9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A little misleading, but good principles., November 8, 2003
This review is from: Taking It to the Street : Making Your Martial Art Street Effective (Paperback)
I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this book. I'll cover the "hate" part first, since I want to end on a positive note.
My main problem is that I'm not sure if the author is presenting himself accuratley. I only bring this up because knowing where he tested his principles ought to tell you the environment it's suited for. I can believe that he "bounced" at, for instance, a buddy's party. I can believe that he has had punches thrown at him in anger. I can believe that he's "gone at it" with guys in a parking lot. I don't believe, however, that this was anything more than a guy trying to prove how tough he was. I don't believe he ever went toe-to-toe with the Bloods, or a similar gang, as he implies. I just don't believe that he is "street", but he presents himself as such. Now, on to the book. If you have a karate/tae kwon do/kickboxing type of background, this book won't be easy to read. The author is basically presenting modified principles of Wing Chun and kali/silat. Your side-facing, high-kicking stuff is not discused much beyond, "it's a bad idea". In that respect, I think most martial artists will not learn how to make their stuff "street effective". Another problem I have, and part of the reason I take issue with the author, is the fact that most of his game plan starts off, "when the other guy punches you...", which just sounds like suicide to me. Most fights I've seen, and even the early UFC's, show that the guy who hits first, hardest, and the most times usually walks away. You can fix this by reading Geoff Thompson's stuff. Also, the book isn't really edited well (who am I to talk?), but it's just small things, like a missing photo or footnote.
On to the "love" side of things: I like most of the principles presented. The idea of a wedge, taking the centerline, screwing with your opponent's center of gravity, climing over him to escape... The book is worth buying, just because there is so much stuff that the author gets right. I don't care if he learned in in a bar or in his back yard, a lot of the principles are sound. He has great chapters on defending against kicks and making throws work. He also references several other people's works, which can give the reader more food for thought. He also seems to be talking directly to "hard" stylists when he's doing his explainations, which makes them a little easier to understand. And there's a chapter about the psychology of using violence to communicate which may very well be worth the price of the book.
In conclusion, I'd say this book is more oriented towards using a few "tricks" and principles to take out the guy who squares off with you from *several feet away* in a parking lot, and does not deal directly with more realistic threats. But reading it could improve your general game plan that I had to give it four stars. I'd just say not to make this your bible, and check around. Pick out what works for you.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful, February 15, 2000
This review is from: Taking It to the Street : Making Your Martial Art Street Effective (Paperback)
Marc MacYoung is one of the most analytical martial arts writers today. Drawing on his own real-life experiences as well as his unique ability to see deep into an issue, this book, as well as others by MacYoung, fills a void for those seeking solid information that will help them in the street. As an author of 12 books on the martial arts, I highly recommend this one.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read this book, December 31, 2001
This review is from: Taking It to the Street : Making Your Martial Art Street Effective (Paperback)
As a 10-year law enforcement officer and 8-year martial artist, I can attest to the fact that fighting in the dojo and fighting in the street are totally different. There really is no comparison.
Mr. MacYoung devotes a lot of material to convince the reader of this immutable truth and then, once he has the reader's attention, gets to the good stuff. And believe me, its really good stuff.
This book should be in any martial artist's library that considers his/her martial art as a self-defense tool. In other words, if you plan on or believe you will ever use your martial art for self-defense on the street rather than as a sport or spiritual tool, then this book is a must read.
Mr. MacYoung, Mr. Geoff Thompson and Mr. Peyton Quinn are in the forefront of truly effective street self-defense today. They cover all the bases - awareness and avoidance (the PRIMARY self-defense tools), combat and finally, legal issues, which most authors gloss over if they cover at all. I cannot tell you how refreshing this is.
This book is not a bunch of pretty techniques for impressing your friends but a good, basic and simple system of principles and concepts to save your life when all else fails.
Now go and get it.
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