Conceptual Self-Defense by C. V. Rhoades

he author to this book: "Conceptual Self-Defense - a Personal Guide to Self-Protection", C. V. Rhoades is from the USA, where she works as a self-defense instructor. Rhoades is aiming this book to men as much as women. And after all there's a lot of common ground, even though the situations themselves as well as the set-ups and escalations may differ.

You may just as well draw a mental blanket over the physical self-defense techniques that are shown here. They are few (which of course may be a good thing in self-defense), and you will find better stuff other places - not only better, but explained and demonstrated better also.

The positive side to "Conceptual Self-Defense" is that it covers the other issues about self-defense and personal protection in a straightforward and well laid out manner. Even though most of this stuff is from other people (like Gavin de Becker and Geoff Thompson), the author manages to make it into her own, and presents it all in a clear and concise way. She presents our survial instincts, how to control the process of thoughts, how to work and make decisions under stress, how to avoid being a victim, conquering fear, and more.

The author points to something very important, namely that being prepared, and doing some structured choices during the course of action can make you relax more. Many people tend to believe that a focus on security and planning makes you more paranoid and tense - not so!

By building on the vast experiences of people like Thompson and de Becker, the author manages to gather lots of great information in one place. With only eight years of experience it is of little wonder that Rhoades needs to lean on others to present this book. That's quite ok, when it's done nicely like this. You hear the authors voice at all times, and there are many great examples throughout the book.

Anyone interested in the subject of personal protection and security will find great stuff here, well suited for both genders of all ages. The book is hereby recommended (apart from the self-defense techniques). Remember always to do a search on Abebooks! You may find it cheaper there.

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