TheTao of Self-Defense, by Scott Shaw

n a market that is crowded by machismo, testosterone, and "see how tough a man can be" books and attitudes, here comes something refreshingly positive an different - at least to me. This is self-defense book that handles the theme in a much broder scope than the "shoot first - ask questions later" attitude. It is a technical and strategical book that is free of the all too common "what works in a real fight" male talk. I really had to rub my eyes and look twice, thinking I wouldn't find a truly reflected view on the subject coming from male self-defense instructor!

This book is not a "10 new ways to destroy an attacker" kind of manual, if you catch my drift. Though there are also being described techniques of handling a physical attack - ths scope is much broader. What the author does is to look at various situations that may occur, and then find different ways to meet these situations with a clear and concious mind. Thankfully it does not involve too much inner peace, zen-riddles or mystic rites :-)

Rather, Shaw discusses what lies ahead of and behind the scene in a given situation - like the surroundings and the build-up/escalation. From this, he tries to give various methods to meet these scenarious. Various methods here often shows alternatives to the "take them to the ground and finish the fight" mantra, or "beat them up!" nonsense. Since violence comes in many phases, many neuances and in many guises, a book like this is needed thousand times more than learning yet more "effective" ways to punch and kick!

Sad to say, even if the book clearly is onto something really good, it doesn't deliver the goods completely in my opinion. The best part here are messages like this: "If you enter into any confrontational situation possessing a violent mind, you have predetermined that your confrontation will be based on a force of wills and determined by who is physically and mentally the strongest. (...)". And this: "People who are trained in the various aggressive styles of self-defense are ready to step into verbal or physical confrontation. They do this because they believe - due to the training they possess - that  all the skills necessary to defeat any opponent are known and mastered. (...)". Yihaa!

What makes this otherwise great book falling short, is that it does not fully deliver when it comes to the practical side of things. There are too few models, techniques and strategies that are really down to earth, kind of "do this". The intentions and starting points are always of high quality, but it doesn't always live up to the expectations, I'm afraid. Maybe my hopes were flying too high? One example of not delivering: The author discusses fear and the role of a victim. The models used to overcome these roles and feelings are much too simpified and far too philosophical. There are too many words and too little practical advice and actions. Shame - if the book had delivered all the way, it would have been on my top-ten list...

Still, this book is highly recommended to anyone seeking more tools to handle conflicts and violent situations. It's a relief to see more people saying that a situation can be handled by tough and direct meassures, but not always - not all situations must be dealt with that way!

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