Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 260
Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼
978-1-5381-4195-3 • Hardback • April 2021 • $38.00 • (£29.00)
978-1-5381-4196-0 • eBook • April 2021 • $36.00 • (£28.00)
L.A. Jennings is the owner of Train.Fight.Win., a Mixed Martial Arts gym in Denver, Colorado, where she teaches kickboxing, submission wrestling, and MMA. She is a regular contributor to VICE on fighting sports history and has been interviewed by NPR, The Economist, Cosmopolitan, and the HISTORY channel as an expert on the history and culture of MMA. Jennings teaches in the Media and Communications department at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado.
Acknowledgments
Introduction: For the Love of Fighting
Chapter 1: Ancient Fighting Sports
Chapter 2: Putting the “Martial” in Martial Arts
Chapter 3: Colonizing Martial Arts
Chapter 4: Fighting Around the World
Chapter 5: Globalization, Media, and MMA
Conclusion: The Future of Fighting Sports
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
L.A. Jennings has created a fascinating and remarkably thorough history of unarmed combat, tracing the evolution of the martial arts from its earliest recorded examples in ancient civilization and documenting the historical forces that shaped it into what we see today. Her passion for the subject matter and dedication to research make this a must read for any Mixed Martial Arts fan interested in learning more about the origins of fighting as sport.
— Ryan Couture, Mixed Martial Artist, owner of and trainer at Xtreme Couture MMA
You don't have to be interested in history or sports to lose yourself in this fascinating read. I happen to be interested in both, and I was hooked from the first word. LA Jennings is one of the most knowledgeable and intelligent writers of mixed martial arts working today.
— Julie DiCaro, senior writer and editor, Deadspin, and author of Sidelined: Sports, Culture, and Being a Woman in America