Customer Reviews

Tactical Defensive Training For Real-life Encounters: Practical Self-Preservation for Law Enforcement

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

 

 

In this book, famous defensive tactics author Ralph Mroz shares his unconventional view on self defense. Mroz does not just go thorough the same tactical doctrine almost every gun writer uses. Instead, he starts to explore the total field of self preservation from the ground up. The book is comprised of articles published in various magazines before, but as the text is heavily edited, it does not get repetitive, as usually happens in books that are collections of old writings.

This book is divided in four sections. The first one handles self defence in bigger picture, the second is on mental stuff, the third focuses on edged weapons, and the fourth handguns. In the first section, Mroz fixes his attention on self preservation, rather than self defence. He states that you should invest in the safety measures that are most likely to be of need: As you are much more likely to need skills in CPR than gunplay, you should concentrate more enegry on learning first aid than improving your shooting skills. Mroz also points out that it is illogical to train self defence, and at the same time risk your life by smoking cigarettes.

That same approach is evident throughout the whole book. Mroz does not do the things the same way they have always been done, instead he strives to see the bigger picture, and starts from there instead of focusing on a details first. Mroz is one of the few innovators in the field of self defense who constantly question the old thruths. Even if you don't agree with everything he writes, you still learn more from this book than by reading yet another book of your favourite self defense author. If you have not read books or watched films by Mroz before, reading this book can be a powerful eye opener.

This is the the best self defense book I read and the reason is simple, it covers a lot of aspects of self defense, far beyond the usual fighting techniques, and it does it in a rational and priority oriented way. And also in a way that an average person can benefit from.

This book is about the real thing, it stresses self preservation not only from hypothetical scenarios that the average Joe will hardly face but also from the more imminent dangers like the results of unhealthy habits.

Among the things that I liked, this book points awareness, prevention and street smartness as the first line of defense in the street, it moves then to fighting techniques, contact weapons and guns. Gives teachings, tips and also points common mistakes. It is also full of quotes by pros in the business.

I grew up in a city and I had several encounters with street robbers, I never had or have any intention of fighting a criminal unless a life or integrity's at stake, however I escaped or avoided several assaults without violence or putting myself in harm's way, exactly because I focused on awareness, proper attitude and followed the advices of police officers on how to act in this kind of situation.

Of course like any other book it is not perfect, even if I gave it five stars it should be questioned, but the author is open minded enough to present exceptions and other points of view contrary to his beliefs.

I hope to find more books like this.

Mostly one criticism after another of everyone elses books. He may be correct at times
but offers only some strong opinions to back it up. Never does he provide any stats nor real life encounters of those who have utilized his methods.

Tactical Defensive Training for Real-Life Encounters: Practical Self-Preservation for Law Enforcement by Ralph Mroz is a collection of articles and columns that have previously appeared in magazines. The book has four sections as follows:

Section 1: Self-Defense in Context
Section 2: Self-Defense Software: The Mental Stuff
Section 3: Edged Weapons
Section 4: Firearms

I am not a big fan of books that are put together from a collection of articles and columns that have appeared in magazines because such books tend to significantly lack depth and continuity of ideas. Essentially you get superficial snippets of information. While the information may be solid and valuable it fails to delve into the minutia for those who are really looking to dive into the details. While the information in this book is good there really are no new concepts or ideas being presented to offer a unique or different perspective. Although the book is marketed as "Practical Self-Preservation for Law Enforcement" I would not consider it specific only to "law enforcement" as the book is applicable to anyone interested in their safety and security.

Chapter 12 is titled "Carnie Tricks" which has a section called: "The No-Fist-Suit-Switcheroo" which brings out an excellent and valid point that many techniques will work when practiced at any speed slower than full speed. How many times have you seen an instructor demonstrate a technique at a slower than realistic speed with controlled force and the instructor performs the technique with complete perfection? This in not reality and while we don't want people to become injured in training we do need to practice realistically with appropriate precautions. For people to really know if a technique is going to work they need to practice it at full speed AND full force utilizing appropriate safety gear. Another trick is when instructors demonstrate a technique at an unrealistic distance which is usually too far away from the aggressor for there to be any real danger. The bottom line is that if a technique does not work when practiced at full speed and full force then discard the technique for one that is practical, realistic and effective. For those who work in law enforcement this means selling the technique to a bureaucratic administrator who needs to give the stamp of approval!

