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The father of modern hand-to-hand combat, Capt. W. E. Fairbairn, taught the famed British Commandos from this classic, long-out-of-print manual on unarmed combat. Known for his "get tough" attitude, Fairbairn designed these practical methods after years of training troops and watching ruffians, thugs, bandits and bullies. Now you can profit from his experience.

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 "An old classic that shows techniques that are still effective and simple to learn." 2009-12-18
By Joseph J. Truncale (Chicago, Il)
This classic book on real life combat techniques is as relevent today as it was when it was first written. The techniques and tactics are simple to learn because real life combat and self-defense is NEVER complex. It shows and explains the basic strikes, kicks, and escape techniques that are easy to learn, apply and retain. It is true some of the information may be dated; however, this is still an excellent book for anyone interested in learning self-defense without spending years inside a dojo. I do have one criticism of this fine book. There is little emphasis on how much practice it takes to master these techniques so that they become an automatic reaction under real circumstances. Nevertheless, this is a classic that will benefit anyone interested in true combatives. Rating 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Pro-Systems Combatives Vol. 1,2, Monadnock Defensive Tactics System, Use of the Monadnock Straight Baton, PR-24 Police Baton Advanced Techniques, Martial Art Myths, Season of the Warrior).


 "This material is not outdated" 2008-10-30
By Joseph C. McDaniel (Phoenix, Arizona)
Quick overview: for real fighting, less is more. If you study a thousand blocks, you'll get hit while your brain struggles to correlate the stimulus of the attack with the reaction that's buried somewhere in your brain.

So you get to make choices in the universe of fighting techniques. Except that you're not an expert with a few hundred or thousand hand to hand donnybrooks, so you have no idea how to make those choices. Enter Fairbairn, who had the experience to make educated choices.

And he was well schooled in the universe of crunch-munchy techniques. After he was beaten and left for dead by Triad goons, he decided it might be good to study fighting techniques. So he did, with exactly the amount of enthusiasm that goes into such study, after you've been left for dead.

This is a short book. It has few techniques. They are not sportive techniques. They are not for casual use, any more than a short-barrel police special is for shoving matches at the softball game.

These are techniques designed to give soldiers, spys, British Resistance Forces after a Nazi invasion, and other folks in a tight spot an equalizer.

Although, from Fairbairn's point of view, if you didn't have a weapon, that was an indication that something had gone terribly wrong.

There are knife techniques in this book and a few restraining techniques. Those are probably not very useful to you unless you're stalking a sentry with a knife, or moving a German soldier a short distance.

One last point: these techniques are like using weapons. They are not for entertainment.

These techniques burst eardrums, break necks and backs, and crush throats. They emphasize pre-emptive strikes and specifically reject the use of groundfighting, preferring to jump merrily on top of your opponent once you have him on the ground, rather than use a folding-scarf hold or a hold-down.

Summary: this is a brilliant book; if you think it's too short, or dated, or inapplicable, you simply don't understand it. But it's a special purpose book. It's not for sports or fun. For a high school kid who wants to better handle himself, boxing or wrestling or books by Tegner are better choices. For somebody who is going to be on a battlefield or behind lines, this is the book. Also see Kill or Get Killed by Applegate, which is from the same era.


 "You Can't Compare Apples-1942 to Oranges-2008 and Expect the Same Results!" 2008-09-30
By Shawn Kovacich (The Greatest Little City in the World)
In my opinion, the first thing that needs to be taken into consideration when first reading this book is the fact that it was first printed in 1942. That was 66 years ago. The knowledge then concerning self-defense and the knowledge that we have today is like comparing apples to oranges. Yes, they are both varieties of fruit, but that is where the similarities end. The same goes for the basic knowledge of self-defense that was available in 1942 and that which we have access to now in 2008. Apples and oranges.

I just finished reading this book and let me tell you from someone with over 25 years of experience in several martial arts, as well as being a law enforcement officer and working a variety of violence prone professions, this book still has a lot of valuable information contained within its pages. Yes, some of the information is a bit dated and in some circumstances even flawed, but the vast majority of it is still valuable and effective especially if it is updated and refined with the knowledge that we now have available to us today.

A particular quote from the author in the beginning of the book is worth its weight in gold and is one that everyone from the beginning novice to the most advanced master needs to take heed of, and that tidbit of wisdom is as follows, "Do not consider yourself an expert until you can carry out every movement instinctively and automatically." Have any truer words been said?

Are there better books out there which are more detailed concerning the various techniques shown in this book? Most assuredly, but that in itself does not make this a bad book at all, as a matter of fact, I would say that in its day, this was perhaps one of the most viable books on the subject. One might even consider it a "classic." I know that many people, including myself, do.

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.


 "DATED MATERIAL BUT SOMEWHAT RELEVANT STILL!" 2008-04-30
By Troy A. Lettieri (NC, USA)
Only a handful of men of the time have contributed so much to the development of western combatives, one such man is the W. E. Fairbairn. He was a visionary of his time and was instrumental in formulating combat techniques for the British Commando and the Shanghai Police that were later adopted and expanded on by other westerners like Applegate.

Fairbairn fighting style know as "Defendu" (which he has authored another book titled the same) which is hybrid of Chinese karate, ju-jitsu and gutter/street fighting, using only the most practical, effective and brutal moves to quickly dispatch an opponent. Every move and technique explained in this book was combat proven in war and on the mean streets of the era. This book also covers topics on; handgun disarming, Knife fighting/defense, and stick fighting.

Overall this is a significant text for ultimately its historical value on the evolution of military combatives. Again the material may be dated and some of the methods debunked. But this does not make this information any less relevant for study.



 "Start here to GET TOUGH and stay alive" 2008-03-26
By Skip W. (Republic of Texas)
Get Tough This book is a down and dirty way to end a physical altercation before it starts. The descriptions and procedures are straight to the point without lengthy text to crawl through. It is a quick read and easy to understand. Great for a primer on the topic or just a simple review. This book should be the alpha and omega text of self-defense. Everything else in between is simply fill-in material and fluff..


Read more Get Tough

Kill Or Get Killed
Shooting To Live: Expanded Edition
Defendu
Cold Steel
All-in Fighting