Unarmed Combat: A Complete Manual of Self-Defense, Groundfighting & Joint Locks

Rating:
Summary: Paid too much for it.
Review: Having enjoyed Mr. Iverson's "Submission Fighting Techniques", I was rather disappointed by this book. My primary objection is that it's marketed as being an instruction manual for military-style combat. However, there's no striking techniques covered, and much of the work is on groundfighting, which, while important, shouldn't be the primary focus in a situation where multiple opponents could be involved, such as a battlefield or peacekeeping mission. On the up side, when it comes to groundfighting, Mr. Iverson is at his best, and this book includes gi/jacketed techniques that couldn't be included in his first work. Also of value are many of the takedowns and some prisoner/body search techniques. However, the club, knife, and gun disarms are unimaginative, and in some cases, risky-looking. I also had a problem with some of the 'stand-up submissions' where Mr. Iverson is shown actually falling to the ground. This seems like a decent tactic on the mat, but certainly not on the street, where asphalt and concrete provide little padding against a fall. Finally, I'd like to say that when he's good, the author is *very* good, but when he's bad, he's awful, and most of this book falls into one of those two categories. I think it would be particularly useful to competitors in grappling or MMA environments, and probably to law enforcement personell to a degree, but it's overly complex and too single-minded for me to recomend it as a primary text for military personell or people interested in street defense.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book!
Review: This is an excellent book which delivers what it says it does. It has the same quality as the previous Iverson book with many improvements. The stand up chapter is in depth with many self-defense techniques, submissions, takedowns, defenses, etc... The groundfighting section is very throrough and complete with good explanations. I am in the military and liked the section on weapons and search techniques. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase...I highly recommend this work.