Customer Reviews

Fight Back: Arm Yourself with Mental and Physical Self-Defense

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

 

 

I am a woman in my thirties, and I have taken a good few years of martial arts training (some good, some not so good.) I have been out of practice due to some physical trouble, and when I saw this book I thought it was just what I needed to refresh my mind (and ease some recent anxieties.)

The section on mental defense is great. It confirmed a lot of what I have felt and practiced, such as considering that an attacker with a weapon plans to use it. How do I know otherwise? I've heard tons of stories of compliant victims who wound up dead anyway--tied, gagged, and shot to death. An attacker may just want your compliance, but unless you took Mindreading 101, you really don't know what they plan to do with that weapon. Better to protect yourself regardless. Personally, I'd rather go down fighting than to do whatever perverse thing is asked of me and die anyway. We are no longer living in times where we can be compliant in hopes an attacker will get what they want and let us live. 9/11 changed all that.

I felt the confidence section was extremely important. I have personally had instances where a "mousy" look drew unwanted attention my way while projecting confidence kept troublemakers at a distance. I also found the awareness part important, as I always shake my head watching an oblivious woman yacking on a cell phone while walking in a parking lot at night. It also helped my own self esteem to realize my own high amount of awareness has been part of my self protection.

On to the reason I gave this three stars. I felt the physical defense section was lacking, and at some times unrealistic. Again, I've taken martial arts for a few years, and as an example, the demonstration of the punch leaves one's face wide open for attack. A proper punch would have both hands up--one to protect and one to strike. I've also attempted a few of these moves with my husband and found them difficult to work with (such as spinning around after being grabbed from behind.)

I feel this book is a good resource, but if you're serious about self protection, you need a good class (and I mean a GOOD class, not some tournament-training black belt mill like a place I once belonged to.) With proper training, the physical section makes more sense, and you can use its suggestions to mentally prepare for the worst. I wouldn't solely rely on it for self protection.

Most books on self protection or martial arts come up short in that they cannot take the place of the real-time feeling you get when you practice in person. There is a play of energy involved, and as much as you may feel confident you'll be able to do something, when the moment arrives, it's a whole other story. I've gotten popped in the head enough times to know that. This is a great supplement to self-protection practices, but it shouldn't take the place of hand to hand training.

I am responding to Michael Dobony's opinion of Fight Back. He states DiVito's examples of criminal stories and relating self-defense techniques are unrealistic and resemble "Hollywood" type scenarios. Was he reading the same book I was? The incidences which Divito uses are definitely realistic, i.e., someone breaking into your house in the middle of the night, attempted date rape, being attacked in a parking garage. I am an average American woman, 30 years old, and I can tell you I have either been in or know of people who have been in the situations that Divito uses. Also, if you watch TV news or read the paper, you'll recognize the authors' examples mirror common criminal occurrences. There is nothing Hollywood about the attacks!

Additionally, as far as Fight Back's advice being deadly to the victim....One, the book quotes statistics that prove the effectiveness of self-defense. Two, the moves DiVito teaches are simple and are focused on areas of an attacker's body that are generally accessible and easy to find. For example...gouging an attacker's eye or striking him in the throat. These aren't fancy, difficult, or risky moves for a victim. I think the biggest risk would be to do nothing!

DiVito is honest and smart about not offering guarantees that self-defense works every time, all the time, however his method of defense combined with solid statistics and real-life stories prove it is better to fight back than to do nothing. The book is nothing less than empowering!

This book is a well-written, step-by-step introduction to self-defense. There is an interesting, albeit short foreword by Wynonna Judd showing how she benefited from Mr. DiVito's training and even a testimonial by Chuck Norris to show that the author really knows his stuff. The book is split into two components: mental defense and physical defense. I like the "did you know" boxes that highlight relevant statistics and pertinent vignettes. The introduction actually has a section for you to fill out your goal for learning about the subject, a useful exercise. If you are already a trained martial artist the first half of the book is still well worth the read. If you've never been introduced to the topic the physical concepts in the second half of the book are fairly basic but generally effective but you really should follow-up with physical practice under the guidance of a competent instructor. The various scenarios demonstrate how to apply the movements in realistic settings.

