Customer Reviews

Combatives for Street Survival

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kelly McCann, also known under the pen name "Jim Grover" has produced some of the best DVDs on close-quarter self protection. His previous book Street Smarts, a collection of his magazine articles, defined his status as one of the most significant names in the field of self-protection.
Now, at last, he has written a book covering the rationale, training and application of self-protection for today's situation "whether in battle or in Boston"
Having already absorbed the previous material, I was eagerly awaiting the book, and, to quote Winston Churchill "it exceeded my expectations; which were very high".
Right from the introduction, which describes the delights of the morning after an arduous Combatives workout, the text grips you. Kelly McCann speaks with the authority of having trained thousands of government personnel to face extreme hazards, and having extensive personal experience of hostile environments from South America to Iraq.
His material on the Combative Mindset and the fight-winning attitude are spot on.
Kelly McCann is obviously a major proponent of what I termed the tactical lifestyle. He states "You should always carry a weapon or an item that can be used as a weapon. Period. Arm yourself with a weapon that can be carried legally in the jurisdiction where you live." Difficult to fault that logic.
For me one of the highlights is the section describing McCann's involvement with the current US Marines Close Combat Program, and the "show-stopping" input of former WW-2 Marine Raider Jim Smith
The book has numerous case studies to emphasise the learning points. These are taken from current activities and are a sobering look into the realities of sudden violence.
The photographs are first class, printed on high quality gloss paper.
I'm sure that this book will be a best seller, and take its place as a classic of the genre.

I am always a bit apprehensive towards anything put out by Black Belt and Ohara Publications. Many of their products strike me as being aimed at the juvenile market and the magazine itself has never been very well edited. In this case the editing is better than the magazine; still this book has a few cheap tricks to make it attractive to a younger readership. The book is softbound and roughly 8X11 in size. Just reading through my copy the first time resulted in obvious wear and tear and crease marks on the cover. The paper the cover page is printed on is not very robust and I won't be surprised if the edges become dog-eared and the pages quickly come loose from their glued-in binding.

The author makes the point several times that Combatives are efficient and effective without anything fancy, yet the editors at Black Belt felt the need to over-design a cheesy layout that is anything but efficient and simple. On every page of the book, the text and photos are centered inside a ¾ inch black frame with red uneven lines. To me it looks like a page border from Microsoft Word; it's not artistic and honestly detracts from the information in the book. This framing actually takes up a large portion of the 197 pages; space that that could have been dedicated to more text or larger photos and part of what you are paying for is a lot of black filler and cheesy design. The photo sequences are well shot and the accompanying text is clear and easy to understand, some of the photos appear to have been slapped to the book with athletic tape. Black Belt did not miss the opportunity to make you pay for a catalog as well; in the back are 4 pages advertising books and DVDs and then one additional page advertising the website where you can watch some videos. This book could have been greatly improved by streamlining the design, using a page layout that doesn't look like a carnival prize, and printing the book in hardbound. Most of the author's previous work is published by Paladin Press, and even they put out a better product that is going to last longer than Black Belt did with this one.

For those of you familiar with the work of Kelly McCann (a.k.a. Jim Grover) the material presented in this work will be familiar to you. The author has been talking and writing about this subject for a long time and has developed a style of prose that is concise and to the point. The author's personality is evident in his choice of words and the stories he uses to get his points across. The folks at Black Belt didn't entirely edit out the "street" talk and one will find the occasional F-bomb. The writing is engaging and conversational with the author speaking directly to the reader.

The book is divided into three parts and eight total chapters. A good portion of the book is dedicated to an explanation of combative principles. From chapter five the reader is introduced to physical movements and from there strikes. The photo sequences are well shot and the reader can understand the principle or technique being demonstrated. The author takes the time to explain how a strike is executed, demonstrates how to train the strike with speed and power delivery safely with a partner, and then how it is applied against an opponent. Through out the book the author recommends training to the edge of safety with your partners, but to expect your share of bruises.

Part three is dedicated to scenario situations resulting in the author demonstrating Combatives. The most valuable part of the scenarios section is the introduction and the part of each scene where pre-incident (pre-attack) indicators and avoidance opportunities are discussed. The photo sequences then demonstrate one possible way to deal with one potential "attack".

The cons: Cheap binding, waste of page space, and cheesy layout that jacks the price up.

