Customer Reviews

Three Second Fighter

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

 

 

Geoff Thompson is an accomplished martial artist and an ex-doorman with a lot experience of how best to deal with the mugger/thug/guy in the pub looking for trouble. The title of the book is a reference to the fact that most fights are over after one punch.

What this short book mainly teaches you is how to recognise the signs that someone is about to give you a whack. If you know before someone is going to hit you, that they are about to do so, you can hit them first. Since the majority of fights are over after one punch you will be the 'winner' if you can do this. This of course pre-supposes that you have the nerve, and have done the neccessary training etc. He covers a number of other topics, most noteably his concept of the fence.

As with all Geoff Thompsons' books that I have read, I found this easy to read, understand and very useful.

I have nearly all of Geoff Thompson's technical books, and I believe this is the best one. In this book, Mr. Thompson covers the difference between a match fight, a gratuitous assault, and a pre-planned mugger's approach of disarming; the effects of muscle memory and action triggers; the different kinds of adreneline and how they effect a fighter; why you should have a 'main artillery' weapon and how to use it; and training for incorperating these newfound principles. Off hand, I'd say the most valuable part of this book is how to deal with the law when it comes to post-fight conditions. Once again, Mr. Thompson, a karate black-belt turned bouncer, covers his 'fence' system and how to use it. Overall, this book gives the reader a terrific game plan for self-defense by giving him or her true knowledge of how fights go down and what to expect.

One of the best self-protection books out there. One of the few martial arts instructors or self-protection instructors who understands and goes into the psychology of fighting. Most martial arts instructors get it wrong in that they ignore things like adrenaline (!), and the "pre-fight rituals" that go on, from eye contact, to the "what are you looking at...". to the aggressive body language, etc. He shows you how to spot it, and he shows you how to beat it, and defeat the attacker (recognizing that the attack is coming is at least half the battle). He also discusses other, non-violent options, and also that your goal is to hit and run, not fight.

I thought it very interesting the entire discussion of the British legal system in the book. In short: the British police are arming themselves for the new threats around them, which are increasing, all the while, denying the average citizen the very same non-lethal options that they enjoy (CS spray is illegal in Britian, for instance). As the author puts it, the legal and police system in the UK has failed the average citizen, and won't protect you.

This book includes surprisingly much concept-level information about self defence and real life fighting in less than 100 pages. There are no techniques included, unless you count three different ready positions as techniques. What this book does instead, is teach you about the concepts and principles of fighting, and more importantly, how to avoid fighting in the first place.

The book handles many essential skills and sectors of self defence, like awareness of one's surroundings, the anatomy of a fight and so on. There is also some information on non verbal communications, but out of necessity the information is not very profound. There are also some very good training exercises in the book.

In short, this book includes surprisingly large amount of information, given the low page count. And the information is of excellent quality. As this book is very quick to read, it can be recommended to anyone who wishes to get solid information about real-life self defense.

I think I have all of Geoff Thompson's technical books now, and I believe this is the best one. In this book, Mr. Thompson covers the difference between a match fight, a gratuitous assault, and a pre-planned mugger's approach of disarming; the effects of muscle memory and action triggers; the different kinds of adrenaline and how they effect a fighter; why you should have a 'main artillery' weapon and how to use it; and training for incorporating these newfound principles.

One of the most valuable parts of this book is how to deal with the law when it comes to post-fight conditions.

Once again, Mr. Thompson, a karate black-belt turned bouncer, covers his 'fence' system and how to use it.

Overall, this book gives the reader a terrific game plan for self-defence by giving him or her true knowledge of how fights go down and what to expect.

If you are among those souls that view streetfighting as an opportunity to prove your mettle in some highly idealized exercise in hypermasculinity, or somehow view the activity as a right of passage, then "3 Second Fighter" is probably not for you. On the other hand, if you are a serious student of Urban Combatives or concerned with what works in the "Real World", then the strategy outlined in this book would be classified as imperative. Save the Honor and Glory bit for the appropriate field of battle. Line-up fighting is a highly specialized art form that views such notions as counterproductive. This book is in essence, "The Shining Path."

This is an excellent book and should be in the library of every serious martial artist. It features realistic techniques from real life and street defenses that are easily learned.