Customer Reviews

Complete Book of Self-Defense

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

 

 

In response to the review that had an agenda to discourage people from picking up a book to learn the basics of self-defense...I'd just like to say that one of my best friends was attacked one day while walking from the grocery store by three of his enemies from school (how they became his enemies is another story) and one of these individuals was armed with a switch-blade and used it without reserve in his attack. My buddy not only escaped with his life but inflicted injuries on all three of the assaliants leaving them more hurt than he was. Afterwards the police were informed but the assailants were never caught. Nonetheless my friend attributes his successful defense to what he taught himself from books which included Bruce Lee's Fighting Method and one of Bruce Tegner's guides (I believe it was Bruce Tegner's Kung Fu and Tai Chi).

So while I understand why many people like to think they're giving good advice when they express platitudes such as "you must not learn defense from a book!", they're not speaking from the truth but rather, in my opinion, from a very deep denial that SOME ONE ELSE can actually spend less money and time teaching themselves something that took them (the ones spending years in a martial arts class) years and expenses to obtain. Now, I am not knocking martial arts classes. I've simply been shown that they are by no means the only way of learning defense.

Bruce Tegner's Complete Book of Self-Defense is a rather impressive guide. The text is just as enlightening as the photos...Tegner has a very distinct way of writing that you can tell comes from the heart. He details an accesible and intelligent method for self-defense which is very inspiring. Tegner himself suggests studying his methods with a partner. Unfortunately he does not express his view on someone using the concept of an imaginary opponent in case they do not have a partner to practice with.

The only reason I do not give it 5 stars instead of 4 is because he left out many useful things that have appeared in one of his pervious books, Defense Tactics for Law Enforcement. In that book he covers many areas that should have been listed in this book such as how to disarm someone with a gun as well as a more detailed account on how to deal with multiple assaliants (in this book he gives some vague advice which is very good, but lacking).

All in all, I would read this along with Defense Tactics for Law Enfrocement. That book fills in the gaps left out by this one.

Learning Martial Arts requires a good teacher and fellow students to practice with. Especially so, in martial arts like Aikido, Jujitsu, Hapkido etc. where trapping, grappling and throws are involved.
While no book can replace a teacher and participation in a class, this book is an excellent companion if you are taking any of the afore-mentioned martial arts classes.
This book does not provide you with lessons in history and philosophy of jujitsu. If that's what you are looking for try other books.
This one gives you the stuff you need to know and use - plain and simple.

I bought this book when it was first published as a teen also studying shotokan karate.I have to admit that I find the methods in this book to be more practical than the karate I took.I don't agree with everything Tegner wrote, but if you are looking to learn practical self defense without spending years in a martial arts class, then this book could really help you.I would recommend that you also read Rex Applegate, Fairbairn or Brad Steiner to add some real dirty methods to your overall training.But overall, a good book as a foundation.

This guy is a seminal martial arts teacher.

I have purist martial arts expert buddies who sneer at him because his technique isn't the same as the technique taught in their styles. Or because he doesn't teach obviously vicious and death-dealing techniques.

Well, too bad!

What they don't understand is that Tegner was writing to a civilian population in a relatively safe, law abiding world, where most guys were going to deal, at worst, with some bullying and a challenge to "take it outside". He was not, in this book, preparing guys to be commandos or inner-city cops.

Tegner knew that most of the people who read his books were not going to spend ten or twenty years in a dojo learning techniques that had only some application to the real world.

Tegner was a serious judo guy. He'd studied all his life. And judo guys aren't sissies; they call it the gentle way, but when a judo guy hits you with the biggest weapon around (the planet Earth) it doesn't feel very gentle. And you can get seriously hurt in judo if you aren't lucky.

He'd also studied broadly, and had a good knowledge of what techniques were available for hand to hand combat of all sorts.

He made intelligent choices in techniques that laymen without a lot of time or energy to spend on training could practice some and improve their chances of surviving a fight.

If you are a beginner to martial arts and want to read an author who has balanced ease of study, length of practice, and likelihood that the techniques will send you to Sing Sing after the fistfight, this is a perfectly good place to start.

Bear in mind that no book can teach you to fight, and that you'll need to practice with a partner and on a bag. Also bear in mind that the laws of self defense differ from one to another jurisdiction.

In any case, buying all the Tegner books there are and reviewing the sorts of tricks he teaches is a perfectly good way to begin a study of self defense.

And I give this guy five stars partly because of the cost to technique ratio!

This was one of the first books on self-defense and the martial arts I owned as a child, and being able to find this in print again was exciting. Bruce Tegner remains one of the best authors in the area of self-defense, and this book offers a wealth of information to the reader. Filled with pictures and practical tips, this is an excellent self-study course, or can be used in conjunction with an existing martial arts program.

Even though my formal training in the martial arts was with traditional judo, jujitsu and karate instructors; nevertheless, I have always appreciated the late Bruce Tegner's practical approach in learning the martial arts and self-defense. You can never say the techniques looked beautiful and smooth in Tegner's books, but the non-mystical and practical approach he emphasized made his books very popular with the non-martial arts community.

This book has real value because it shows a great number of self-defense responses to numerous attacks. I certainly do not agree with some of the techniques; nevertheless, this is an excellent introduction to self-defense, especially if used in conjunction with training under a competent and certified self-defense instructor.

Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Martial Art Myths--Cafe Press).

This should be basic information given to everyone in elementary school. It doesn't involve lots of classes, learning complicated routines or terms. Simple, basic techniques for helping anyone who gets into a difficult situation with a bully. Written by highly respected pioneers of the karate/judo movement in America.

We can be very grateful to them for simplifying these complex self-defense systems to a practical level.

I like the book, of course. That's why I ordered it.

I first read a couple of Bruce Tegner's books when I was in Junior High (Middle) School. I'm sorry I lost them but I'm sure you've probably got all or most of them in stock.

In any case, I'm very satisfied with this one.

Thank You.

I still have my 1972 edition of this book, which I purchased when I was 15. I used to practice these techniques with my brothers and it was great fun. Simple, effective strategies for self defense. I have applied these self defense techniques at least twice, once in high school and once in a bar situation and they worked perfectly. The book follows a 21-day format with tests at the end of each chapter. The photos are dated, but the information is still relevant and, if followed closely and practiced diligently, highly useful. You'll need a partner to practice with to achieve real results.

Tegner presents some excellent insights into the striking techniques of martial arts, but his commmentary on the styles left me with a distaste for his work: he puts Judo down as a martial art, then proceeds to draw better than 60% of his techniques from Judo! I disagree with his premise that someone could pick up his book and start practicing the techniques shown, safely, without an experienced instructor to oversee the student's work. After 10 years of martial arts experience, I would never advise anyone to pick up a book and teach themselves a martial art: they would end up with serious injuries. Books are wonderful to supplement, and enhance, a martial artist's techniques and skills, but they are not a good way to launch a martial art career: a book cannot be asked for guidance when a technique is not working, nor can a book correct your misunderstanding of what is presented.

I recommend this book to martial art students and instructors -- not to those who wish to begin studying a martial art by themselves.

Nidan Judo, Nidan Ju-Jitsu.