Video to DVD conversion complete

Turtle Press has completed transferring video titles to DVD format and will soon be discontinuing VHS sales. Some titles will not be transferred to DVD and will instead be discontinued, so order soon if there are VHS titles on your wish list.

Turtle Press video previews on Google

Turtle Press vidoe previews can now be seen on Google Video in broadband windows media format. If you're having difficultly previewing titles on our site in RealPlayer or just prefer to watch the previews in your browser, go to video.google.com and search on the DVD title or key words.

Feinting for Street Fighting

Loren Christensen and Wim Demeere, authors of Timing in the Fighting Arts, offer this simple partner drill to practice using feinting in a self-defense situation:

Square off with your partner and run trough your entire arsenal of feints using your head, arm, kicks, grabs, footwork, and even shouts. Your partner should give you honest feedback. If he feels your feint isn’t convincing enough, he tells you so. Now, don’t take it personally and come back at him with, “Yeah, but your mama’s a thief.” Learn from the critique and strive to correct the problem.

Here are a few tricks for you to try. They are simple because our fighting philosophy is simple. It’s already hard enough on the streets without getting complex in your self-defense.

Switch levels of attack Fake an attack to your opponent’s legs and when he moves to block, hit him in the face. The bigger the difference in the levels, the harder it is for him to defend against your follow-up attack. If you can’t hit at extreme levels, do less. Fake a head punch, and when he dodges, slam a hard punch into his liver.

Practice 1 or 2 sets of 10 reps of each combination on both sides.

Last Day to Save on Advanced Joongbong DVD

The Advanced Joongbong DVD will ship on Dec 15th. Today is the last to preorder and save $5.00 off the regular price.

Dec 15th final day for ground shipping

Order before Thursday Dec 15th to take advantage of lower cost priority mail or UPS ground shipping on Christmas orders. This is also the final day for all international orders to arrive in time for Christmas. After Dec. 15th, choose UPS second day air or UPS next day air for guaranteed Christmas arrival.

2 Turtle Press titles in Black Belt Top 10

According to Black Belt Magazine Turtle Press had two of the top ten selling martial arts books in 2005:

Ultimate Flexibility by Sang H. Kim ranked number 2 for the year, edging out martial arts classics A Book of Five Rings and Tao of Jeet Kune Do. Solo Training by Loren W. Christensen, a consistent top seller on Amazon.com for the past few years came in at number 8.

Martial Arts Drill for Kids: Obstacle Course

The following drill is excerpted from the Martial Arts Instructors Desk Reference:

Making an obstacle course in the training hall is a great class starter for kids' classes. Don't let anyone stand around waiting in line - assign a time killing exercise like jumping jacks or running place between turns at a station. Some ideas for stations to keep everyone moving:

• Jump over a pile of kicking shields
• Crawl through a tunnel of kicking shields without touching them
• Jump over a series of heavy bags laid about two feet apart
• Kick or strike a hanging target, hanging bag or stand up heavy bag
• Weave around a line of hand targets
• Duck walk under a hanging heavy bag
• Look in the mirror and kihap loudly five times
• Roll between two kicking shields without touching them
• Block an " attack " by a blocker or foam wand
• Kick a paper cup off of the top of a standing bag
• Crawl under a stick balanced on two chairs
• Walk on a line on the floor (masking tape works well and removes easily after use)
• Hop over a belt laid on the floor to form a zig-zag course

Some stations may require an adult to reset or facilitate.

Free Gift with your Order

When you place an order of $10 or more before Dec. 31, 2005, Turtle Press will include one free mystery gift with your order.

Free video with your order of $10-49.99

Free DVD with your order of $50 or more

Brief History of Taekkyon

Taekkyon is a traditional bare-hand martial arts developed by the Korean people and is recognized as the original form of bare-hand martial arts in Korea. Before the 6th century, Taekkyon was practiced by the ruling classes and from the 9th to 12th century, became very popular, even among the common people. According to the Koryusa, a Korean history book written in the 15th century, Taekkyon was widely encouraged and practiced by everyone from the king himself to farmers.

But as the society moved toward a system that encouraged education and literary pursuits and discouraged military pursuits, the practice of Taekkyon declined. By the 13 century, Taekkyon was considered a folk custom rather than an actively practiced martial art.

During the Japanese colonial period, Taekkyon was banned and nearly vanished. Fortunately Song Duk-ki (1893-1987) preserved the art and handed it down to modern day Koreans. After the independence of Korea, the practice of Taekkyon became considerably less popular than the practice of Japanese based arts. The establishment of Taekwondo after the Korean War and its subsequent popularity served to further overshadow the practice of Taekkyon.

Taekkyon began to rise in popularity again in the early 1980s. It was designated by the government as Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 76 on June 1, 1983 owing to the extensive efforts by Shin Han-seung (1928-1987), who learned Taekkyon from Song Duk-ki. After the death of both masters, Lee Yong-bok, who learned Taekkyon from these two masters in 1984, established the Korea Traditional Taekkyon Institute to revive Taekkyon. Through his efforts, a resurgence in Taekkyon practice resulted and on June 30, 1985, the first Taekkyon game in 80 years took place in Kooduk stadium located in Pusan.

Preorder and Save: Taekkyon DVD

Save $5.00 when you preorder the new Taekkyon DVD. Taekkyon is a native Korean martial art that was nearly lost forever during the early 1900's. Preserved by Grandmaster Song Duk-ki until his death, it is considered a Cultural Asset by the Korean government. In this DVD, filmed on location at the historical Korean Folk Village in Yongin, Grandmaster Lee Yong-bok, head of the Korea Taekkyon Association, and his National Demonstration Team present dynamic performances of Taekkyon at its best.

Warming up for Competition

"One of the most common questions I get from students is how to prepare for a tournament," says Sang H. Kim, author of Taekwondo Kyorugi. While training is a lengthy process, he offers some tips for a successful tournament day. "After you have passed through the weigh-in or registration process, go over your plan and review your most important techniques. Spend some time to familiarize yourself with the competition site and get used to the temperature, lighting, and layout. If you know when you will compete, plan to start warming up about thirty minutes before the start of your match. If you do not know when you will compete, as is often the case in smaller competitions, try to stay loose and focused but do not overexert yourself early in the day."

"If you win your first match, you will most likely have to compete again soon. Take a few minutes to relax and cool down after your first match, then ask your coach for feedback. Focus on what you did well and what you need to improve for your next outing. Attend to any injuries you might have gotten with ice or tape. About fifteen to twenty minutes before your next match, begin to physically and mentally prepare yourself. Follow this pattern until you have completed your competition for the day."

Save on Calligraphy (expires 12-15-05)

Between now and Dec 15th, get 25% off any purchase of Chinese Calligraphy or Korean Calligraphy. All pieces are one of a kind collector's items - the perfect gift or the perfect time to treat yourself to something special. The discount will automatically be calculated when you place an item in your shopping cart.

Preorder and Save: Martial arts of Korea DVD

The new Martial Arts of Korea DVD is scheduled for release in approximately 10 days. Preorder your DVD now and save $5.00 off the regular price of $19.95. Martial Arts of Korea introduces a dozen Korean arts through interviews, visits to dojangs and gyms, competition footage, demonstrations and historical background. Each segment features top ranking masters in Korea who present a revealing look at the arts of Kuk Kung, Ssireum, Kumdo, Haedong Kumdo, Kyukpa, Taekkyon, Hapkido, Yudo, Kuk Sool, Taekwondo and Muye Eship Saban (armed and empty hand). Filmed on location in Korea.

Fighting Tactic: Drawing

Excerpted from Combat Strategy:

Drawing is similar to baiting a hook in fishing. The fish sees only his lunch, not the hook that lies inside. To bait your opponent, intentionally expose a target for him to attack. This can be done by three methods:

1. Assume a vulnerable stance that leaves an open target on your body. Try this in the early stages of a fight, before your opponent has seen your true fighting stance, or when you can realistically give the appearance of being tired or hurt.