The pros: Besides all the cons, the information in the book is well explained and laid out for the reader. I would have gladly paid more for a plain page layout in hardbound or better bound soft cover, but once you get past all that, the book is worth adding to the library.

"Combatives For Street Survival: Hard-Core Countermeasures for High-Risk Situations" by Kelly McCann is an excellent addition to any self-defense library, and if you only want a few self-defense books, this is one you should have. I've liked McCann's writing and teaching for years. He has one previous book, which is a collection of articles he wrote, and a number of instructional DVDS, some under his name and others under his pen name Jim Grover. All of the provide outstanding advice and instruction.

After appearing on the cover of Black Belt magazine in 2008, he wrote this book that was published by Black Belt Books. It's an attractive 8 1/2 x 11 inch book with full color pictures throughout. Some might not like the larger black borders, or the full page photos that introduce the chapters, but I found them to be different than many self-defense books and felt it made this book unique and didn't mind them at all. I liked the different layout.

The real reason this book is valuable is McCann's knowledge. It could be written on the back of a napkin and would still be worth reading. His no BS, straight to the point, style is as direct and powerful as the basic combative strikes and kicks he teaches.

Chapter one describes what combatives are and provides a little history as well as the current state of combatives. I also really liked the short section regarding internet forums.

Chapter two touches on the realities of confrontations. There are short sections on avoidance, situational awareness, and attack-recognition skills. He also discusses physiological effects of imminent danger, mitigating duress dysfunctions, and combatives traits and characteristics. Mindset, winning, and confrontations in real life are also topics in this chapter.

Chapter three contains short descriptions and illustrating photographs of fourteen combatives principles. Principles such as go armed, apply power explosively, use the right weapon, and full body-weight striking. These principles are important for self-defense regardless of any style or techniques you may practice.

Chapter four covers combatives methodology and explains McCann's hard-core training routines. Real altercations and confrontations are serious, and so is the training McCann advocates. He does include information on training aids and safety, but the real thing that stands out from this chapter is the intensity and hard-core training presented.

Chapter five instructs on combatives positions and movements. Stances, or starting positions, movement, and swaying and hollowing out are some of what's covered in this short chapter.

Chapter six, defensive skills, covers just what the title states. Fending, checking, and blocking are covered here. This includes blocking weapon attacks. The things McCann teaches are illustrated with accompanying photographs.

Chapter seven teaches the combatives strikes. These include the finger jab, hammerfist, face smash, ax hand, and knees, elbows, and kicks among others. Again, accompanying photographs illustrate the various blows. McCann also is clear when describing the execution of the techniques that you explode into them and use all your body weight to your advantage.

Chapter eight provides some unarmed situational self-offense situations. McCann provides a brief bit on use of force, and then provides a few scenarios with examples of how one could defend themselves in such a situation. The pictures are clear and the techniques simple and brutal. A couple of the scenarios involve handgun defense, which are the same techniques those familiar with McCann's DVDs have seen him teach.

Finally there is an afterword that contains a few corollaries between combatives and the U.S. Marine Corps Field Manual 1 (FM 1) Warfighting.

"Combatives For Street Survival: Hard-Core Countermeasures for High-Risk Situations" by Kelly McCann provides some excellent advice and instruction regarding self-defense and the person who learns the techniques and principles in this book, and who trains hard as McCann advises, will be much better prepared if ever faced with a violent and unexpected assault.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of the DVD set Streetfighting Essentials.

I have over 10 years of experience with various martial arts. I find this book very realistic in terms of training not for the dojo, but for the streets. Let's face it, most MA instructors don't tell you about adrenaline and things like the fact that you get tunnel vision and auditory exclusion when you fight (trust me, it happens). This book is excellent if you are not preparing to get a belt or do a tournament, but you want to know what to do on the street, to live, when someone attacks you. I especially like the notion of YOU being the "predator" when the fight goes down, and not being the prey. That is very useful. I remember when I took krav maga that they also stressed "turning the tables" immediately. Being the attacker is critical because often, the person who gets the first "big" hit in, wins. I have seen this on the street many times. Most fights only last 1-4 seconds, so this is critical. If you lose that first "wave" of attacks, you can die. I also like the idea of using any weapon and using any technique available. Let's face it, street fights are very nasty and you really want to avoid them at almost all costs, but if you have to fight, this book will give you the moral clarity and the SIMPLE techniques to prevail and walk away alive.

