Preorder and Save: Vital Leglocks Book

Vital Leglocks, the next book in Steve Scott's popular series of grappling books, is scheduled for release in early October. Learn to apply 65 essential leglocks for jujitsu, judo, sambo and mixed martial arts. Coach Steve Scott teaches you the keys to successfully applying lower body submission techniques and getting your opponent to tap out.

Vital leglocks is divided into the three major categories of lower body submission skills: ankle and foot locks, knee locks and hip/upper leglocks. Learn to successfully use ankle locks, toe holds, heel hooks, knee locks and bars and knee cranks in a variety of grappling situations, including as counters to common holds.

Order Vital Leglocks today and save 20% off the regular price.

Final Copies of Muye Dobo Tongji Hardcover Edition

There are less than 25 copies of the hardcover edition of the Muye Dobo Tongji available and when they're gone, there won't be another print run. There are less than 1000 hardcover books in print and these will be worth far more than their cover value once the print run has sold out. If you've always thought about treating yourself to one of these limited edition collector's copies, now is the time to act.

MMA DVDs Available from TurtlePress.com

Popular MMA fight dvds now available from TurtlePress.com:

UFC 56: Full Force - Nate Quarry tries to dethrone UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, while Matt Hughes takes on Joe Riggs.

UFC Classics #3 - Witness legendary Hall of Famers Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock at their peak plus classic UFC fights including Royce Gracie vs. Kimo Leopoldo and Emmanuel Yarbrough vs. Keith Hackney.

UFC 68: The Uprising - Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia is set to defend his title against Randy Couture, who is coming out of a 12-month retirement.

King of the Cage Highlights DVD - This no-holds-barred fight showcase features 24 fighters in classic matches from the King of Cage fight series, including pioneers Shonie Carter, Ricco Rodriguez, and Dan Severn.

More to come soon including Ultimate Fighter Season 3 DVD Set and more classic UFC matches. See all UFC and MMA DVDs.

Free Self-defense Lessons: Defense against a Grab

In these free self-defense lessons, Sang H. Kim teaches defenses against common grabs:













More self-defense instructional videos

Classic Martial Arts Movies from TurtlePress.com

Martial arts movie classics now available from TurtlePress.com! Check out these introductory titles:

Shaw Brothers classic kung fu movies Duel at the Supreme Gate, Along Comes a Tiger and Elimination Pursuit all for only $9.98 each.

Also just in: the digitally remastered box set Sonny Chiba Mas Oyama Trilogy featuring martial arts star Sonny Chiba playing his mentor, the legendary Karate master Mas Oyama. Hard to find until the release of this 3-dvd set, these movies have been remastered with English subtitles. A great addition to any martial arts movie collection.

More great Shaw Brothers Classics: The One Armed Swordsman, considered the original sword fighting movie, and King Boxer, aka Five Fingers of Death.

US shipping is always free when you order online and we've even found some of the original theater trailers so you can preview the movies before you buy.

Faster Taekwondo Turn Kick

Want to improve the speed and accuracy of your turn kick? Sang H. Kim, star of Complete Taekwondo Kicking, offers this advice:

At the fighting stance, relax your body by lowering your arms slightly lower than usual and relax your shoulders. Bounce up and down lightly so that your entire body is not so tight but loose. Turn your hip first- not your feet. When you turn your hip first, your knee and feet should follow naturally. Hit the target without power. As long as you contact the target nice and smoothly, you will have power and speed in time. So be patient. Let the crossing leg go free in the way your body turns. It's like jumping across stones in a brook. You just touch them and go-not stomp on them. You just use enough force to cross the brook, right? When you can do this, now do the hip turning quickly in one thought. ONE count and turn. Don't worry about the kicking part. When you have a good hip turn, you can have it all. The last one you should know is your eyesight. Quickly turn your head around and spot the target. Someday soon you'll be able to do the kick in one second or less. Practice gradually and internalize the process. Cut out anything that hinders your progress and modify it to fit your movement.

