Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55278 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

Another great book by John Wiseman
The first half of this book covers mental preperation, self defense and the law, how to respond to verbal abuse, discussion on domestic abuse and how to avoid dangerous confrontations while walking, on the bus and train.

The second half covers the human body and its weapons, the target areas of your opponent, improvised weapons, including the kubotan and walking sticks and the techniques to escape your attackers, from grabs to clubs, knifes, assult in the car and rape.

Thoughout the first section the author uses his own knowledge the prepare the reader for self defense and in the second half the techniques are describing in great detail using text and diagrams.

execllent sections include the 4 Ds in defense and discussion why bitting is usful for a police line up after the attack.

I have given this book 5 stars, because like the authors other work (SAS survival handbook and SAS Urban Survival Handbook), everybody could, and will,learn from it.

Even if you feel you can defend yourself physically, i would recommend this book to you because it describe mental and emotional defense.

basic, good for beginners, not much new
as I run my own martial arts club, I constantly read anything on self defense. This book looked good as 'SAS' title gives it clout. However the moves are pretty basic and certainly NOT a complete guide. The sketches at the back are probably the best bit as the author waffles for most of the book. He does drop the odd good tip but there's a LOT of padding. Maybe he was trying NOT to make this book too effective and give away some juicy SAS techniques, maybe as joe public would probably hurt themselves more than their attacker, whatever the reason this book comes accross as another ex SAS trying to earn money on civie street. Don't buy it if you have any martial arts/self defense training.

A useful guide to self defence
'Around 90 per cent of successful self-defence is to do with avoiding violence. The remaining 10 per cent depends on using physical action to combat the attacker.' John "Lofty" Wiseman.

If you are looking for physical technques alone then it is pointless buying this book. The author himself admits that books, films and videos are useful but that they don't measure up to regular practice. If you want to learn techniques properly, you need to join a martial arts class.

Nevertheless, I still consider this book to be a worthwhile investment as self-defence is just as much about avoiding violence, as it is dealing with violence. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

The book teaches positive thinking which includes being assertive and overcoming your fear, and how to identify trouble and avoid confrontation. Alot of it may seem like common sense but the obvious often gets overlooked-something I know all too well, having been a victim of crime twice.

Without taking anything away from this book, which is good, I would also recommend 'Dead or Alive' by Geoff Thompson which is an exceptional self-protection handbook-the best I've read.