This book epitomizes its subject matter right down to the bare bones of reality--lean, valid, relevant and practical, with nothing extra.

Throughout the entire 192 pages of oversized text, Kelly McCann accurately and concisely explicates upon the unpredictable, uncertain, and dangerously consequential nature of violence in the real world, while offering ways and means to counterbalance potential threatening situations before they become problematic. In this first section of the three part book, McCann provided lessons on the importance of establishing and maintaining situational awareness, avoidance and the importance of understanding how to recognize pre-incident indicators.

McCann emphatically stresses the importance one must strive to development and maintain this skill set of situational awareness, and of being capable of quickly recognizing pre-incident indicators, while deploying the subsequent situationally correct proactive countermeasures.

He achieves the development of this unique awareness skill set for the reader through a well-thought out and prepared photographed sequence of contextual resolve of four universal pre-incident indicators, which begin from a distance of twenty yards out closing in, digressing into an actual attack scenarios. The text and photography fluidly blend the lessons into an indelible imprint upon the memory.

In the second section of the manual, McCann demystifies the concepts of just what are sound combative principles, methodology and motor skills. Theory, guessing and pretend are thrown out of the window, and all that remains is an evolutionary foundation of pragmatic applications and proactions designed to operate and function in the worst case scenarios.

McCann's career has been one whereby the man has been immersed in real world violence, and this book is a true testament to his skills used and taught over this career. He's alive, writing the book. There is no conjecture found within the pages of this soft-cover manual--none!

In the final third section of the text, McCann offers ten unarmed situational self-offensive scenarios appropriate for the use of combatives on the street. The scenarios are broken down into the description of the scenario, and pre-incident indicators with appropriate avoidance opportunities and any available advantages. He concludes each scenario with a quick summary of actions. More importantly to the ten scenarios discussed and demonstrated are the legal responsibilities upon which McCann touches. We must accept full responsibilities for our choices and actions executed. He offers a glimpse into the criminal use of force and, briefly, what is a lawful use of pre-emptive force.

This is not a legal explication by any means, but more of a sound and solid slap in the face of one's moral and legal obligations when using combatives, physically, and the dire consequences if or when miss-used. He does clarify that the legalities of using violence to counter violence can deep and muddy waters even for the Just.

Other topics McCann covers is the myth of muscle memory, and what it really is; ten personality traits and characteristics indicative of those who are capable of managing unexpected and unprovoked violence; and that sometimes, there really are no answers--we're screwed. He discusses the Morton's Fork Dilemma of violence where we are faced with two equally unpleasant alternatives, when we are confronted with violence. And, he discusses the all important aspect of what is and in how to develop a combative mind-set--the backbone of survival. He stresses that we must be aware of our legal obligations and responsibilities, but he also warns that it is a serious disadvantage to be worrying about such consequences once we are in the heat of the moment. We must be prepared to engage equal or greater violence to off-set the violence from which we cannot avoid or escape--hence the genuine need for keen situational awareness.

The construction of the book and photography presented are top quality, with just enough written explanations to provide the reader with valid, reliable, and credible direction and information. I am currently unaware of any book that has so comprehensively amalgamated photography and text into such a fluid blend of information pertaining to this subject matter. Black Belt Publishing has created a true gem in putting out this text, and the wait was well worth it.

This book has exceeded my expectations, and to my system of reviewing, the text overcomes all of the competition, at least in regards to what are combatives and the realities of violent street confrontation. The vast majority of the texts I have reviewed in the past focus solely on motor skill resolve--which is but a drop in the bucket of what is actually needed to manage this area of operation.

Sure, the motor skills are present in this book in the most clear, concise and vivid living color fashion. For once, however, we have a manual that focuses on the genuine crux of what are combatives and the realities of a violent confrontation (both with photography and written text for clarification)--in addition to the motor skills.

Unless Kelly McCann writes a sequel to this manual or an update in the future, I really don't foresee another manual of this scope and magnitude coming along to usurp Combatives for Street Survival's profound comprehensive of this violent environment.