In this free sparring lesson, Sang H. Kim demonstrates how to use the side whip kick in taekwondo sparring




More taekwondo sparring instructional videos

2007 Tae Kwon Do World Championships on DVD

Held in 2007 in Beijing, the 18th WTF Taekwondo World Championships DVD showcases the best taekwondo players in the world today as they begin their quest for Olympic Gold in 2008. You get high quality WTF taekwondo action filmed at ringside. Over 4 hours of footage including all of the men's and women's gold medal matches. See competitors from Korea, USA, Thailand, Mexico, Croatia, Iran, Cuba, Spain, China, Canada, France, and Chinese Taipei compete for the title of 2007 Taekwondo World Champion.

In these free self-defense lessons, Sang H. Kim teaches defenses against a single-hand shoulder grab:













More self-defense instructional videos

Save on New Taekwondo DVD Sets

Save big when you order any of our new taekwondo DVD sets including:

Taekwondo Kicking DVD Set $49

Learn the complete system of taekwondo kicks - over 60 kicks in all including basic kicks, jumping kicks, spinning kicks, double and triple kicks and aerokicks. Over 2 hours of instruction featuring slow motion, multiple angles, applications and training methods.

Taekwondo Sparring 3 DVD Set $75

With over 4 hours of instruction on 3 DVDs, this set takes you from the fundamentals through elite level taekwondo sparring skills, techniques, drills and strategies. This set will provide years of training and a continuing challenge well into the black belt ranks.

Complete Taekwondo Sparring DVD Set $49

A complete course in the fundamentals of full contact taekwondo sparring, this 2 DVD set has nearly 3 hours of progressive instruction from reconized taekwondo expert Sang H. Kim. Learn the essentials of attacking, counterattacking, footwork, combination kicks and training drills.

Ultimate Martial Arts Drills and Conditioning Set $49

Save $10.00 when you buy the Ultimate Fitness DVD and Ultimate Kicking DVD together. Over 200 drills and conditioning exercises on 2 DVDs.

Taegeuk and Black Belt Poomse DVD Set $49

This taekwondo poomse set teaches the 8 Taegeuk Poomse and the 9 WTF Black Belt Poomse. You get over 2 hours of in-depth instruction in the forms required for white belt through 7th degree black belt. Learn each form in detail, including the Korean and English names of every movement, through multiple camera angles and expert instruction.

Palgwe and Black Belt Poomse DVD Set $49

This taekwondo poomse set teaches the 8 Palgwe Poomse and the 9 WTF Black Belt Poomse. You get over 2 hours of in-depth instruction in the forms required for white belt through 7th degree black belt. Learn each form in detail, including the Korean and English names of every movement, through multiple camera angles and expert instruction.

Starter Taekwondo DVD Set $65

Are you a new Taekwondo student? A yellow belt or green belt who likes to practice at home? Looking for a taekwondo course that will take you up to black belt in kicking, blocking and striking? This 3 DVD starter set is a great way to train at home, brush up on new skills or supplement your class instruction.

Beginner Taekwondo Set $29

Just getting started in Taekwondo? This Beginner Taekwondo set is a great home training aid. Learn all of the white belt basics you'll need to know to feel comfortable in class and advance beyond the beginner stage.

Taekwondo Poomse Book and DVD Set $99

This complete taekwondo poomse set teaches all 25 official WTF Taekwondo forms. You get nearly 4 hours of DVD instruction plus over 400 pages of detailed text with over 1000 photos. Learn each form in detail, including the Korean and English names of every movement, the philosophy and meaning of each form, the correct performance standards for competition and testing and a detailed explanation of the theory of taekwondo poomse that you won't find anywhere else.

Interview with Sang H. Kim on Teaching Martial Arts

In this 1993 interview, Sang H. Kim talks about his martial arts teaching philosophy.





