Customer Reviews

"Secrets" of Effective Offense: Survival Strategies for Self-Defense, Martial Arts, and Law Enforcement

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This outstanding tome is really not so much a "how to" book of techniques as it is a set of strategic principles that you can incorporate into any martial style to develop a more effective offense. Written by one of the nation's leading experts on aggression and real-life fighting, it is a clear and comprehensive approach to refining your ability to survive a violent encounter.

Before describing the content of this book it is worthwhile pointing out what an effective offense is and why you ought to care about it: If you get beat down on the street you will be totally at the mercy of your attacker for your continued well-being. You could just as easily wake up in the hospital as you could end up in a box. At a time when an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient was raped and murdered less than an hour after wandering away from her residence, a father was beaten to death by three teenagers in front of his son, and thousands of other murders, muggings, and beatings took place around the country this very week, there might not be all that much mercy out there for you if you lose a street encounter to the wrong person. Don't get me wrong, this book certainly does not advocate picking fights, but it does show a comprehensive methodology for turning the tables on your attacker if you are assaulted and cannot get away.

As a 30+ year martial artist I did not find a whole lot that I did not already know but I did discover a new lens for viewing the knowledge, one that is quite enlightening. The author's writing style is refreshing and clear, devoid of the cynical platitudes and four letter witticisms that fill many of his previous works. You get all of Animal's experience without his attitude, something that has turned off traditional martial artists from MacYoung's works in the past. It's not that the previous works did not have great content just that they were somewhat hard to read for many folks. That's definitely not a problem here. It's packed with vital information and pleasant to read.

Contents include components of effective power, understanding range, body movement, structure, blocking and deflecting, parrying and countering, pulling, twisting, and takedowns among other subjects. The pictures and illustrations truly complement the excellent text. The book really helps you understand what works and why, set priorities, and develop a mindset that can really work. And it's easy to integrate into what you already know (in fact the author encourages just that). It helps you get your priorities straight and be sure that you can accomplish them. I really believe that this is MacYoung's best book yet. Wholeheartedly recommended!

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

This is a magnificent book. I kept thinking of Musashi's Book of Five Rings as I read it (although Marc Mac Young doesn't think as much of Musashi as some do).

This is written by a short, pudgy, poorly conditioned guy who can turn you into a pretzel and roll you down the hill.

He's done a lot of fighting (like Musashi) and has in his mature years given it up (like Musashi). In this book, he assumes that his last ten books about fighting have told the world that NOT GETTING INTO FIGHTS is a good idea, so he doesn't belabor that idea.

Instead, he thoughtfully and systematically discusses ways to end fights quickly, and reasonably safely, and with little danger to the defender. He appears to have focus on talking to LEOs, but the book is useful to anybody who would just as soon avoid being on the losing end of a spirited discussion involving left hooks.

THIS IS NOT A BOOK FOR BEGINNERS OR MARTIAL PERFORMANCE ARTISTS, OR TEENAGERS WHO ARE BEING BULLIED AT HIGH SCHOOL (It's not for beginners because it's post-graduate stuff; it's not for performance artists because...well, this guy doesn't even wear a karate gi in his pictures. and it's not for bullied teenagers in high school because that's what boxing, wrestling, weightlifting and Tegner books are for.)

There are not a lot of big pretty pictures. There is a lot of text, all of it working to explain ways to wrap up fights without crushing throats. There is a lot of discussion of balance, the physics of fistic interactions, and the multiple ways that people react to being attacked (including a discussion of "freezing", which is pretty common).

The photos in the book are small, crummy quality, and illustrate the text admirably.

Mr. Mac Young suggests reading the book in chunks, and rereading it, because he says he put a lot of experience into it.

And that shows. He has a strong intellectual understanding of fighting, and he both steals from the best, and attributes generously. He gave Jack Dempsey an appendix, which made perfect sense to me; Jack's
"Championship Boxing" is one of the the all-time best books on hitting, boxing and fistfighting, and Mark has read and understood and incorporated Dempsey's lessons in his book.

While he didn't beat it to death in this book, Marc "Animal" Mac Young also spent a lot of time actually fighting before he woke up and figured out that he'd die a lot sooner if he kept it up. So he's not a supermarket shopper teaching farming.

What makes this such a good book is that he didn't simply rely on what kept he alive when he was a street punk. He analyzed the fights and ambushes and sucker punches he'd given and gotten, and incorporated that experience with insights from areas as diverse as Dempsey, Tai Chi, and the SCA.

This is a brilliant and insightful masterwork, and comparing it to Musashi's masterwork is not too strong. I may be wrong, of course, but at least I'm certain!

You'll want to read this more than once, and practice and experiment.

And if you get a chance, take a class with Animal; I know that after I've read this book, I'm going to try to schedule one.

After reading countless books from the local Dojo Library, which I help maintain and stock, I must rate this one at the top, number 1 on my "best books" list! This author has filled a much needed gaping hole in the common sense department of martial arts instruction. Until now, this area has been ignored/avoided/discounted by the martial arts authors.

This is no garnish heavy, infomercial, esoteric, mcdojo fodder in "secrets". What you get is a flintstones-sized slab of meat and potatos. Very little, if any, fluff, the rest is your meal, which you will have to take hom and chew on later, and then again, and again.

What I liked the best about the author's writing style is that he uses story and personal examples to illustrate his points. He has actually lived through real life violence and knows and understands the perilous and nightmarish aftermath of an assault. Unlike the swaggering peacock, with his 5 time super chump logo across his gi top, the author doesn't come across as bragging when he does share these stories.

In my opinion, he seems to write for both beginner and expert. He addresses some interesting teaching strategies in the later half of the book. In the former half, he addresses common sense street smart strategies. I highly recommend his work to both men and women, novice and teacher. His work offers something for everyone. This work is one of those reference books that you might read, then read again after a year, and again after five years and each time you pick up this tect you will discover something profound, that speaks to your training, that you didn't see before.

I too, would have willingly, happily paid much more for this valuable reference. His honesty, genuine tone and clean simplicity are a breath of fresh air in this wasteland and innundation of so called martial arts experts!

If I were building another martial arts library this book would be my first one on the shelf for personal and student use!

If you are into the martial arts, be it anything from grappling to weapon sparring, this book is for you. No matter if you are a 'two times a week for fun' or a hard core professional fighter this book should be your new Bible.
Marc MacYoung explains in depth the principles of correct movement, the importance of range, and the critical need for proper structure/stance in this very well written and easy to understand book. There are plenty of illustrations and pictures showing these principles in action. He advices strongly to look at your techniques, every strike, kick, block and throw, and make sure the principles are there, the 'building codes' for your moves to maximize their efficiency. Why can one person make a technique work splendidly while another can't? It's all in the proper application of principles, or lack thereof. He also includes a lot of basic exercises in order to learn these fundamental principles.
I paid full price for this book, and I would gladly have paid twice that and still be VERY happy with this book.

Here's the the thesis of this book: force = mass x acceleration. A sound thesis. However, birds cannot describe the laws of aerodynamics. Similarly, if you wish to learn how to hit hard, you should join a boxing gym for 6 months, not read a book on physics, which "Secrets of Effective Offense," unfortunately, tries to be.

Compounding the problem of his dry, academic approach to fighting, is the author's condescending tone. To paraphrase him, most martial artists are never taught the proper technique of hitting hard, and if you aren't taught his theories EXPLCITLY, you don't know them. Furthermore, according to MacYoung, today's "mixed martial artists" are simply trying to make up for a lack of technique by packing on muscle. I'm sure Mark MacYoung could look at a video of Chuck Liddell throwing one of his "sloppy" punches and find a dozen "power leaks," as he calls them. Forgive me if I'm more impressed by the fighter who can hit like a mule than the pudgy "expert" who nitpicks about form.

In as far as MacYoung's ideas are useful, they are common sense. He talks about range, for example. It is common knowledge that one cannot throw an effective punch from too close or too far away from an opponent. He talks about body movement. It is common knowledge that stepping into a strike increases its power. His suggestions for applying these principles, as illustrated in small, grainy, black and white photos, are extremely unrealistic - one man stands at the ready with his hand cocked at his hip while his partner throws a punch and leaves his arm extended, leaving it waiting there for the wrist lock, etc. As many other martial authors point out, real world violence is ugly, brutal, fast, and usually happens within the space a of telephone booth. MacYoung, despite his claims of being from the "mean streets," seems to have overlooked these factors.

To top all this off, MacYoung's writing style would have "Strunk and White" spinning in their graves. He says in 300 pages what could be said in 50.

The only reason I gave this book two stars instead of one is because it has an interesting appendix describing Jack Dempsey's out of print book on boxing.

I would recommend Geoff Thompson's "Dead or Alive," or Kelly McCann/Jim Grover's, "Combatives," many times over this book.

Easy to read entertaining blue collar read on the fundamentals of fighting where the opponent is trying to hurt you, not shake your hand after the fight. He frequently reinforces the thesis that an attacker will not likely stand still while you show off your moves and may even disrupt your strikes or do something unexpected leaving you in a very bad situation. The book is broken down to an overview with chapters on striking, stance, blocks and parries , etc. There are drills included for testing his theories. My lazy [...] has only been reading though.

This book reads more like a science text than a self-defense book. THe problem is that in real life assault scenario, you do not really think about anything else than fight or flight. Only the easiest moves are applied which should be practiced until they become reflex. Everything else is BS. I want a book that I can read today and use what I learned tomorrow, this is not it.

This book takes an intellectual approach to street combat. In fact, the strategies explained in this book are, in my opinion, almost too advanced for a beginner in the martial arts or combatives. The author is well-known and respected in the practical street combat arts. He takes a no-nonsense approach as he explains each detail of his system. A 256 page tomb that focuses on strategy, but does not cover enough techniques.

The fourteen chapters cover the following areas:

Basics and Fundamentals
Defining the problem
The Three components of power delivery
Understanding Range
Body Movement
Structure
Faith and Tactical Application
Blocking and Deflecting
Parrying and Countering
Reconsidering What You Already Know
Regaining Lost Aspects
Different Offense: Pulling
Different Offense: Twisting
In Closing

In conclusion, this short review cannot do this book justice. If you are interested in not just techniques but details on combat strategy, this book is for you.
Rating: 4 Stars Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Pro-Systems Combatives Vol. 1,2).

This book is typical of Mr. MacYoung's books: very authentic and with unique insights that you can only get if you have been there and done that, and not just heard about it.

The great thing about this book is that it focuses on strategy and not just tactics. As MacYoung has mentioned, most martial arts school and self defense instructors hand you the "tools" to build a house (to use a metaphor the author uses), and then they think that by giving you these tools (kicks, blocks, punches, throws, etc.) you can go on to build a house (become a good martial artist who really can fight on the street). It is just not true. You have to have a blueprint of what you want to do, and then get the tools to do it.

I liked the idea in the book that things like timing and structure are so important. I study boxing, kali, and silat, as well as jeet kune do, and in all these arts, timing and structure are critical. In silat in particular, body placement and structure are critical (you can't throw someone unless you are positioned to do it). I kept reading this book and thinking of how many of his insights are similar to things I have learned in silat. And at the same time, there are concepts that don't come from silat.

Very good book on the how of martial arts. It shows you how to fill in the gaps in whatever you are studying, and how to avoid common errors and misconceptions.