Karate means "empty–hand," but the one who masters this book will never be empty–handed. In fact, he will be a master of the ultimate in self–defense, for here are the martial arts fundamentals, the basic katas and techniques as taught by Robert Trias, holder of the eighth degree Black Belt. These movements and techniques are vividly brought to life by more than six hundred striking illustrations, many of them picturing Master Trias and his aides and pupils. Along with the imposing illustrations are important charts not usually found in martial arts books of this kind. The charts show the fatal and disabling points of the body and the nerve centers–for karate can be a deadly game, and those who practice it must know well the significance of the term "killer karate." For student and instructor alike, this important manual will open new dimensions, new horizons, and in the give–and–take of life will teach the properly oriented how to give much more than he takes. It will give him a new interest, a new zest for living, with the confidence that he can move mountains. Above all, it will teach him that to master others, he must first learn to master himself.

As the "Trophy Chase" again sets sail, trouble returns in the form of pirate Scat Wilkins and a new Hezzan with diabolical designs on Nearing Vast. Adding salt to the wound, Panna is imprisoned by Prince Mather. Will Packer be able to rescue his ship, his bride, and the kingdom?

“One is an opportunity. Two is a threat. Three is an invasion.” For hundreds of years, strange things have been washing up on the shores of Darcentaria. But when a young foreign woman named El is found unconscious on the beach amidst the burning wreckage of a strange metal craft, the villagers of Odessa are immediately suspicious—is she an agent of the Dalriadan Empire, their cruel oppressors for as long as they can remember? Or does she come from the Outside, the vast and legendary lands beyond their borders from which no man or woman alive has ever returned? Torsten Eiselher, a talented young swordsman, has spent the last nine years of his life wrongfully imprisoned by his uncle, the Empire’s ruler. Betrayed and deceived at every turn, Torsten has survived by keeping a firm grip on his sword—and by staying well away from anything to do with the Outside. But when his young sister is murdered, Torsten finds himself irrevocably drawn to El despite her Outsider heritage—and he begins to question everything he has been told about her world. Intrigued by the existence of a powerful and dangerously advanced world within his reach, the Empire’s ruler, Jurien Arminius, launches a hunt for El and the two Outsiders that arrived with her—the ones who could help him win his war against Torsten and the rebellion that threatens to topple his Empire. Suddenly, Torsten is forced to choose between defeating his long-term enemy or saving the woman he has come to love . . .

As the murmur of prayers fills the icy room, mother and baby seem doomed. When the newborn finally struggles into the world, the Count of Flanders flees in a rage. The child is not the expected male heir — but a girl. Growing up under the disapproving eye of her heartless father, the strong-willed Marguerite instinctively learns to survive in the fierce and violent male world of the Middle Ages, with its pagan rituals and bloody fights to the death. When her father demands that she wed a man she detests, the young countess uses all her cunning to stop the marriage. The only thing she cannot conquer is the plague, which marches across the land killing thousands, including the man she loves. Based on a real character, this colorful story is told with sharp humor and is filled with dramatic intensity. The final scene in the book, in which Marguerite and her father engage in a savage sword fight, will remain engrained in readers’ memories.

From the award-winning author of Swordspoint comes a witty, wicked coming-of-age story that is both edgy and timeless. . . . Welcome to Riverside, where the aristocratic and the ambitious battle for power and prestige in the city’s labyrinth of streets and ballrooms, theatres and brothels, boudoirs and salons. Into this alluring and alarming world walks a bright young woman ready to take it on and make her fortune. A well-bred country girl, Katherine knows all the rules of conventional society. Her biggest mistake is thinking they apply. Katherine’s host and uncle, Alec Campion, the capricious and decadent Mad Duke Tremontaine, is in charge here—and to him, rules are made to be broken. When he decides it would be far more amusing for his niece to learn swordplay than to follow the usual path to ballroom and husband, her world changes forever. And there’s no going back. Blade in hand, it’s up to Katherine to find her own way through a maze of secrets and betrayals, nobles and scoundrels—and to gain the power, respect, and self-discovery that come to those who master. . . . “Unholy fun, and wholly fun . . . an elegant riposte, dazzlingly executed.”—Gregory Maguire, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked

An original interpretation of the timelessly fascinating vampire myth, and a story of father and son, by award-winning author Marcus Sedgwick. Winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter, Tomas and his son, Peter, arrive in Chust. Despite the villagers' lack of hospitality, they settle there as woodcutters. But there are many things Peter does not understand. Why does Tomas dig a channel of fast-flowing waters around their hut so they live on an isolated island? Why does Tomas carry a long battered box everywhere they go - and refuse to tell Peter of its contents? When a band of gypsies comes to the village, Peter's drab existence is turned upside down. He is infatuated by the beautiful gypsy princess, Sofia, and intoxicated by her community's love of life. He even becomes drawn into their deadly quest - for these travellers are Vampire Slayers, and Chust is a community to which the dead return to wreak revenge on the living. Stylishly written and set in the forbidding and remote landscapes of the 17th century, this is a story of a father and his son, of loss, redemption and resolution.

The reconstruction of highly efficient and deadly medieval fighting systems has seen a popular resurgence as students recreate these arts through structured martial arts training and then test their skills in competitive tournaments. Brian R. Price, Principale for one of the largest martial arts / historical fighting schools and author of the immensely popular Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction, presents the first English-language book focused solely on the astounding swordsmanship of the late 14th century swordmaster, Fiore dei Liberi. In the Fior di Battaglia the old master recorded an integrated fighting system that includes grappling, work with and against a dagger, baton, the sword in one and two hands, spear and poleaxe, in and out of armour, on foot and on horseback. This system, based on a set of simple principles, is as effective as any martial arts system since devised. Sword in Two Hands distills this system through the use of the hand-and-a-half sword using a proven, logical, systematic approach integrating modern training techniques. The book includes drills and more than 700 color photographs.