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Geoff Thompson

Art of Fighting Paperback – January 1, 1999

by Geoff Thompson (Author)

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Book by Thompson, Geoff

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160 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Summersdale Pub Ltd
Publication date

January 1, 1999
Dimensions

9.45 x 0.87 x 6.42 inches
ISBN-10

1840240857
ISBN-13

978-1840240856
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Summersdale Pub Ltd (January 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1840240857
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1840240856
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.45 x 0.87 x 6.42 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,583,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,337 in Martial Arts (Books)
- #28,125 in Exercise & Fitness (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 56 ratings

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Geoff Thompson

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Until the age of thirty Geoff Thompson had worked through a plethora of menial jobs, from glass collector to floor sweeper; he even spent a decade working as a nightclub bouncer.

Convinced that there must be more to life than this, Geoff decided to become a martial arts instructor (polled as the number one self defence instructor in the world by Black Belt magazine USA) then followed this by living out his dream of becoming a writer.

He is now the author of thirty-four books published in 15 languages, five multi-award-winning films (one BAFTA nominated, one BAFTA winning), three stage plays and hundreds of published articles.

Geoff's autobiography, Watch My Back, has been adapted into a major motion picture, Clubbed.

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Hotspur

useful

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2023

Verified Purchase

Some useful ideas that I think self defense instructors should use, but it’s hard to get these ideas out of a book

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Decent book

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

Geff content is great however this book is really not around the topic of what’s in the title.

A book about fighting without fighting would teach you proper situational awareness and also share some scripts that you can use in case someone approaches you.

So it’s a decent book but there are better books on the topic that actually share some really good tips on how to deal with these types of situations.

Helpful

Michael Payne1

This great book is a must have

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

This great book is a must have. Practical and to the point. I am always searching for effective ways to handle confrontation. Given that we do not live in a primitive world where we can just bash in each others heads, its refreshing to find a book offering a more intelligent approach. I also suggest his books on "Fear" and "3 Second fighter." Be advised there is a lot of crossover material between the three books, however hearing it so many times helps you grasp the material better.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ken Krauss

Excellent read for those wishing to avoid the confrontation and ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2016

Verified Purchase

Excellent read for those wishing to avoid the confrontation and fist to cuffs. This is the second book I have read by Geoff (the first was The Fence) and he continues in his style of simple explanation that the actual fight is not worth the effort and can easily go the wrong way in less than 3 seconds. Situational awarness, conflict avoidance, knowing when and how to escape, having confidence in your ability to stand your ground if it comes to that are all brought out in this book.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Frederick Wilson

Score one for non-violence

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2015

Verified Purchase

The content is excellent and provides a much-needed infusion of non-violence by a professional bouncer and fighter. I was surprised, however, at the grammatical errors in a book written by a British person. What ever happened to The King's English?

One person found this helpful

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Alain B. Burrese

Practical Advice from Someone Who's Been There and Done That

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2012

"The Art of Fighting Without Fighting: Techniques In Personal Threat Evasion" by Geoff Thompson is a good little book on how to deal with conflict without becoming physical. It's written by a man, Thompson, who's had a fair amount of fighting and violence in his life, and then some. Through the years of sweat and blood, and teaching others physical means to defend themselves, Thompson has come to realize (as many of us in the fighting, martial art, and self-defense arenas do) that there really is a better way than cracking skulls and bashing heads. We can avoid the physical violence altogether. That's what this short book is about. Thompson says it took him nine years of constant violence and many more of soul-searching to realize that violence is not the answer. Maybe this book will shorten the learning curve for many readers. I sure hope so.

The title, obviously taken from the famous scene in "Enter the Dragon" where Bruce Lee describes his style as the art of fighting without fighting, and when the instigator insists on learning more of this style, Lee tricks him into getting into a smaller boat from the larger one they are on and sets him adrift, thus "winning" without fighting. That's what Thompson shares here. Way to win without actually going physical.

After a short introduction, there are five chapters. Avoidance, Escape, Verbal Dissuasion, Posturing, and Restraint. Throughout these chapters, Thompson shares excellent advice, personal stories, and various strategies to to resolve situations without going physical. To beat someone with guile rather than force.