2. Expose a vital point on your head and wait for the opponent come in to attack it. When he commits to a high attack, evade and respond with a counterattack. Use this formula for high-low, right-left or front-back attacks.

3. Step back and let your opponent step forward. As soon as he begins to step in, attack suddenly and overwhelm him.

Last day for free shipping before holidays

Today is the last day to take advantage of Turtle Press's free shipping offer and still receive your order in time for the holidays. After today, you can still choose the free shipping option, but we cannot guarantee that orders shipped via our standard free shipping method will arrive before December 24th.

Today is also the last day for air mail and global priority shipping to arrive in time for Christmas. After today, customers outside of the United States should choose EMS shipping for orders that must arrive by December 24th.

Bargain Basement Books available

A small shipment of Bargain Basement Books has arrived in our warehouse. Most of the titles have only one or two quantities and will most likely be gone by the end of the day.

Using the Centerline in Fighting

Martina Sprague talks extensively about using the centerline in her book, The Science of Takedowns, Throws & Grappling for Self-defense. She identifies the centerline as "an imaginary line approximately five inches wide, running vertically on the front or back of your body. Striking the targets found on the centerline (nose, jaw, throat, heart, solar plexus, groin, base of neck, spine, and tailbone) is likely to cause serious injury or death. The centerline is also where your strength is focused. Any time a technique is not lined up with your centerline, power loss occurs. The closer you can keep your techniques to your centerline, the more powerful and effortless they will be."

Effective Visualization

Visualization techniques are powerful because the mind does not distinguish between what is vividly visualized and what is done in physical reality. According to Dr. Jacob H. Jordan, author of Total MindBody Training, "When actions are clearly visualized, neuro-physiologic pathways are formed just as though you were physically performing the action. The same neurotransmitters travel to the same muscles, often at sub threshold levels, resulting in muscle contractions only detectable by EMG monitoring. This process effectively tattoos the physical action into your physiology with subsequent improvement in your abilities. The results are comparable to physical training in experienced athletes."

As a firm believer in the power of visualization to improve martial arts training, Dr. Jordan shares the following seven steps to effective visualization:

1. Relax
2. Start simple, with a single element
3. Build in/combine individual elements to create a bigger picture
4. Create a "moving hologram" from the third person point of view
5. Move from third person to first person viewpoint
6. Experience all five senses in your visualization
7. Incorporate emotions for added realism

Preorder and Save: Advanced Joongbong on DVD

The Junsado DVD series is finally complete with the addition of Advanced Joongbong (short stick) on DVD. This new DVD contains both the advanced combat and forms video material as well as the Close Combat video material. It is scheduled for release in early December. Preorder now to reserve your copy and save $5.00 off the regular price of $29.95.

Grappling Strength Drill: Hug and lunge

Author Loren Christensen devotes a chapter of his new book Solo Training 2 to building core strength, which is especially important for grapplers. An especially tough set of drills uses a heavy bag (he suggests 25, 50, 75 or 100 pounds depending on your fitness level) for lifting. Try the Hug and Lunge drill out for yourself and see just how effective this set of drills is:

• Begin by cradling the bag in the crook of your arms and hugging it to your chest, your feet hip-width apart.

• Step forward with your right leg and lower your body until your thigh is parallel with the floor. Keep your upper body straight and tall, and keep hugging that bag.

• Push back with your right foot until your leg is mostly straight, then step forward with your left foot and place it next to your right so that you’re once again in the beginning position. This advances you forward a step.

• Now step forward with your left leg and repeat the above procedure (with opposite legs), again advancing forward a step.

Do 1 set of 10 reps with each leg, progressing over the weeks to 3 sets of 10 reps. When you feel you’re ready to add weight, move up to the next heavier bag.