Sport

Aikido is the Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba in the early 20th century as a synthesis of other martial arts and a philosophy of peace. This title presents an easy-to-follow overview of the basic principles, concepts, and techniques of Aikido.

In the past 100 years Old Trafford has hosted World Cup and European Championship matches, FA Cup Finals and a Champions League Final and has witnessed countless United wins, draws and defeats. Yet it endures, above all, as a monument to the vision of the club's founder and first patron John Henry Davies. Recognising football's exponential growth in the 1900s and the need to safely house vast numbers of supporters, Davies recognised that the champions of England and 1909 FA Cup winners needed a more spacious home than tatty old Bank Street, in Clayton, a ground with few facilities and a capacity of less than 25,000. A brewer by trade, the chairman found a spare plot of land in Old Trafford and, bolstered by the club's success, appointed famed football stand architect Archibald Leitch to construct a 100,000 capacity stadium on the site. Built in 1909 and officially opened in February 1910 for the league visit of Liverpool, Old Trafford was instantly acclaimed by one reporter as "the most handsomest [sic], the most spacious and the most remarkable arena I have ever seen. As a football ground it is unrivalled in the world, it is an honour to Manchester and the home of a team who can do wonders when they are so disposed." Unfortunately the stadium arrived at just the wrong time for the club as United were about to begin a 37 year trophy-free run, the longest in the club's history. Consequently, United's average attendance before the war rarely topped the 30,000 mark, in a ground with a capacity of over 70,000. The luckless stadium suffered further blows on the nights of the 8th and 11th March 1941 when it was bombed during The Blitz. And so for four seasons after the war United were forced to play their 'home' fixtures at Maine Road. Now in its second 'life' Old Trafford was no longer alone as a large capacity stadium, yet United's resurgence under Matt Busby filled it more often than not. The arrival of floodlights and European football heralded a new chapter: the stadium is widely regarded as at its best on such occasions and from the first game against the immortals of Real Madrid in 1957 the ground hosted continental opposition and became renowned across Europe. In the sixties the ground had a new cantilever stand added to the west in preparation for the 1966 World Cup Finals and, later, more seats were added at the Scoreboard End and behind the Stretford End. However these improvements were as nothing compared to the dramatic changes brought about in the wake of the Taylor Report. The birth of the Premier League and United's domestic dominance helped transform the ground - first into an all-seater stadium, then steady season-by-season growth saw it swell to hold over 75,000. For a period during the protracted construction of Wembley, the ground even became the national stadium hosting twelve England matches. In 'Old Trafford' Iain McCartney updates his original 1996 book. Featuring the original site plans, never-seen-before pictures of the ground's construction, development and, of course, the great matches hosted there. Almost alone now among the grounds built during the first football boom in the early 20th century, Old Trafford has become an essential part of the English football landscape to the extent that it is inconceivable that any future World Cup bid would not feature it prominently. A century on, it is still 'an honour to Manchester', and the north's prime football arena.

Presents many of the finest sport climbing destinations in the world. Covering all the best areas from the magnificent walls of Ceuse in the north to the impeccable climbing playground of Buoux to the south, this book has a lifetime's worth of climbing waiting on its pages.

A guidebook to 44 great sea kayak trips around the archipelago of the Outer Hebrides, from Berneray to the Butt of Lewis, including St Kilda. It presents the navigational and tidal information sea kayakers need on this magnificent section of coast.

Covering interesting and varied philosophical terrain, Cycling - Philosophy for Everyone explores in a fun but critical way the rich philosophical, cultural, and existential experiences that arise when two wheels are propelled by human energy.

The author chronicles how basketball and hip hop have gone from being reviled by the American mainstream in the 1970s to being embraced and imitated globally today. For young black men, he argues, they represent a new version of the American dream, one embodying the hopes and desires of those excluded from the original version.

The only comprehensive history of figure skating in over forty years

This compact, little pocket book - the first ever to feature the natural insect next to its matching artificial fly - arms the angler with all the information he needs to select the right fly from his flybox. Superb photographs of aquatic insects (larvae, pupae, adults) with the artificial flies positioned alongside them Times of hatching The geographical distribution Whether it is a river fly or a lake fly, or both Life cycles of the insects Clues from the river and from the trout's behaviourPeter Lapsley contributes regularly to Flyfishing & Flytying and is author of several fishing books. He is a qualified national game angling instructor.Dr Cyril Bennett is one of the UK's leading entomologists, specialising in river insects. His photographs of insects - some never before captured on camera - add a unique element to this book.

Aimed at the novice looking to either build or restore a traditional boat, this book takes a uniquely modern approach by using up-to-date techniques and methods throughout.

Demonstrates the art of good sail trim with the aid of superb colour diagrams and photographs.

The groundbreaking reference work on high speed racing techniques - the bible for racing sailors of all levels and abilities from dinghies through to America's Cup.

A groundbreaking, technical book on yacht design linked to the theory and testing of how a sailing yacht behaves underway.

The classic map and compass navigation guide-revised for the age of GPS GPS devices are great, but they can break, get lost, or easily be hampered by weather conditions, making basic map and compass skills essential for anyone who spends time outdoors.

While climbing in the Peruvian Andes, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates came face to face with disaster. Simpson fell and broke his leg and then was lost. As his partner Yates was starting to break camp four days later, Simpson crawled in through a blizzard. How both men overcame those four harrowing days is an epic chronicle of fear and friendship.

Includes 74 effective swimming exercises, each with step-by-step descriptions and full-colour anatomical illustrations highlighting the primary muscles in action. This book helps swimmer learn how exercises can be modified to target specific areas, improve form in the water and minimise common swimming injuries.

Angling with a rod and line is a gift as old as history itself. Regardless of how we perceive it, angling takes us to another world. This book tells the story of just such a journey through angling beautiful places, amazing fish, the highs and lows, the triumphs and disasters, the friendships and wildlife, the best bite and the longest fight.

Part of the "Fifty Places" series that returns to the author's most popular topic, golf, this book presents interviews of 50 luminaries in the golf world about their favourite courses and experiences. It also features old Country favourites like Royal Dornoch and Machrihanish in Scotland.

A climbing guidebook for those interested in the huge variety of cliffs that are scattered up the western side of the Peak and Pennines.

Words like boldness, adventure and risk are surely coined especially for Andy Kirkpatrick. As one of the world's accomplished mountaineers and big-wall climbers, he goes vertically where other climbers fear to tread. This autobiography provides his thirteen-day ascent of Reticent Wall on El Capitan in California - the hardest big-wall climb.

Featured in this new, substantially revised, and updated edition of Rugby Union are:

This field guide illustrates all the fish, corals, invertebrates and plants you are most likely to encounter in less than 15 feet of water in the Caribbean. Humann's photographs are excellent for identification purposes -- and the handy size makes it perfect to take along in the boat or to the beach.

FIBA Assist Magazine editor-in-chief, Giorgio Gandolfi, delivers to coaches at every level, the most effective basketball drills from around the world.

Presents essential table tennis techniques and strategies. This title features an 11-step approach that is designed to maximise table tennis instruction that helps readers learn the proper grip for their style of play, execution of the basic strokes and the correct way to apply spin to the ball.