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Rating: 
Summary: taking it to the street: making your martial arts street eff
Review: As a 10-year law enforcement officer and 8-year martial artist, I can attest to the fact that fighting in the dojo and fighting in the street are totally different. There really is no comparison.Mr. MacYoung devotes a lot of material to convince the reader of this immutable truth and then, once he has the reader's attention, gets to the good stuff. And believe me, its really good stuff. This book should be in any martial artist's library that considers his/her martial art as a self-defense tool. In other words, if you plan on or believe you will ever use your martial art for self-defense on the street rather than as a sport or spiritual tool, then this book is a must read. Mr. MacYoung, Mr. Geoff Thompson and Mr. Peyton Quinn are in the forefront of truly effective street self-defense today. They cover all the bases - awareness and avoidance (the PRIMARY self-defense tools), combat and finally, legal issues, which most authors gloss over if they cover at all. I cannot tell you how refreshing this is. This book is not a bunch of pretty techniques for impressing your friends but a good, basic and simple system of principles and concepts to save your life when all else fails. Now go and get it.
Rating: 
Summary: It deserves only 2 stars really
Review: I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this book. I'll cover the "hate" part first, since I want to end on a positive note.
My main problem is that I'm not sure if the author is presenting himself accuratley. I only bring this up because knowing where he tested his principles ought to tell you the environment it's suited for. I can believe that he "bounced" at, for instance, a buddy's party. I can believe that he has had punches thrown at him in anger. I can believe that he's "gone at it" with guys in a parking lot. I don't believe, however, that this was anything more than a guy trying to prove how tough he was. I don't believe he ever went toe-to-toe with the Bloods, or a similar gang, as he implies. I just don't believe that he is "street", but he presents himself as such. Now, on to the book. If you have a karate/tae kwon do/kickboxing type of background, this book won't be easy to read. The author is basically presenting modified principles of Wing Chun and kali/silat. Your side-facing, high-kicking stuff is not discused much beyond, "it's a bad idea". In that respect, I think most martial artists will not learn how to make their stuff "street effective". Another problem I have, and part of the reason I take issue with the author, is the fact that most of his game plan starts off, "when the other guy punches you...", which just sounds like suicide to me. Most fights I've seen, and even the early UFC's, show that the guy who hits first, hardest, and the most times usually walks away. You can fix this by reading Geoff Thompson's stuff. Also, the book isn't really edited well (who am I to talk?), but it's just small things, like a missing photo or footnote.
On to the "love" side of things: I like most of the principles presented. The idea of a wedge, taking the centerline, screwing with your opponent's center of gravity, climing over him to escape... The book is worth buying, just because there is so much stuff that the author gets right. I don't care if he learned in in a bar or in his back yard, a lot of the principles are sound. He has great chapters on defending against kicks and making throws work. He also references several other people's works, which can give the reader more food for thought. He also seems to be talking directly to "hard" stylists when he's doing his explainations, which makes them a little easier to understand. And there's a chapter about the psychology of using violence to communicate which may very well be worth the price of the book.
In conclusion, I'd say this book is more oriented towards using a few "tricks" and principles to take out the guy who squares off with you from *several feet away* in a parking lot, and does not deal directly with more realistic threats. But reading it could improve your general game plan that I had to give it four stars. I'd just say not to make this your bible, and check around. Pick out what works for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth Reading But Not What It Could Have Been.
Review: I probably would have given this book only two stars. It's not really well written and can be confusing at times but it does contain valuable information and the fact that this info might save your life or health is probably worth the extra star. First, the good news. MacYoung has devised a pretty good self defense system, based on some sound, simple principles. First, and most important, the object of a street fight is not to win but to NOT LOSE. Therefore, your objective is not to beat your attacker senseless but to stop his attack, "climb over the guy" and get away. Second, a wedge shaped defense is inherently stronger that any other configuration and, third, by protecting your centerline and controlling your attacker's you control the altercation. His system seems simple enough to learn reasonably quickly, (though it takes practice) and to apply in different situations (bad footing, bad lighting, no warmups, etc). He also advocates conflict avoidance and negotiation as your first lines of defense. Now, the bad news. First, he's really repetitive. Not only does he drill in basics endlessly (actually a good thing here) but he repeats a lot of what the reader already knows. If you buy a book subtitled "Making Your Martial Arts Street Effective" then you are probably 1) a martial artist and 2) already aware that the school and the street present different situations. MacYoung spends the first two chapters convincing you that unlike a tournament opponent or sparring partner, a street attacker wants to seriously hurt you. However he avoids discussing differences in terrain and footing, open versus closed spaces, lighting, found weapons or other ways of using the environment to your advantage. At the same time he avoids discussing many individual techniques by suggesting that you but another one of his books so as not to repeat himself. Second, he is admittedly not a kicker. Defensively this adds to his system since it keeps both of your feet under you but it takes away some very potent offensive weapons. He belittles the classic tournament side stance in which the lead leg is employed to "uselessly" rack up points, in favor of a more squared up front stance. Apparently, Animal hasn't seen (or experienced) full-contact Japanese kickboxing, (kicks above the knees are allowed) or savate,(leg kicks permitted) to know that lead leg kicks to the leg can be devastating if thrown with bad intentions. Kicks to the large muscle groups in the legs can create spasms in those muscles and I've heard instances of the savate's snappy little fouette (roundhouse kick) breaking bones when thrown in full contact tournaments. He also misses the use of knees (probably the most useful item in the self defense toolbox). The fact is if you take out an attacker's leg you've stopped the attack and MacYoung misses this point entirely. Despite my criticism (and I won't get picky comparing the styles he teaches to the arts I practice) I believe his system is sound, intelligent and workable. Easy to apply, (though considerable practice is needed) and based on good principles (most importantly that the object of a street fight is to get away safely) it contains enough information to gat a thinking martial artist at least on the way to safety on the street.
