points out that until 12,000 years ago, all of us lived as
hunter-gatherers, and that in such societies the material wellbeing of people depended on
knowing, rather than changing their environment. Such societies were spiritual, with
worldviews of respect for Nature, grounded in animism. Somehow we must reorient to this.
It is quite a task that we face, more encompassing than the theme of this edition of
Elements: "Localization versus Globalization." Rather than trying to tame industrial
globalization, as in Global Showdown, with its underlying destructive belief that all of
Nature is subject to human control and exploitation, we need to mentally revisit and reorient
towards those cultures which for 90 percent of our human history served us well.

Global Showdown presents a social democratic "nonviolent" model for reigning in the
global economy, with a major role for labour unions. The overall thrust of the book is
reformist but with hints of a more radical agenda. The deep green and deep ecology
alternative to this model, urgently awaits conceptualization.

This 83 page story about three generations of Wisconsin Cunningham pioneers is well worth the read. The first pioneer, John Cunningham, followed his dream of a better life for his family by joining a wagon train in 1842 and moving to the 'promised land' of Nauvoo, IL. He was a follower of Joseph Smith, Jr., becoming and Elder and later a Seventy of the Latter Day Saints. He did not follow Brigham Young out to Utah at the death of the Prophit Smith, but settled in Wisconsin. He later became one of the first seven apostles in the Reorganized Later Day Saints that was waiting for Joseph Smith III to take the leadership mantle, which he did in 1860.

The second story is based on John Cunningham's first born, Michael H.B. Cunningham, who helped save the Union by serving in the 18th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. The story is based on actual letters that Michael wrote back home to his future wife Hannah Cline.

The third story is about the grandson of Michael Cunningham, Winfield Scott Cunningham, who grew up to be the Commander of the hero's of Wake Island during World War II.

Really shows the making of America. If interested in the stories, email your request at greg3545@hotmail.com.

This is the 3rd book in a continuing 4 volume series published by the United States Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation (USSBDMDKF) presenting the official Moo Duk Kwan curriculum as passed down from Hwang Kee to hundreds of thousands of practitioners worldwide. This volume includes all of the requirements for green belt 6th, 5th and 4th gup.

The terms Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do are often used interchangeably. Moo Duk Kwan is the unique name of this school, "Moo" meaning "Martial", "Duk" meaning "Virtue", and "KWan" translating as "school". The Moo Duk Kwan was founded by Hwang Kee in 1945, and although influenced in a large part by Japanese Karate, later came to include unique information derived from Hwang Kee's research into Chinese matrial arts and the Chinese-influenced Korean military manual known as the Mooyea Dobo Tongji.

Included in this volume are all required hand and foot techniques, combination techniques, and the following 4 Hyung (forms): Pyung Ahn Sam Dan (#3), Pyung Ahn Sa Dan (#4), Pyung Ahn O Dan (#5), and the first Chil Sung Hyung designed by Founder Hwang Kee and based upon his research, Chil Sung Il Ro (#1), which is generally the second Chil Sung Hyung taught.

Also included are one step sparring (Ill Soo Ski) #7-14, and Self-sefense (Ho Sin Sool) wrist grab on both wrists #1-4, side wrist grab Natural and alternate), and back wrist grab long & close. Sparring combinations for green belt #1-4 are also included.

A highly recommended book for anyone studying the official USSBDMDK style. Helful, complete, all techniques and forms are demonstrated by Hwang Kee's son, H.C. Hwang. Quality binding allows the book to be opened all the way as a study guide without having to worry about cracking the spine. Glossy moisture resistant cover will keep this book in good condition through use.

I finished reading this book and was impressed with the
information. Since I live here in Walla Walla, Wa. and
personally know one of the pilots, this makes it especially
meaningful to me.

Excellent book with fantastic illustrations. Easy to read with detailed explinations of each position, technique and strategies. A must read for anyone wanting to develop or enhance your ability to fight on the ground. Highly recommended for self defense, no gi grappling, or MMA competition. Another McFann Classic!