Archive for Book Review
Book review: Jim Cirillo’s Tales of the Stakeout Squad by Paul Kirchner
Posted by: | CommentsJim Cirillo’s Tales of the Stakeout Squad by Paul Kirchner is the closest thing to a biography there is of one of the most famous law enforcement officers of the last 50 years. Jim Cirillo is one of the few who survived over 17 shootouts. Aside from his police work, he also taught his firearms knowledge to others as an instructor. Tragedy struck when he died in a car accident in 2007.
The book begins with a short review Cirillo’s life: growing up in a working class family, getting married and having kids, his career as a police officer and firearms instructor. This chapter is perhaps shorter than I’d personally have liked be but most readers will probably anxiously skip through it to get to the “juicy” part: information on the firefights he was in.
In the following chapters, the author describes Cirilo’s life as a rookie police officer, his work with the Stake Out Squad, Emergency Service Unit, his life outside of the job and his competition record. In the last chapter, people who knew him reminisce on his life and tell some stories of how they remember him. Read More→
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Book Review:Street E&E by Marc Animal Mac Young
Posted by: | CommentsBook review: Street E&E; Evading, Escaping, and Other Ways to Save Your Ass When Things Get Ugly by Marc “Animal” Mac Young
Marc “Animal” Mac Young is what you could call a “reformed streetfighter”. He grew up in the wilder parts of Los Angeles and was confronted with violence and death early on in his life. He has made numerous books and videos on these topics. His focus has always been on debunking myth’s about martial arts/self-defense and stress the importance of awareness and avoiding conflict. That’s why I chose this book of his to review first.
In the introduction, there is a basic outline on the reality of street violence and some pointers on situations to avoid. This brings you the proper perspective and in the right mindset that are needed for Street E&E.
Marc and I having a beer in Leuven, Belgium
The first two chapters show an important flaw in most self-defense training: Evading and escaping street violence is something few people actually consider in a practical way. They have a vague idea of what to do in an extreme situation, but no specific game plan. They have fighting techniques, but no larger frame to use them within. They say they will run away when attacked in a certain way, but fail to recognize the specific stages and techniques that are involved in this.
Marc also shows the 9 angles of attack and how you handle them with both counter attacking and running away in mind. The concept of the 9 angles is dealt with in more detail as in how to avoid getting hit along these angles. There is some sound advice regarding multiple attackers, starting an escape and couples confronted with violence.
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Share this Post[?] Book review: “The ultimate Kick” by Bill “Superfoot” Wallace
Posted by: | CommentsBook review: “The ultimate Kick” by Bill “Superfoot” Wallace
Bill Wallace is nicknamed “Superfoot” for good reason: his kicking techniques have been clocked at an excess of 70Mph. His specific style of fighting with the lead leg only is very spectacular and legions of martial arts practitioners have followed his example. For a long time, I was one of them.
Bill "Superfoot" Wallace
This book followed “Dynamic stretching and kicking” and was probably meant to be an extension of this previous work. Without delay, here is what it contains.
In a prologue, we receive some general information about Mr. Wallace: how he got his nickname, why he developed his style, his competitive career, etc. Read More→
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Share this Post[?] Book review: Modern Warfare by Roger Trinquier
Posted by: | CommentsBook review: Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency by Roger Trinquier
Col. Roger Trinquier is a French military leader who served in numerous conflicts, notably Indochina and Algeria. He wrote several other books on war but they are only available in French. The publisher translated this one for a particular reason: it is right on the money in describing today’s reality of war and terrorism. There’s another reason and I’ll get to that in a bit.
Col. Roger Trinquier
This book isn’t a big one (88 pages) so I won’t do a lengthy review of it, wouldn’t make sense. That said, it does have some remarkable content. Col. Trinquier writes a treatise describing a new, modern way of warfare based on terrorism. War is no longer a matter of huge conflicts where one army faces another on a clear battlefield. Modern war is about overthrowing an existing government and replacing it.
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Share this Post[?] Book Review:Dragons Touch by Hei Long
Posted by: | CommentsBook Review: “Dragons Touch, Weaknesses of the human anatomy” by Hei Long
This isn’t a huge volume so the review will be pretty brief too.
The preface of this book is a comment on the USA martial arts scene and a plea for combining solid techniques with the knowledge of this book.
In the introduction, the author talks about karma to explain that this knowledge isn’t to be abused. He states his belief that if you take a life unjustly, you will be punished for it later in life. Next is the classification of the targets. Mr. Long uses 2 categories: Numerical, which describes the anatomical level (brain, cardio-respiratory, muscular, skeletal, etc.) and alphabetical, which describes the physical reaction to striking a specific point (pain, structural damage, unconsciousness and death). I very much appreciate this system for it’s clarity and lack of complexity.
The main part of the book now follows with an anatomical and physiological review of the target areas, followed by a series of photos demonstrating techniques that could be used to attack them. There are 43 targets described, located on the head, back, chest, abdomen, groin and legs. The author also shows from which angle the targets should be attacked. Read More→
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