I don't totally agree with Thompson's chapter on Restraint. I will give him that sometimes restraining a person is not as easy as some would want you to believe, but I also have restrained people and don't think it is as "dodgy" as Thompson says. It really does depend on the situation and the person doing the restraining. I do agree with him that trying to restrain one person by yourself when he has friends can be suicide. You don't want to be tied up with a person and have his buddies take it too you.

I liked Thompson's discussion on the flight instinct, and how we can train ourselves and our students to overcome this natural instinct when perhaps running away is not in our best interests. And I really liked how he talked about ego and not letting your ego get you into trouble.

Anyone who is into "fighting" should read this book. Might keep a person or two out of trouble or from being hurt or killed by continuing down that path. Those that don't want to engage in physical encounters should read this book too. There is some great advice on avoiding violence in this little gem of a book.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of "How To Protect Yourself By Developing A Fighter's Mindset"

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

N. Engelen

I Highly recommend this book to everyone with an interest in martial arts and self-defence.

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2012

The art of fighting without fighting. By Geoff Thompson

In Dutch we have a saying that when translated into English goes as follows: `An avoided fight is a won fight!' Also Sun Tzu spoke about Winning without battle. Looking at history we can find many stories of martial arts masters looking for ways to not have to fight. This ranged from sword masters asking a challenger to sit next to him on a bush before the duel as a condition for the master to accept the challenge (of course the challenger would find this and impossible task), to Bokuden inviting the a rude guy to come and see his art of fighting without fighting one an island. After rowing there the all too eager rude guy leaped out of the boat onto the island where after Bokuden pushed the boat back into the water and rowing away, leaving the ruffian behind. This inspired the `Enter the dragon' scene where Bruce Lee tricks a challenger to jump into a boat as he believed they would have a match on an island.

Geoff Thompson had hundreds of physical confrontations during his 9 year career as a bouncer on the doors of Coventry's nightclubs. There he literally saw the meaning of Bonaparte's saying that the spectacle of a field of battle after the combat, is sufficient to inspire Princes with the love of peace, and the horror of war. In this book Geoff shows us an alternative to fighting and shows how to avoid physical confrontation. It all starts with awareness Geoff explains awareness techniques where after he goes into the different strategies ranging from escape to talking the person down as well as trigger his flight instinct.

The information in this book will save your good looks as well as save you from being arrested or sued. I Highly recommend this book to everyone with an interest in martial arts and self-defence.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

S J Buck

Thought provoking reading

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2007

Geoff Thompson is an ex-doorman as well as being a first class martial artist. He is 6th Dan at Karate and 1st Dan Judo. If you have read his autobiography 'Watch my back' you will know that he has done it all in terms of real fighting.

This book seeks to address the way to avoid fights in the first place, something that even Geoff Thompson now does. As he says in this book if some guy nicks your road space or cuts you up in his car is it worth a fight, when the result might be that one or other of you is seriously injured(or even killed). Is someone nicking your space worth 10 years in prison? When you think of it in that way the answer is clearly no. You may be as tough as hell, but there can always be someone tougher out there...

He breaks the book down into five main areas: Avoidance, Escape, Verbal Dissuasion, Postering & Restraint. Each is dealt with in about fifteen pages and the book is just short of 100 pages in length. I was particularly interested in his explanation of the adrenaline rush that precedes a fight which is frequently mistaken for fear, but is the bodies natural 'fight or flight' reaction to a stressful situation.

Whether you are a martial artist, or just somebody who would like to know how better to avoid trouble, this is well worth reading.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Theosophist

More valuable than Training

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2013

This little book contains so many practical and real world tested techniques to avoid confrontations it is well worth it for any martial artist. These things are almost never discussed in the gym but are almost more important than the training. Written in layman's terms and explained very well. Geoff is terrific!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jimmy McGee

Should be compulsory reading.

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2005

Geoff is a hero of mine.

He's a real star...go, buy everything the man has written!

He said "I'm gonna be an writer"...he does it!

He said "I'm gonna be a top ten writer." he does it!

He said "I'm gonna win an Oscar"...I said "mmmmh..?"

He only goes and wins a bloody BAFTA (British Oscar)!!

I was having a hard time in my life...I wrote to Geoff, without ever having met or spoken...he wrote right back...sent me a free copy of this book and changed my life.

Can't really say much more than that.

7 people found this helpful

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