| An
intense martial arts primer with a concentration on techniques
of offence, strategy, and pre-emption, rather than defence
and reaction. There are many self-defence books on the market,
all of which stress reaction in the face of an attacker's
aggression, and few of which are not hampered by invalid assumptions
derived from carefully constrained martial sports. The emphasis
is overwhelmingly on reactive technique, rather than proactive
strategy. But, as any football fan knows, most often the best
defence is a strong, unpredictable offence. With a slavish
dedication to the wrong training paradigm and unrealistic
goals and attitudes, a fighter who suddenly faces the fight
of his life has to make a complete shift, or fail. The truth
is, it's usually too late - on the street, in particular,
but also in the ring. Reaction time is seldom as fast as the
time it takes to attack.
5 out of 5 - October 7, 2005
This outstanding tome is really not so much
a "how to" book of techniques as it is a set of
strategic principles that you can incorporate into any martial
style to develop a more effective offense. Written by one
of the nation's leading experts on aggression and real-life
fighting, it is a clear and comprehensive approach to refining
your ability to survive a violent encounter.
Before describing the content of this book it
is worthwhile pointing out what an effective offense is and
why you ought to care about it: If you get beat down on the
street you will be totally at the mercy of your attacker for
your continued well-being. You could just as easily wake up
in the hospital as you could end up in a box. At a time when
an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient was raped and murdered
less than an hour after wandering away from her residence,
a father was beaten to death by three teenagers in front of
his son, and thousands of other murders, muggings, and beatings
took place around the country this very week, there might
not be all that much mercy out there for you if you lose a
street encounter to the wrong person. Don't get me wrong,
this book certainly does not advocate picking fights, but
it does show a comprehensive methodology for turning the tables
on your attacker if you are assaulted and cannot get away.
As a 30+ year martial artist I did not find
a whole lot that I did not already know but I did discover
a new lens for viewing the knowledge, one that is quite enlightening.
The author's writing style is refreshing and clear, devoid
of the cynical platitudes and four letter witticisms that
fill many of his previous works. You get all of Animal's experience
without his attitude, something that has turned off traditional
martial artists from MacYoung's works in the past. It's not
that the previous works did not have great content just that
they were somewhat hard to read for many folks. That's definitely
not a problem here. It's packed with vital information and
pleasant to read.
Contents include components of effective power,
understanding range, body movement, structure, blocking and
deflecting, parrying and countering, pulling, twisting, and
takedowns among other subjects. The pictures and illustrations
truly complement the excellent text. The book really helps
you understand what works and why, set priorities, and develop
a mindset that can really work. And it's easy to integrate
into what you already know (in fact the author encourages
just that). It helps you get your priorities straight and
be sure that you can accomplish them. I really believe that
this is MacYoung's best book yet. Wholeheartedly recommended!
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