The Combative Perspective: The Thinking Man's Guide to Self-Defense [Paperback]

Gabriel Suarez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

If you want to win, and not just survive, in a fight for your life, mind-set is at least as critical as tactics. Here Suarez shows how desire for victory, elimination of uncertainty, situational awareness and willingness to act can give you the mental edge. The perfect companion to Cooper's classic Principles of Personal Defense.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gabe Suarez is a veteran of Southern California law enforcement, where he has served for many years. His extensive field experience includes single officer patrol, gang enforcement, special operations and tactical training. He was one of the founding members of his department's Special Weapons and Tactical Precision Rifle teams.

Product Details

• Paperback: 97 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Press (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581604041
• ISBN-13: 978-1581604047
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #818,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will become a classic for personal protection, October 8, 2004

By 

Rick Moberly (Bishop, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Combative Perspective: The Thinking Man's Guide to Self-Defense (Paperback)

Having been a small arms and tactics instructor for a number of years now and always a student to the martial arts, I highly recommend this book. It is truly a landmark book that is written with a hard hitting yet effective and efficient style that anyone can read and learn from. But more importantly than just learn from, but live by.

The more a student of personal protection learns and developes the more they realize that it is not the gun or the knife, etc but the mind that is the final weapon. Mindset is the most important element in a fight. Mr. Suarez explains this in terms that are most enlightening. I have personally lent my copy of this book to a number of soldiers who are deploying to Iraq, street cops, students of martial arts, and everyday house wives. All simply say, that this book is an important part of their development by letting them see their strength and weaknesses. They all agree that by reading this book they have have a deeper understanding of what it takes to not only survive but to win. That is an important difference.

This is one of the only books I own that I read on a regular basis to ensure I am "getting my mind right".

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too short to be a book, September 27, 2008

By 

Alberto Vargas (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Combative Perspective: The Thinking Man's Guide to Self-Defense (Paperback)

This is a very tiny book printed with huge letters inside. Basically, it can easily be summarized as a long magazine article. The basic point the author makes is that you need to be mentally prepared to face a confrontation and not hesitate or act weak because criminals will abuse you otherwise.

These topics are largely covered in Gabe Suarez's book The Tactical Pistol, together with other more useful topics, so you are better off getting that book instead.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mental preparation for combat, January 25, 2005

By 

Seppo Vesala (Helsinki, - Finland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Combative Perspective: The Thinking Man's Guide to Self-Defense (Paperback)

Gabe Suarez, the author of this book is a renowed shooting and tactics instructor. In his former career as a SWAT team member, he has participated in numerous fights and several shooting incidents (I believe the exact number is four shootings).

This book is similar to Principles of personal defence by Jeff Cooper. In this book, Suarez handles the mental aspects of fighting, based on his personal experiences and those of his trainees. Rather than instructing how to use weapons the most efficient way, he tries to explain how the mind works in a life-threatening situation. Instead of tactics, you'll learn how the fear and stress change your performance, and how to prepare for a potentially lethal encounter.

Suarez advocates aggressive response to a threat, and man's right to defend himself even with lethal force, if necessary. The instruction he gives in the book fall into the same category, and his attitude is that unless you want to do things the way he instructs, it's the same as hiding your head into sand hoping the adversary does not attack you. As in other books by Suarez, his way is the only way to conduct business. I'm not arguing the facts, and he definitely has more combat experience than I do, but I dislike the way he forces his opinions to the readers. On the other hand, if man has proved his views correct in multiple gunfights, that may have a reinforcing effect on your outlook.

The things discussed in the book are not new, as almost every book devoted to self defense shooting has at least a chapter on mental issues. However, this book gives the most complete treatment of the subject I have read. It's sad that Suarez has such one-sided approach to the subject. However, with it's flaws, this book is definitely recommended reading to anyone who is interested in self defence.