The Little Black Book Violence: What Every Young Man Needs to Know About Fighting

I like the no-nonsense attitude concerning violence and its consequences for law biding citizens. I firmly believe that, if you think and believe that your life is in danger, then it is. The AOJP is a good guideline but the Judge, Jury, Lawyers, Press, friends and family are not there. As a man, make the best decision that you can and stick to what you believe!!! Speak the truth and do not waver. Period!As a law biding citizen, be prepared to shoulder the consequences of your actions. That’s all we can do. At the end of the day, we have a conscious. Thugs only care about what they can get away with. They are animals, plain and simple.As a principle, as a man, do not let your emotions rule you. Let Christ Jesus rule your heart and mind. When violence comes, aggressively defend, seek escape and try to remain calm. How? TRAIN! TRAIN!! TRAIN!!!!!It is what we martial artists do all our lives. It marks us and makes us different from the crowed ( the sheep & the wolves).In a violent encounter, we do not think using our frontal lobe. We React!!! Training “helps” to build into us good reactions that “may” save our lives. But make no mistake! It’s not a movie. You won’t be thinking with your frontal lobe and the thug who attacked you has no compunction about taking your life.Awareness is key. Prudence mandatory. A Good Lawyer is vital to survival.This book brings out many aspects of self-defense others only vaguely discuss.I add to it: “Be a Man!” Act wisely. Speak the truth and accept the consequences of your actions by standing firm on your beliefs and God given right to defend your life. Finally, forgive your enemies as well as yourself. Hatred leads to feuds.This is a great book for all martial artists to read and think through before we act.

After reading more into an overly broad mention of this book on Glenn Reynolds "instapundit" I picked up a copy and finished it last night.Let me take a page from the author's book as it were.Violence is a horrible thing. Its messy, its gory, it is painful, and it often results in death, disfigurement, and legal action. The taking of a human life is not a decision that should be arrived at easily nor quickly. Even the attempt to kill in "sanctioned" situations can lead to emotional, physical, and spiritual distress of an individual.However, for the horrors of violence, there are often times where violence is the correct answer, the best choice. Believe it or not (and the authors would have you believe not) violence isn't a tool of last resort. The authors would have you believe that you should only fight when backed into a corner trapped, with no other way out. They further pontificate that you should change your life, avoiding certain places, people, and things. You should be afraid, avoid going out after dark, and avoiding new places and new situations, all so you can avoid violence.Be a coward. But at least you'll be alive.I don't agree, at all. Somethings are worth fighting for. Somethings are worth killing for. Somethings are worth dying for. And not as a last resort either.I think the authors and I would agree, that your life is worth fighting for. That is the premise of the second half of their book anyway, what to do once you find yourself in a situation where a fight is unavoidable. But even then I disagree with their "mental and verbal judo" approach to things. They would rather have you let your enemy control the battlefield, allowing them to be the aggressor, putting you into a position from which you react to them rather than initiating or escalating the conflict.The book however, isn't a complete waste (hence two stars rather than one), just misdirected. The sections on situational awareness are very good. They stress that you need to be situationally aware at all times, and not just when on unfamiliar ground or in new situations. They preach the credo "Trust in God, but everyone else needs to show their hands" and more importantly to check the hands, check the feet, watch the posture. Don't be lulled and to be prepared.As far as their self defense teachings go...its hard to learn this type of stuff from a book. Really hard. As a matter of fact I can only think of one or two ways worse than learning self defense from a book, and that would be to teach yourself, or to learn it from watching "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon"...That really isn't a fault of the authors however. Thats a limitation of the medium.If I were to get off my lazy butt and write a book of this nature, here's the way I'd do it.1) Understand what it means to fight for something. It means being willing to accept death, dismemberment, and legal action. It means being willing to hurt, maim, or kill.2) Decide what is worth fighting for. This is on the individual to decide and to determine. For me, life, liberty, family, and country are worth fighting for. The three bucks in my wallet? Probably not.3) Prepare yourself to fight for those things. Be situationally aware. Be prepared to end the fight quickly by any means. Be prepared to make the decision to fight before it is forced upon you.4) Know how to fight. Take a good self defense program/class. Avoid competitive martial arts.5) Read "The Gift of Fear" and "On Killing"6) Live you life how you will, without regret, and without some book (or some reviewer on Amazon) telling you how.

