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Get Tough! How to Win in Hand-to-Hand Fighting, as Taught to the British Commandos, and the U.S. Armed Forces Paperback – 1974

by W. E. Fairbairn (Author), Hary (Illustrator)
4.1 out of 5 stars 66 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 120 pages
  • Publisher: Paladin Press (1974)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0873640020
  • ISBN-13: 978-0873640022
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 starsGood, but have been improved
By A Customer on March 9, 2004
Format: Paperback
This is a classic, there are no doubts about that. It is the result of one of the first scientific studies of violence in a violent environment by someone who knew what he was doing. What is remarkable about the book is not what is says, but what it do not say. While the book is good in itself, there are much that needs to be known in order to use the contents in an effective manner that is not said in this book. I will try to give a brief summary of this "other" materiel, and some hints to other useful pices of information.
The techniques described herein are based on Faribairn's experiences in the service of the Shanghai Municipal Police in the first decades of the 20th century. By this time Shanghai was one of the most violent and nasty places on earth, ever. These techniques were developed, refined and used by men who regularly fought for their lives with very violent and vicious criminals; there is no fancy dojo "what-ifs" involved here.
The book demonstrates some simple and efficient techniques for maiming and killing the enemy, and encourages the reader to choose A FEW OF THEM and learn them thoroughly. Unfortunately Fairbairn does not devote much time and space to explain the rationale behind this, but in order to perform a technique automatically -- to encode it as a reflex, which is amust for an effective response -- it has to be trained over and over again. Some authorities claim that 5,000 repetitions is required, with three additional correct ones for every flawed execution. Do the math yourself. This is the reason behind the, for some, staggering simplicity of the techniques -- at least compared to those taught in more traditional martial arts etc. If they are to be learnt as instictively as is necessary, they have to be simple.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsGood book for non-martial artists, too!
By Joseph M Burtner on November 9, 2003
Format: Paperback
If you have never taken a martial-arts or self-defense course in your life, you will be able to learn from this book. The techniques in it are simple and brutal, with many involving a knee to the groing and broken limb. It was originally designed for soldiers during WWII, and you can tell by the illustrations. I think it would be a good reference for military historians because of that. Many military orgs. in the west have apparently still clung to many of Fairbairn's moves, such as the chin jab, throat chop, and scrape-stomp. While not filled to the brim with techniques, the book does offer some little "tricks" that aren't found much these days, like using a matchbox or chair to defend yourself. The book also contains a chart showing how long it takes someone to die from various stab wounds (hmm, wonder how he found that out...) and a chapter on the smatchete, which looks like a cross between a Bowie knife and a meat cleaver. Some of the stuff in here is probably not very usefull to the average guy trying to defend himself, like securing a prisoner to a tree, but for the sake of learning what's in the rest of the book, that stuff can be overlooked. Overall, a good book for anyone interested in defending themselves in a life-or-death situation, and an interesting historical piece.
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5.0 out of 5 starsPractical Tips from a Master
By A Customer on July 6, 1999
Format: Paperback
This classic WW2 military training manual is simple in approach and very pragmatic. The author writes with authority and the discriptions and illustrations (by 'Hary') are very clear. Some of the advice, such as how to escape the police staight arm bar restraining hold, and how to properly secure a prisoner are hard to find elsewhere. Some reviewers have implied that the material is 'dated' (difficult to -ahem- imagine in a book almost 60 years old) but I did not find this. Many of the techniques are better suited to military or police use than to the street. The only specific problems I found were the advice to hold the thumb straight out when delivering an edge of hand blow (too east for the adversary to grab) and the times to death from varous knife wounds. Minor details. If readers could fight half as well as Captain Fairbairn, they would be tough indeed. A more comprehensive biography of the author would be a welcome addition.
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2.0 out of 5 starsGet Tough-how to win in hand to hand fighting
By matthew temkin on March 10, 2001
Format: Paperback
As the son of a WW2 Ranger (4th BN) and a former student of Col Rex Applegate I have some insight on this volume. Most of Fairbairn's good material was intentionally left out by Fairbairn and was written mainly for Fairbairn to make some cash since his pension from the SMP was gone with the Japenese capture of Shanghi. Sykes himself called much of the book, "Hokum" and in some manuels listed in Applegate's last book he explains why. This isn't meant to critize Fairbairn himself(who was a true PRATICAL master of close combat) but merely to put this book into perspertive. The blows are excellent, as are the pistol disarms but many of the throws and holds were dropped later on in the war. Police officers are urged to buy a copy of SHOOTING TO LIVE to really appreciate what Fairbairn & Sykes had to offer. A good instructor helps since the blows are delivered in a manner unlike many martial arts being taught today ( the chops, for example, were taught more as a jab/saber cut than as a karate shuto) The WW2 systems are not quite as simple as some instructors like to believe and are hard to learn from books, but this gives good historical refrence.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsMaybe a collector's item?

I had an original book for about 40 plus years and it was in bad shape. I wanted a new copy and this is an exact copy of my original.

Published 26 days ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsPretty good

Good info, but a little dated. A lot of this is common sense if you understand the essentials of hand-to-hand.

Published 26 days ago by Gary L
1.0 out of 5 starsA waste of money

Outdated and worthless. A waste of money.

Published 1 month ago by Graham K.
4.0 out of 5 starsyup. tough. Worth a look if you are ...

yup. tough. Worth a look if you are in to martial arts and self defence.

Published 2 months ago by Lasttrain2Dagenham
5.0 out of 5 starsI Remember When........

Bought it for myself because I remember my hand to hand combat training that we were using this book back in 1964 during black ops in south east Asia. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Manny
5.0 out of 5 stars"Get Tough" is both a relevant self-defense primer and an insightful...

"Get Tough" is worthwhile on two counts: 1) Its techniques for hand-to-hand combat, self-defense techniques are now classic, effective tactics used in the West and appear... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Marvin K. Collison
4.0 out of 5 starsVery good tactics are described in this book

Very good tactics are described in this book, but it lacks depth overall, omitting completely the stances and movements that allow one to complete the tactics with efficiency and... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent book on hand to hand combat.

Excellent book on hand to hand combat. The pictures in the book paint a clear picture of the technique. I highly recommend this product.

Published 13 months ago by Zangetsu
5.0 out of 5 starsGit simple solutions for serious situations.

I like the history of this book. I have read it several times, it becomes clearer with each reading.

Published 15 months ago by Charles
5.0 out of 5 starsDie the old fashioned way .... it still works

Loved it. Every aggressive thug in the world is my huckleberry. Irritate me and your hyoid bone is crushed before you blink ... Read more

Published 16 months ago by Matt Burchett

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