Interview footage courtesy of www.turtlepress.com

New Kung Fu DVD Previews added

Just posted - previews for 4 new Shaolin Kung Fu DVDs:

Shaolin Kung Fu Chang Quan Form DVD



Shaolin Chin Na DVD



Shaolin Kung Fu Seven Star Fist Form DVD



Shaolin Kung Fu Fanzi Quan Form DVD




See more Shaolin Kung Fu DVDs at TurtlePress.com

Self-defense Video Lessons: Wrist Grab Defenses

In these free self-defense lessons, Sang H. Kim teaches defenses against the cross hand wrist grab:













More self-defense instructional videos

Sparring Video Lesson: Footwork

In this free sparring lesson, Sang H. Kim demonstrates some offensive and defensive taekwondo sparring footwork:




More taekwondo sparring instructional videos

New Shotokan DVDs Coming Soon

We are in the final stages of editing two new Shotokan Karate DVDs taught by Steve Flores: Weapon Kata DVD featuring forms for the tonfa, bo, kama and sword (iaido) and Shotokan Karate Kumite DVD, sparring techniques for point karate sparring. Check out the videos below for a sneak preview:

Weapon Kata DVD Preview




Shotokan Karate Kumite (Sparring) DVD Preview

Sang H. Kim Interview on Martial Arts Flexibility

In this interview clip from 1993, Sang H. Kim talks about flexibility for martial artists, especially those over 30.

Squats and Deadlifts for Martial Arts Speed and Power

Regarding high reps vs low reps: As I have written in all of my Turtle Press books, I recommend heavy weights and low reps. The neat thing about going heavy is that it stimulates your fast-twitch muscle fibers. So you get strong and your physical speed improves. What's heavy? As I discuss in Solo Training DVD, "heavy" is a poundage that makes you grimace, strain and barely complete the eighth rep.

High reps and light weights stimulate your slow-twitch muscles fibers. Not good unless you want to be slow. Now, it's okay to go light and do high reps once every couple of weeks or so to give your muscles a rest and to surprise them, but mostly go heavy. Get strong, get fast.

Regarding deadlifts: Personally, meaning that this is just my opinion, I think deadlifts are extremely dangerous. One little error, one little distraction, and you might be doomed to a lifetime of back pain and debilitation. Ask anyone with a bad back what that feels like.

I think your lower back gets plenty of work with all the martial arts that you do. Couple that with core work, as I show in Solo Training 2, and you will develop a powerful midsection: front, back and sides. All top trainers emphasize the core these days.

Regarding squats: Done incorrectly, weight squats are dangerous for everyone. Done correctly, they can be dangerous if you have a preexisting condition, such as a bad lower back, bad knees, ankles, and so on. The problem is that sometimes you don’t know you have a preexisting problem until you load a barbell and squat down. That twang you just heard from somewhere in your body is not a good thing.

In Solo Training DVD and Solo Training 2, I show how to do squats with dumbbells. These are safer and you work your grip and forearm muscles at the same time. Wrap a towel around the handles to really work your grip muscles.

Lots of fighters do free-hand squats, such as Hindus (Solo Training 2). They are done fast and explosively. Many instructors recommend working up to one set of 500. Since they aren't done slowly but hard and fast, there might not be the concern over the high rep slow-twitch muscle stimulation. Since I don't know for sure, I just do 100 and hold on to a couple of dumbbells. That’s 100 in one big fast set. You walk funny for a while after, but I've put on some muscle and have definitely seen a power improvement in my kicks.


Loren Christensen
www.lwcbooks.com

New Kung Fu DVDs at TurtlePress.com

6 new Shaolin Kung Fu DVD titles from TurtlePress.com:

Shaolin Kung Fu Chang Quan Form DVD

Shaolin Cannon Boxing Form DVD

Shaolin Kung Fu Tiger Style Form DVD

Shaolin Kung Fu Fanzi Quan Form DVD

Shaolin Kung Fu Seven Star Fist Form DVD

Shaolin Chin Na DVD

All of these Shaolin DVDs are imported directly from China and taught by top Chinese masters.

Save on Ultimate Flexibility Book and DVD set

Save when you buy the Ultimate Flexibility Book and Ultimate Flexibility DVD together. Sang H. Kim's Ultimate Flexibility book has been consistently called the best book on stretching and flexibility for martial artists. And now, thanks to many many requests, he's created a follow-along stretching DVD with 3 workouts using dozens of the exercises found in the Ultimate Flexibility book. This set is an excellent addition to any martial artist's training library.

Interview with Sang H. Kim on Taekwondo

In this 1993 interview, Sang H. Kim talks about his experience in taekwondo and his views on sport taekwondo vs. traditional taekwondo.



Interview footage courtesy of www.turtlepress.com