First off, the title may give the impression that this is a small book with few pages. It would be more accurate to call this "The big black book of violence." This 9 by 7 inch, 336 page tome is must reading for not just young men, but old men, women, law enforcement people, martial artists and anyone else who is interested in learning the ugly nature of violence.This well-written and organized book has three detailed sections. The first section deals with how to best avoid a violent encounter and why you need to understand the various ways violence happens. The second section explains what to do during a violent encounter, emphasizing numerous factors that you should consider before engaging in a physical altercation. The final section covers the aftermath of violence, and how your previous actions may or may not be viewed by the court favorably. Do not ignore the glossary section. It has a short article titled, "How Far Am I willing to Go?" It also has words you can use to help defuse a situation, an article by Marc "Animal" MacYoung, vital target areas, a reading list and bibliography.In conclusion, this is an important book that should be must reading in all police academies, formal martial art schools and self-defense classes.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Martial Art Myths)

The main thing I so like about this book is that it really does away with the 'glamour' of violence. Violence is not glamourous, it's 'orrible, messy, smelly and it hurts as the authors state repeatedly. And rightly so. If you can, walk away even if the individual causing you grief is doing his 'monkey dance' and mouthing off. Even better, don't get into the situation in the first place - walk away. The authors also stress the importance of being situationally aware. Being so will help prevent you becoming involved in the violence so well described here - and not in a glamourous way. To repeat, as they do continually, walk away, it ain't worth it. Understanding as I do just a bit of what's involved in violence, I continued to be impressed by the quality not only of the writing but the language used. It's appropriate and punchy, (pun intended.) There are also some darkly humourous elements as well which also work.Not only does this book talk about the difference between fighting and combat - and there is - but they let you know about what's involved in both. There's also outstanding insights into the actual cost of any violence you may commit or in which you might be involved, for example, the psychological, financial, reputational and so on. If you are involved in a violent confrontation and the police arrive, don't blabber your mouth off. They provide the reasons why you might do this and suggest why you shouldn't. The police have a job to do and you may be just one of many incidents they may have to address on that Saturday night. Also, be aware that you might go to jail overnight, or prison for a long time even if you feel you're in the right. There are also discussions of the media, lawyers as well as what you might be feeling after a violent confrontation, e.g. guilt, anger, PTSD etc.I have just completed reading this book and will look through it again, and again. It's a no nonsense, well written, well researched piece of work that in the main applies anywhere in the world. Obviously it's targeted at the US market especially with regard to the law. However, even here the authors strongly suggest you identify what is / is not allowed locally to protect yourself.In sum, one of the best books I've read in a long time. Recommended.

Totally boring and very repetitive.Very basic stuff with some pages on traditional martial art moves...This is basically promoting traditional martial arts with some law enforcement reasoning in there.Sent me to sleep many times.Also very annoyed at Amazon as I had wanted to cancel this before dispatch but they refused to assist meaning I wasted £10.99 on this waste of paper

Didn't read it myself,but the receiver liked it.

Excellent book..full of sound advice. Buy it!!

VERY HONEST BOOK ON SELF PROTECTION. THERE IS A SECTION IN THE BOOK CALLED "WHEN YOU THINK YOU ARE GOOD YOU ARE NOT." THIS SECTION OF THE BOOK PROVED TO ME PERSONALLY THAT I AM NOT A FIGHTER.A VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING BOOK. DEFRINITELY ONA FOR YOUR SELF PROTECTION LIBRARY.