Martial Arts & Self Defence Books
I’ve published quite a few martial arts/self-defence titles over the years. It’s a field I’ve been involved in since the early 1980s, and I’ve trained with some very good people, so I guess I have a lot to offer in this area. There’s more to come, that’s for sure….
The Self-Defence Manual
This one was co-written with Dave Birdsall, who was at the time my Nihon Tai-Jitsu instructor. It started out as a somewhat different project, but was redirected by the publishers during the writing process.
This is one of the few collaborations I’ve begun that actually worked out, mainly because I did all the actual writing. Some of the content is mine, some from Dave, and some is a compromise, but the words were written by me. I’d have done some things differently if it’d been a solo effort, but overall it’s still a very good book.
This one was co-written with Dave Birdsall, who was at the time my Nihon Tai-Jitsu instructor. It started out as a somewhat different project, but was redirected by the publishers during the writing process.
This is one of the few collaborations I’ve begun that actually worked out, mainly because I did all the actual writing. Some of the content is mine, some from Dave, and some is a compromise, but the words were written by me. I’d have done some things differently if it’d been a solo effort, but overall it’s still a very good book.
SAS & Elite Forces Guide: Unarmed Combat
The first in its series, this book has been reprinted several times already. I understand it now has a different title – The Art of Self Defence. Either way, it’s a guide to quick-and-dirty self-defence and unarmed combat using the techniques developed and used by military forces.
Techniques are demonstrated using line drawings largely derived from photographs we supplied. If you know what you’re looking for, you can even tell who some of the people in the pictures are…
The first in its series, this book has been reprinted several times already. I understand it now has a different title – The Art of Self Defence. Either way, it’s a guide to quick-and-dirty self-defence and unarmed combat using the techniques developed and used by military forces.
Techniques are demonstrated using line drawings largely derived from photographs we supplied. If you know what you’re looking for, you can even tell who some of the people in the pictures are…
SAS and Elite Forces Guide: Extreme Unarmed Combat
Despite a similar title to the above, this is a different book. It deals mainly with unarmed combat from the perspective of military, security and law enforcement personnel.
Whereas the first book was mainly about self-defence, this one deals with all-out fighting in a life or death situation and includes more lethal measures. Again, we used photos to create line drawings for the techniques, and for some reason I’m always the bad guy…
Despite a similar title to the above, this is a different book. It deals mainly with unarmed combat from the perspective of military, security and law enforcement personnel.
Whereas the first book was mainly about self-defence, this one deals with all-out fighting in a life or death situation and includes more lethal measures. Again, we used photos to create line drawings for the techniques, and for some reason I’m always the bad guy…
Fight to Win
Originally entitiled 'Winning Fights', this book is is about… winning fights! It’s aimed at both ‘street’ and ‘sport’ applications and deals with the psychology of how a fight is won and lost as well as the mechanics of combat.
We present a basic repertoire of 20 proven techniques for standup and ground fighting, with takedowns and takedown defences to bridge the gap. A fighter who can master these 20 techniques and who understands how they fit together will have a solid base to work from, and will be a far better fighter than someone who knows dozens of techniques but cannot use them seamlessly.
Originally entitiled 'Winning Fights', this book is is about… winning fights! It’s aimed at both ‘street’ and ‘sport’ applications and deals with the psychology of how a fight is won and lost as well as the mechanics of combat.
We present a basic repertoire of 20 proven techniques for standup and ground fighting, with takedowns and takedown defences to bridge the gap. A fighter who can master these 20 techniques and who understands how they fit together will have a solid base to work from, and will be a far better fighter than someone who knows dozens of techniques but cannot use them seamlessly.
