Put 'Em Down, Take 'Em Out! : Knife Fighting Techniques From Folsom Prison

Rating:
Summary: A must have
Review: This book is another must have for both street self defense
and in case you ever wind up in the big house, most martial
arts systems don't provide effective methods of knife fighting
and defense against knife attack , this book is one of the few
source's of valuable info on WHAT REALLY WORKS in a knife
attack or defense situation

Rating:
Summary: Short and sweet
Review: This book is really short (under 60 pages), but describes fighting in the most brutally realistic way. If you are truly interested in learning about fighting, read this book, it's worth it. Don't ignore what is written just because you don't like it, I've been in many fights, and I didn't like any of them either!

Rating:
Summary: No BS here
Review: This book is short, well illustrated and to the point. The author's position is: if someone brings out a knife on you, take them out with extreme prejudice. Then he goes about telling you how to do this, including unarmed defense against a knife and training tips. A concise guide about getting out of an ugly situation alive. Shorter than any other book I've read on the subject, and well worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: If you only read one book on knife fighting, read this.
Review: This book is very succinct and can be read in a half hour. It dispels many knife fighting myths and provides useful pointers. The book covers basic offense and defense in simple, straight-forward terms with illustrations.

Rating:
Summary: It stinks!
Review: This book stinks. All he talks about is how tough he is and how little martial artists know about knife fighting. Perhaps this self-proclaimed expert could try explaining a little about knife fighting tactics and strategies rather than bragging about how many knife fights he'd survive.

Rating:
Summary: Right to the point crash course on knife fighting that works
Review: Valuable book for anyone who wants to learn the way real knife fighters fight. Good for learning how to use a knife or defend against one. Gets the reader to evaluate their current knife fighting defenses and what will really work. Author is very direct and straight to the point. This book will probably improve your technique immediately.

Rating:
Summary: Ugly stuff from an ugly place.
Review: What you read in this book was invented at a place where not always a knife is available to enter a weapons fight. So that's why there are only stabbing techniques in this book, since they can also be made with an Icepick, Screwdriver, or anything else that has no edge, but a point. A lot of blunting on martial arts and other knife fighting styles, sometimes a little nervwrecking. But one can get a lot out of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Ask the experienced, not the learned.
Review: When Don wrote this book he was just out and not a polished writer. However, the guy coming at you in a dark parking lot ain't no Shakespear either. Despite the current craze of so-called knife fighting experts in the martial arts, don't forget that America has it's own knife fighting culture - prisons. This is not a book on art, it a book on the realities of knife fighting. While it may anger many self-proclaimed "knife-fighters", Don is the one with the scars. To tell you the truth I would rather mess with them than Don. Marc Animal MacYoung

Rating:
Summary: RUNNIN' THE GEARS!!!
Review: Wow. This book was like a slap in the face. Short & sweet, very intense, and gets right to the point (no pun intended). Pentecost really knows what he's ranting about when he derides the effectiveness of the "saber" and "commando" grips -- these work great if you've got a sword (or a short sword, like a Bowie), but if you strike bone with force (and don't have a protective hilt) your fingers are gonna be sliding up and over the cutting edge if you haven't got a rock hard grip! Those fancy grips work well in practice (especially for accurate jabs at small targets), but when it comes down to the real deal you'll just end up either cutting yourself or dropping your knife (one reason why you should wear a fingerless glove and carry an extra blade). The pictures of him stabbing his wrasslin' partner in the kidney were painful to look at! Although I disagree with much of what is presented in this book, it is good to look at what other stylists are doing -- even if it happens to be "shank-fu."

Rating:
Summary: RUNNIN' THE GEARS!!!
Review: Wow. This book was like a slap in the face. Short & sweet, very intense, and gets right to the point (no pun intended). Pentecost really knows what he's ranting about when he derides the effectiveness of the "saber" and "commando" grips -- these work great if you've got a sword (or a short sword, like a Bowie), but if you strike bone with force (and don't have a protective hilt) your fingers are gonna be sliding up and over the cutting edge if you haven't got a rock hard grip! Those fancy grips work well in practice (especially for accurate jabs at small targets), but when it comes down to the real deal you'll just end up either cutting yourself or dropping your knife (one reason why you should wear a fingerless glove and carry an extra blade). The pictures of him stabbing his wrasslin' partner in the kidney were painful to look at! Although I disagree with much of what is presented in this book, it is good to look at what other stylists are doing -- even if it happens to be "shank-fu."