This book is a fantastic introduction to essential safety principles. The author demonstrates effective ways to avoid trouble when you can, fight back when you can't, and develop the mindset necessary to survive a violent encounter. Written primarily for women but sound advice for men too.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction

As a mother of three girls, I'd like to say that I found this book extremely informative. I appreciated the "awareness" element of the book. I will definitely share these elements with my daughters. I want them to be empowered with knowledge, not gripped with fear. If you are unaware of your surroundings or ignorant to the danger you may be putting yourself in (i.e. Natalie Holloway comes to mind) you will be crippled with fear and possibly put in a life threatening position.

As I was reading some of the other reviews for this book, I was amazed - don't blame this book for teaching a criminal mind, we have Hollywood/TV for that - praise this book for trying to combat the wickedness and give you a tool.

I am a personal client of Dominick DiVito. He has taught not only me, but my family, that knowledge is power and unlike pepper spray or a weapon, knowledge will always be there when you need it. Todays culture is educating the criminal mind through television, violent movies and violent video games. It's about time that someone came along with the passion and a tool to educate the rest of us on how to fight back - which this book does! It's an easy read that everyone should make the time for!

One of the main reasons I picked up this book was the DVD that came with it. I am not surprised that none of the reviewers above mentioned it, because there was nothing of value on it! It was a ten-minute teaser that ended up referring you to the author's web site so you could buy a $25 video of his self-defense system. Since the book is nearly all text (only thirty-eight photos)it was assumed, at least by me, that the instruction was on the DVD. It felt like those times when you think you are watching a really interesting review of a new product on TV only to find out it is an informercial.

Don't get me wrong, there is some good information in the text. But the scenario-based, physical self-defense instruction portion of the book was much weaker for lack of illustration--and the DVD is just a marketing trick to get you to buy his video after you have already paid $23 for a book (with a DVD!).

The mental components covered in this book are good. However, the physical skills taught are NOT recommended for those who truely care about their safety.

The author bases the skills on traditional martial arts training when they should instead be based on the realities of life-or-death altercations. The skills should be based on modern physiological and psychological research as well as adhere to the current understanding of motor-skill research.

In short, while the section on mental self-defense is good, there are better books out there covering this subject. I would recommend caution for any reader who believes the physical skills taught in this book will help them in a life-or-death altercation. Also, the book is completely lacking in the area of de-escalation or verbal self-defense, which should be considered long before physical self-defense is attempted.

While the general safety guidelines are excellent, much of the advice is deadly to the crime victim. Always fight back when a weapon is involved? DANGEROUS!! When a weapon is used it is shown to secure compliance, but rarely actually used upon the victim of the crime. If the criminal only wants a wallet, car keys, or cash in a cash register, give it to them! It is not worth risking your life over things. Only fight if what they want is you. Still, it is up to the victim to decide if the risk is worth the fight. To say to always fight back is just as disempowering as to say to never fight back. Compliance is ALWAYS an option to consider, weapon or no weapon.

There is also a profound lack of research and knowledge about actual risks and actual attacks. The focus is on feared or perceived threats that never happen or are so rare that only a literal handful of people are attacked in such Hollywood scene attacks per year. They would make some great drama for the movies, but do not happen in real life. From a martial arts standpoint, the response to these 1 out of 10,000 attack scenarios would be effective. This book would have been much better if Mr. DiVito did some basic research into common, real attacks instead of unrealistic dreams and applied these techniques to real life.

I also wonder how many predators will read this book to become better predators and better prepared to respond to a victim's resistance?

Nationally Certified Women's and Children's self-defense instructor

This book is a waste of paper. No information for anyone wanting to learn how to really protect themselves in here.