Rev. A. Bodhi Chenevey, RM, DD
Hikaze Learning Corner
Wooster, Ohio

This is an excellent read for anyone intersted in developing situational street awareness and conflict avoidance, but defending themselves if they have to! Kelly McCann's background is second to none! One of the first things that impressed us about the book were the accolades of a General and former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a five time UFC Champion, an LAPD Chief of Staff and a journalist that was the benificiary of McCanns expertise in Iraq. It's not often that kind of diversity stands behind an author!

The book helps identify and avoid situations that could lead to conflict, but if conflict cannot be avoided; how to get out of it and get home safe! Situational awareness and avoidance along with combative principles, methodologies, positions and movments, skills, strikes and situational self-offensive are all key topics detailed. There are some terrific real life stories that support the principles. Kelly McCann is effective in keeping the information simple, understandable and reproducible which is the key to any successful instruction. He is somewhat irreverant in his approach. He struck the right balance of light heartedness with dark and ominous and kept the book upbeat; not melodramatic given the subject matter.

We have had the opportunity to view the "Inside the Crucible" video series and McCann's new video "Kem-ba'tiv Knife". If you haven't seen them, get them! He is an unbelievable instructor! This book is a continuation of that excellence! We wish we could give it more than 5 stars!

This book has now taken its place as the #1 book in my martial arts collection. The most important thing about this book is its emphasis on mindset. There are many books which show a collection of techniques, but that's not all you need to know to survive. I was surprised when I opened this book and saw the contents. I bought the book because I like Kelly McCann's work. I have all of his videos, and decided to by his book. I thought it would just be a re-hash of the articles from Black Belt Magazine, but it was so much more. The techniques are important, but the principles the book shows are even more so. So much of the defensive tactics taught in federal agencies these days are sub standard and have no basis in reality. Even though Red Man suits may be used, students are never pushed to the limit because instructors and supervisors do not want to have too many student injuries. Students are cheated if they are not taken to the limit and shown that they can win in a violent encounter.

I thought that this book did a good job in covering how to run a combatives class. Even though there is a chance of injury, these classes can teach the real world skills needed to prevail on the street. These days all you seem to hear is "don't use too much force, don't go overboard." You hardly ever hear "make sure you use enough force". The emphasis in this book is to avoid the fight in the first place, but if the fight happens, then you must be ready to bang. The use of real world stories to emphasize what he is teaching and why he us teaching it makes it obvious why combatives work. I was glad to see that McCann did not tone down his system just to get this book published.

I just finished reading Kelly McCann's latest book, Combatives for Street Survival. For those of you not familiar with him, he's a retired Marine who did a lot of training for military and intelligence personnel. He's also released a number of training videos and seems to be shifting some of his attention to the general civilian market. This book describes his system of hand-to-hand combat based on military combatives. He includes a lot of material on mindset and how to train, as well as detailing the actual skills. There are lots of photos illustrating each skill as well as well-written descriptions. I'm just a regular guy trying to learn how defend myself and my family, by no means am I a martial artist. That said, McCann's system seems to be relatively simple but effective. There are a relatively limited number of techniques that have broad utility. The real key is going to be how hard you are willing to work to perfect your skills with a training group or partner. Particularly when combined with his videos, this book would be a good starting point for anyone interested in developing their defensive capabilities. I recommend it highly.

I have several of Mr McCann's DVDs; all of them have influenced the way I train and train others (I head a Filipino Martial Arts group in Iraq). This book was, for me, like sitting down with him over a cold beer and letting him ramble about ass kicking.

Oh, and it's sturdy enough to serve as an impact weapon too.

I admit it. I have been a huge fan of Kelly McCann(Alias Jim Grover) for many years, and I have written reviews on much of his material, including his three video set on Combatives and his Situational Offense video. As soon as I received this book I immediately sat down and read it cover to cover. In my humble opinion, this is the best book on true combatives ever written, and that includes my own Combative course manuals. This great book is organized into three parts. The first section covers what is combatives and how it differs from martial arts. It also explains the reality of a confrontation. The second section provides the basic principles of combatives, combatives methodology, Combatives positions and movements, defensive skills and combative strikes. The final section covers unarmed situational self-offense. There are clear color photographs showing each of the techniques in this manual. Since I already studied his videos on combatives it was easy to follow this book. I strongly suggest to fully learn Mr. McCann's combative system, you should also get copies of his great videos. This fantastic book when
used in combination with the videos and actual hands-on training, will produce a street combat ready individual.

Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Pro-Systems Combatives official manual Vol. 1,2).