What do you think?
Rate this book
Relaxercise: The Easy New Way to Health and Fitness
Shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing
A physical and philosophical mediation on why we are drawn to fight each other for sport, what happens to our bodies and brains when we do, and what it all means
Anyone with guts or madness in him can get hit by someone who knows how; it takes a different kind of madness, a more persistent kind, to stick around long enough to be one of the people who does the knowing.
Josh Rosenblatt was thirty-three years old when he first realized he wanted to fight. A lifelong pacifist with a philosopher's hatred of violence and a dandy's aversion to exercise, he drank to excess, smoked passionately, ate indifferently, and mocked physical activity that didn't involve nudity. But deep down inside there was always some part of him that was attracted to the idea of fighting. So, after studying Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and boxing, he decided, at age forty, that it was finally time to fight his first—and only—mixed martial arts all in the name of experience and transcending ancient fears.
An insightful and moving rumination on the nature of fighting, Why We Fight takes us on his journey from the bleachers to the ring. Using his own training as an opportunity to understand how the sport illuminates basic human impulses, Rosenblatt weaves together cultural history, criticism, biology, and anthropology to understand what happens to the human body and mind when under attack, and to explore why he, a self-described "cowardly boy from the suburbs," discovered so much meaning in putting his body, and others', at risk.
From the psychology of fear to the physiology of pain, from Ukrainian shtetls to Brooklyn boxing gyms, from Lord Byron to George Plimpton, Why We Fight is a fierce inquiry into the abiding appeal of our most conflicted and controversial fixation, interwoven with a firsthand account of what happens when a mild-mannered intellectual decides to step into the ring for his first real showdown.
A physical and philosophical mediation on why we are drawn to fight each other for sport, what happens to our bodies and brains when we do, and what it all means
Anyone with guts or madness in him can get hit by someone who knows how; it takes a different kind of madness, a more persistent kind, to stick around long enough to be one of the people who does the knowing.
Josh Rosenblatt was thirty-three years old when he first realized he wanted to fight. A lifelong pacifist with a philosopher's hatred of violence and a dandy's aversion to exercise, he drank to excess, smoked passionately, ate indifferently, and mocked physical activity that didn't involve nudity. But deep down inside there was always some part of him that was attracted to the idea of fighting. So, after studying Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and boxing, he decided, at age forty, that it was finally time to fight his first—and only—mixed martial arts all in the name of experience and transcending ancient fears.
An insightful and moving rumination on the nature of fighting, Why We Fight takes us on his journey from the bleachers to the ring. Using his own training as an opportunity to understand how the sport illuminates basic human impulses, Rosenblatt weaves together cultural history, criticism, biology, and anthropology to understand what happens to the human body and mind when under attack, and to explore why he, a self-described "cowardly boy from the suburbs," discovered so much meaning in putting his body, and others', at risk.
From the psychology of fear to the physiology of pain, from Ukrainian shtetls to Brooklyn boxing gyms, from Lord Byron to George Plimpton, Why We Fight is a fierce inquiry into the abiding appeal of our most conflicted and controversial fixation, interwoven with a firsthand account of what happens when a mild-mannered intellectual decides to step into the ring for his first real showdown.
174 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1990
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 26, 2009
I bought this book 25 years ago and I still go back to it every few years. It's based on the principles of Feldenkrais, where gentle movement is used to help you re-align your body and break longtime bad habits of posture. Every time I do the exercises again, I think, this book should be taught in schools. I feel so full of energy and so healthy, and I wonder why I ever stopped. I wish the author had written a followup book, but I've never been able to find one.
February 9, 2014
If you want to relax more, get rid of aches and pains, and generally feel better, and you only have a few minutes a day to invest, you have come to the right place. Relaxercise remains the most accessible point of entry I know of into Moshe Feldenkrais' incredible body of work. Feldenkrais' books are worth reading in their own right, but this small, well-illustrated collection of 10 simple lessons will give readers the experience of incredible relaxation and better alignment that is the hallmark of Feldenkrais work.
May 18, 2018
Good description
Complete with picture. Easy to use and practice. Easy for practical, with all insructions is applicable. Specific and other regio needed
Complete with picture. Easy to use and practice. Easy for practical, with all insructions is applicable. Specific and other regio needed
August 9, 2020
I listened to an audiobook, so I'm not sure if it's the Kindle edition...but I also don't see an audiobook option. So perhaps what I have is just the exercises, and there's a book version? I found them somewhat useful for relaxation, but I don't know if I'd call them exercise.
November 27, 2022
This book is a joke. You are better off with a Yoga program and some Mobility work than these pointless exercises.
August 6, 2011
very simple and easy to follow
January 29, 2019
Lite gammal men information och övningar som blir viktigare och viktigare i dagens stillasittande samhälle
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews