Street Karate: A Complete Course in Self-Defense [Illustrated] [Paperback]

John McSweeney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998

Street Karate consists of 35 real-life case studies of men and women from all walks of life who used simple karate techniques to successfully defend themselves against muggers, rapists, murderers, carjackers and other bad guys. Find out how they did it and see how you can protect yourself from similar attacks by learning these brutally effective, street-proven strikes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Press; illustrated edition edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873649664
• ISBN-13: 978-0873649667
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,268,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Words from a combat theorist, March 13, 2001

By 

Joseph Huang "Pretty Boy of Duluth" (Duluth, Georgia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Street Karate: A Complete Course in Self-Defense (Paperback)

I have studied many fighting systems, such as the martial arts, wrestling, and boxing. I've also spent quite a bit of time reading books that cover such subjects. Overall, I must say that this is the best self-defense book I have ever read. I've read other books, such as U.S. Marines Close-Quarters Combat Manual, Guge Gongji : 7 Primary Targets to Take Anyone Out of a Fight by Hei Long, and Dynamic Aikido. The problem with those books is that there are still too many useless techniques involved. John McSweeney's Street Karate gets to the point in terms of basic combat applications. He points out what part of the body is vulnerable to certain strikes. He also offer alternatives to his suggestions. Keep in mind that these techniques are all based on 35 actual cases of physical confrontations! If these people were able to defend themselves effectively with these techniques, then rest assure that you can too. In this book, you will not learn how to artistically execute a jump-spin-and-hook kick. You will not be taught to block a kick with a fancy and ineffective downward block. Nor will you be taught to stand in over-exaggerated stances, such as the white crane-stance or the cat-stance. Instead, Kempo Karate, the system that most of these techniques are based on, along with this book, teaches very simple and realistic combat strategies. What you will learn is what to do if, while you are walking home from work or school one day, somebody grabs you by the shirt and pulls you into an alley. The victim in one of McSweeney's case studies leopard-palm striked the attacker as he was pulling the victim towards him. The movement of the attacker's pull caused the victim's strike to become even more powerful than it might have been. What do you do when a man grabs you by the front of your shirt? A school bully accosted a boy in one of McSweeney's case studies in this manner. The victim's solution: he rapidly palm striked the aggressor on his forehead on the location right between the attacker's eyes. The result: The aggressor released the victim and was dazed by the victim's blows. As you can see, the techniques taught in this book are very simple to execute indeed. For artistic demonstrations of the martial arts you should buy any karate or kung-fu book you desire. However, for true self-defense applications, John McSweeney's Street Karate is the one to buy. Buy this book and see for yourself why Kempo Karate is so widely practiced. I also recommend The Best Defense : True Stories of Intended Victims Who Defended Themselves With a Firearm, for those of you pragmatist (like myself) who like to blend practical martial arts with a formidable self-defense accompaniment.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A collection of case studies in self-defense., March 15, 1999

By 

Dex Randall Howard "Randy Howard" (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Street Karate: A Complete Course in Self-Defense (Paperback)

Street Karate is a collection of case studies of actual self-defense situations. Each case describes the situation, then re-enacts the defense using photographs. Its value is in demonstrating how the techniques worked in real life. The general lesson: Keep it simple. Use hand techniques at vulnerable spots: temple, side of neck, under jaw, throat, solar plexus, etc. If you've ever asked, "What works?" this book will provide answers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shows proven applications of Kenpo, December 27, 2003

By 

Joseph M Burtner (Kennesaw, Georgia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Street Karate: A Complete Course in Self-Defense (Paperback)

I like this book very much, primarily because it was based on actual studies of violent confrontations, and showed the techniques that were used effectively. However, the basic moves were not shown by themselves anywhere in the book, and I believe that someone with no formal training in a striking art might have some problems with that. However, for those who do have training, this book shows the applications of most familiar techniques in a real-life setting. Also, "Kamakaze Fighting," by Michael Vassolo, does show the basic techniques by themselves, and these two books complement each other well (the authors of these two books are apparently longtime associates, who use the same style). "Street Karate" is mostly a case-study book, and the lessons in it are valuable to any practitioner of Karate/Kenpo/TKD who wants to see how effective his techniques are on the street. Those with no martial arts experience can find value in it, but I'd recommend picking up "Kamakaze Fighting" if you're not familiar with karate-style strikes.