Martial arts books and DVDs for self-defense and fitness?

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Seamus

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My wife and I are looking for some good books on martial arts for fitness and self-defense. Eventually we want to start taking Kenpo but we are just moving into our first place so we will have to start with books and DVDs. this is one book that caught my eye. http://www.paperbackswap.com/Armlock-Encyclopedia-85-Steve-Scott/book/188033691X/
 
I wouldn't recommend getting that armlock book. Not because it's bad (I don't own it, but own two other books by Steve Scott and think they're great) but because without the skills in place to take the opponent to the ground, where most of those locks are executed, and fight to stay in a good position while there, it'll be little to no use for you.

For conditioning, there are two martial-arts-specific resources I would look at. The cheapest, and one that requires the smallest amount of equipment, is Mark Hatmaker's "No Holds Barred: The Ultimate Guide to Conditioning"-
http://www.amazon.com/Holds-Barred-Fighting-Conditioning-Competition/dp/1884654290

The other draws from a variety of martial arts, including Judo, boxing, karate, and kickboxing, but includes workouts that require more equipment-
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Warrior-Workouts-Training-Warriors/dp/0061735221/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316042681&sr=1-2

For self-defense, it's hard for me to recommend technical material. That's because I'm a firm believer that it's better to have a real-life teacher than to try to figure stuff out from a book. What I do believe, however, is that the most important parts of self-defense, like learning how to avoid violence and deal with it psychologically, can have good starting points in books. The following books have SOME technical knowledge, but are primarily about the psychology of violence and crime.

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Black-Book-Violence-Fighting/dp/1594391297/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316042826&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Alive-Definitive-Self-Protection-Handbook/dp/0873649141/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316042826&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/No-Second-Chance-Reality-Based-Self-Defense/dp/1884654320/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316042915&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Violence-Comparison-Martial-Training/dp/1594391181/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316042939&sr=1-4

And that's about the order I'd recommend them in.
 
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