Customer Reviews

Do Or Die: A Supplementary Manual on Individual Combat

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Biddle is considered something of a joke, nowadays. The knife fighting techniques are adapted directly from fencing with almost no modification to allow for the much shorter blade. However, if you find a 1st edition in good condition, it is worth a lot on the collector's market.

I was fortunate enough to find a 1st edition of the 1937 Do or Die. A 1944 edition also exists with more information added. Topic covered are Bayonet fencing, knife fighting, jiu-jitsu and savate as well as boxing. The photos are interesting as the soldiers depicted are in WW I uniforms with the famous doughboy helmets. This book is really a great find for any student of knife fighting and combatives.

NOTE: I rate this book 2.5 stars.

This brief book is not of the same depth as other "classic" titles of combatives of the era, like "Kill or Get Killed", "Cold Steel" and "Get Tough". Although it is not as good as the before mentioned, it is however somewhat important because it is a historical record of a valuable source of original written instruction by a combatant prodigy that was influential in effecting the way hand-to-hand was taught in the U.S. military of the time. Essentially Biddle's methods became the foundation the military built their close combat programs on.

Like Styers book "Cold Steel" this title also covers bayonet fighting, knife fighting/defense (which is based on the gentlemanly art of fencing which is just absurd, as well the knife section focuses on knife-on-knife fighting which is also impractical and unrealistic), and unarmed combat. Like already said it does not cover these topics in great detail. This book is OK for the untrained or inexperienced, but is mostly recommended for its historical value.

Dont get this book if you want to learn fighting techniques get it to own a piece of history and to learn about one of the men who advanced our fighting forces skills. If you own Kill or be Killed ,Get Tough and Cold Steel this would be a good addition.