If you are new to the concept of safety and security this book would be a valuable starting point to jump start your knowledge base. If you are experienced with this subject matter then this book will be a review of what you already know so don't expect any new ideas or concepts.

Other books that I recommend to augment this book:
Principles Of Personal Defense
COMBATIVE FUNDAMENTALS an Unconventional Approach
MindSighting: Mental Toughness Skills for Police Officers in High Stress Situations
Tactical Pistol Marksmanship: How To Improve Your Combat Shooting Skills
On Combat, The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace
Leadership And Training For The Fight: A Few Thoughts On Leadership And Training From A Former Special Operations Soldier
The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence
The Strategies of Low-Light Engagements by Ken Good
Training at the Speed of Life, by Kenneth R. Murray

The author is well-known for his expertise in law enforcement firearm training. (See Defensive Shooting for Real-Life Encounters) This great book covers the subject of combatives and self-defense for the street. In this respect it goes into greater detail on this topic. The text is broken down into four comprehensive sections. Section one covers self-defense in context, which provides the basic requirements for successful street combat. The second section deals with the important mental aspects of street combat. Edged weapons are explored in section three. The final section covers in detail firearms.

In conclusion, this is a book for all street officers and especially defefensive tactics and firearm instructors.

Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Monadnock Defensive Tactics (MDTS) System).

Mroz does a good job of putting self-defense training into perspective by asking questions and offering his opinions. Chapters cover training in general, mindset, edged weapons and firearms.

This book, like his first, is written to make you think. Although I agree with much of what he says, he tends to view things from the perspective of a law enforcement officer who trains because they must and needs to allocate their training time based on the probability they will need a particular skill. There are many reasons people may engage in self defense training, and not all of them directly relate to self defense. For some, it's a lifestyle choice or a preferred way to exercise. His advocacy of first aid training and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are positives and something not everyone connects to the overall concept of self defense.

Some of the chapters seemed out of sync, i.e. the "home defense gun" and "shooting without spectacles". They were thought provoking, but felt like he already had the material (from a magazine article) and just plugged it into the book.

Overall it is a good book and worth my time to read.

Once you get past the first chapter of this book, you will be rewarded with a pretty decent starting point for beginning personal self-fense strategies. That subsequent information makes this book worthwhile, especially the portion on recognizing potential threatening situations and avoiding them if possible. It's good to have the mantra "Be Alert" pounded into your head frequently. This book--like numerous others--does that well. There is also a "down-and-dirty" look at some techniques--particularly empty-hand techniques--that simply don't work in real life.

But you have to get past that first chapter to get to what's useful.

The first chapter "Self Preservation: The Bigger Picture" might cause some to toss the book aside. It almost caused me to do so. The subsection "The Five Pillars of Health" begins with the ludicrous opinion that it is irrational for cigarette smokers and fat people to be armed and to study self-defense techniques. Is that not elitist, or what?

Now, no one is going to argue that smoking is not stupid and unhealthy or that obesity is a healthy lifestyle. But Mroz is making blanket statements that, by extension, indicates he thinks the lives of people who are not in top shape are worth less than those of healthy people. Further, this indicates those who are debilitated or aged are not entitled to the same level of self-defense as the young and healthy. This ignores the likelihood that the debilitated and aged probably need to have access to guns for self-defense moreso than the young and healthy so they can "level the playing field" in a dangerous encounter. Hmmm, this sounds a lot like the current debate on national healthcare. You know the spiel about ultimate national health policies that will let the old folks, the disabled and the chronically ill die because medical care would be wasted on those who are not healthy and those who are closer to death. It's a repugnant, elitist attitude and should be universally condemned.

I dock this book two stars for that bit of stupidity. Otherwise, it's not bad.

If you have a interest in Defensive Training, you must buy this book. It is well thought out and does not just preach the popular mantra. Buy it and learn.

To set expectations before reading this book: it does not go into the details of hand-to-hand, close quarters combat, dry-fire exercises, or the like; it provides the foundation for approaching 'real-world' defensive encounters and does a great job providing the 'why' to back up the dialogue. Which is a welcome change from other texts that spew alot of theoretical jargon with no correlation to realistic situations. The text includes advice on defensive 'hardware' such as weapon selection for specific needs.

The author is extremely in touch with reality and provides continuing affirmation that 'real-life encounters' and 'training for them' are 2 concepts that are extremely hard to mesh into one!

Ralph Mroz has joined the ranks of those counted amongst the top firearms/defensive tactics writers currently out there. I own several of his books and have enjoyed both his perspective and common sense approach to things.