Octagon

Octagon

Author: J. Ellem

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2016-08-14

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9781537143316

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What would you do if you discovered that the world you were born into was a complete lie? "There is a veneer to this world we live in. A kind of covering, like a mask. If you start to peel back the layers, you will see things that you may not want to see..." In the future there is no war, no famine and no poverty. In the future the zombies didn't come. The apocalypse didn't happen and no virus wiped-out humanity. In the future the world is good. There is order, minimal crime and a content, well-fed society. Or so it seems... But if everything is so good, so perfect, then why does Jon Kobe, a First Year law enforcement graduate feel that something is not quite right with the world that he lives in? When the tortured body of a young girl is discovered in an alleyway, branded with a symbol meaning Hell, Kobe begins to see the frayed-edge of his world and the horrors that lie beneath. Below the surface of an idyllic society, awaits the sadistic truth where human lives are just fodder for the entertainment of the privileged few. For Kobe to survive, he must find the courage to abandon everything that he believes in and become something that he is not. Octagon is a gripping, page-turning sci-fi thriller and a brutal exploration of true human nature. Every future has a price. But are you willing to pay that price?


To The Top

To The Top

Author: Fiaz Rafiq

Publisher: eBook Partnership

Published: 2021-04-26

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 1785319272

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When it comes to sports and entertainment, the glitz and the glamour of celebrity life, most of us only aspire to gain something small such as an autograph. Few of us ever have the chance to sit down with stars and discuss their lives, or rub shoulders with those closest to them. Being up close and personal with UFC, boxing and entertainment stars is just part of Fiaz Rafiq's daily routine. He's worked closely with some of the most revered champions and pioneers of UFC. In this gripping memoir he shares riveting behind-the-scenes stories of the top MMA and boxing champions and legends - from Randy Couture, Royce Gracie, Brock Lesnar, Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor to Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee (to many the Godfather of MMA) - their gritty beginnings and their most triumphant moments. The result is the culmination of over two decades of work, gaining the trust and confidence of the greatest fighters and personalities in MMA and combat sports. To the Top is a fascinating odyssey that uncovers the hidden history of the most brutal combat sport on the planet.


Broken Before Battle

Broken Before Battle

Author: Suzette Howe

Publisher: Showuhow2.com

Published: 2018-06-12

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 9780692127797

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Mixed martial arts (MMA) is often identified with violence and greed, but is that an accurate portrayal? Many MMA fighters grew up having to overcome bullying, gang activity, drugs, and violence. Success as a fighter is their opportunity to share life-altering concepts and inspire others through the sport they enjoy.


The Philosophy of Mixed Martial Arts

The Philosophy of Mixed Martial Arts

Author: Jason Holt

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-09-09

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1000450449

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Mixed martial arts (MMA)—unarmed fighting games permitting techniques derived from a variety of martial arts and combat sports— has exploded from the fringes of sport into a worldwide phenomenon, a sport as controversial as it is compelling. This is the first book to pay MMA the serious philosophical attention it deserves. With contributions from leading international scholars of the philosophy of sport and martial arts, the book explores topics such as whether MMA qualifies as a martial art, the differences between MMA and the traditional martial arts, the aesthetic dimensions of MMA, the limits of consent and choice in MMA and whether MMA can promote moral virtues. It also explores cutting-edge practical and ethical topics, including the role of gender in MMA, and the question of whether trans athletes should be allowed to compete in the women’s divisions. The contributors to this anthology take down, ground and pound, and submit many essential questions about this fascinating recent development in the culture of sport and spectacle. This is important reading for anybody with an interest in combat sports, martial arts, or the philosophy, sociology, culture or history of sport.


The Geometry of Creation

The Geometry of Creation

Author: Robert Bork

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-05

Total Pages: 783

ISBN-13: 1351888978

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The flowering of Gothic architecture depended to a striking extent on the use of drawing as a tool of design. By drawing precise "blueprints" with simple tools such as the compass and straightedge, Gothic draftsmen were able to develop a linearized architecture of unprecedented complexity and sophistication. Examination of their surviving drawings can provide valuable and remarkably intimate information about the Gothic design process. Gothic drawings include compass pricks, uninked construction lines, and other telltale traces of the draftsman's geometrically based working method. The proportions of the drawings, moreover, are those actually intended by the designer, uncompromised by errors introduced in the construction process. All of these features make these drawings ideal subjects for the study of Gothic design practice, but their geometry has to date received little systematic attention. This book offers a new perspective on Gothic architectural creativity. It shows, in a series of rigorous geometrical case studies, how Gothic design evolved over time, in two senses: in the hours of the draftsman's labor, and across the centuries of the late Middle Ages. In each case study, a series of computer graphics show in unprecedented detail how a medieval designer could have developed his architectural concept step by step, using only basic geometrical operations. Taken together, these analyses demonstrate both remarkable methodological continuity across the Gothic era, and the progressive development of new and sophisticated permutations on venerable design themes. This rich tradition ultimately gave way in the Renaissance not because of any inherent problem with Gothic architecture, but because the visual language of Classicism appealed more directly to the pretensions of Humanist princes than the more abstract geometrical order of Gothic design, as the book's final chapter demonstrates.


Roof Framing

Roof Framing

Author: Marshall Gross

Publisher:

Published: 1984

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 9780910460408

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Summary: This is a guide to framing any gable, Dutch, Tudor, California, gambrel, shed, or gazebo roof -- including irregular roofs that can stump even experienced roof cutters. This book takes you through every measurement and every cut on each type of roof so you can understand exactly what's required. The author explains how to use an inexpensive hand-held calculator to figure any common, hip, valley, or jack rafter length in seconds -- including rafters on irregular roofs and rafter pitches or lengths that aren't in any rafter table.


Tapped Out

Tapped Out

Author: Matthew Polly

Publisher: Avery

Published: 2012-10-02

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 159240619X

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An aging amateur takes his shot at glory in the world of mixed martial arts. As a younger man, Matthew Polly traveled to the Shaolin Temple in China and spent two years training with the monks who had invented the ancient art of kung fu. Fifteen years later, his weakness for Chinese takeout and Jack Daniel’s had taken its toll. Firmly into middle age and far removed from his past athletic triumphs, Polly decided to risk it all one last time. Out of shape and over the hill, he jumped headlong into the world of MMA. In Tapped Out, Polly chronicles his grueling yet redeeming two-year journey through an often misunderstood sport. From Thailand to Russia, Manhattan to Las Vegas, Polly studied with the best trainers, concluding with a six-month fight camp at Randy Couture’s legendary gym. He explores the history of fighting sports and joins a fascinating subculture of men who roll around on sweaty mats with one another in appreciation of the purity of contained combat. And in the end, Polly straps on the gloves, gets into the cage, and squares off with a fighter fifteen years younger. An honest and humorous look at a hard-core sport, Tapped Out is a fascinating look into the fastest growing sport in America and what it takes to be an MMA fighter.