Rating:
Summary: errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, NO !
Review: Imagine, if you will, that a little fat kid escaped from a star trek convention and decided to lecture about fighting. Like many people who feel weak and scared, MacYoung (you just know he gave himself the pathetic moniker "animal") is obsessed with stories of fighting and weapons. He's the sort that , in a bar, tells you that he's really working for the CIA. yes, he's right that most martial arts aren't street ready or effective--but I don't think you'll solve that problem with his books. Read Geoff Thompson instead.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and realistic
Review: MacYoung has a knack for presenting doable techniques and practical concepts. Judging from TAKE IT TO THE STREET, he is a well-rounded fighter with a comprehensive knowledge of the various ranges of combat and he shares his views in a concise and understandable manner.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for all martial artists, of any style
Review: MacYoung's aim is not to dismantle what you've already been trained in...it is to teach you how to make your skills work in REAL life, out of the comfort zone of a safe dojo. Plenty of pictures show techniques he describes. MacYoung also goes into how and why certain techniques work, in terms of the physics involved which is very helpful. You must have at least SOME background in martial arts because he does not teach you basic techniques, but how to improve them. Coming from a large background of no-rules down-and-dirty streetfighting, MacYoung KNOWS what he's talking about and shares wisdom he has gained with readers. If you've ever wondered if what your instructor is teaching you would work in a real fight, buy this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Honest talk about martial arts and street effectiveness.
Review: Marc MacYoung provides martial artists with some guidelines on how to make their martial arts more effective for self-defense. He actually presents techniques and more importantly, some principles, which have helped me understand some throwing and defensive techniques in the martial arts I study. I think the book is good overall, but I wish he would have made more recommendations about drills and exercises which he alludes to in the book. His chapters on specific techniques I think are better learned from a video or qualified instructor, but he does an okay job of illustrating the principle behind the technique, so martial artists who have similar techniques in their martial arts can adapt them more easily. Because of this, I think this book is best for those who have a little martial arts experience. The most important thing that martial artists can get from this book is the spirit and principles behind making martial arts street effective, and acknowledging the fact that many of the martial arts schools today do not teach self-defense effective methods.
Rating:
Summary: It deserves only 2 stars really
Review: Ok, in my mind, the book only deserves 2 stars but I gave it 5 so this review ends up on the top of the list. The list is not chronological because you are to read the good stuff first and buy w/o reading the rest.
I have been doing kick boxing for three years now. So I guess the book is targeted at people like me. Not professional but also no novice.
While I find much of the psychological and topographical analysis of a street fight interesting, the actual fighting techniques seem much less sträight forward than the author tries to make believe. Indeed while they might work for Mr.MacYoung I don't see how they'll ever work for me. It seems all of his technique is predicated on blocking a punch or kick with his "wedge" technique. Moreover, he considers this "a walk in the park". He claims that blocking becomes easy once you stop looking at the fist/foot that is coming at you but at the "hubs" (read:shoulders, hips) that move before the fist/foot starts flying at you. This, he explains, buys you ample time to eg. take a step forward and drive the wendge into the opponents shoulder hence blocking the punch, or when faced with a front kick to lift your own leg and stomp on the incoming kick before it hits you.
Well, I personally find it hard to believe that anyone would be able to do this consistently, and cetainly not the average guy like me. Because: If you see a hub moving, by the time you have realized it, the punch or the kick will have connected. You don't have time for a thought, unless the opponent is so slow that he doesn't present a threat in the first place. If the other guy starts moving his foot, you won't be able to lift yours and block his kick by stomping on it. Unless you are Bruce Lee, you would not be fast enough. Try it in sparring, it's way too fast. Most of his advice is based on these blocking techniques being easy to execute. But they
are not. So the book is not useful, where the actual fighting techniques are concerned. On top of that there is no biography of the author included which gives rise to a credibility issue. Aside his references to his own greatness there is no other feed back on the author included. Maybe he is just a legend in his own mind.
Rating:
Summary: Principle Based Effectiveness
Review: The principles in this book will help make just about anyone more effective in their day-to-day self-defense. I recommend it to anyone who asks me how to improve their basic self-defense knowledge. The principles include: 1 - Understanding that the normal rules of polite society are out the window. (i.e. the "no kicking in the jimmy" rule doesn't apply in a real fight); 2 - Understanding the different distances involved in fighting; 3 - Using your opponent's axes and controlling the centerline; 4 - Using the wedge and other blocking techniques; 5 - Stepping into your opponent rather than retreating (when appropriate); 6 - Dealing with kicks; 7 - Proper and effective footwork; 8 - Dirty tricks; 9 - Understanding the realities of street fighting (e.g. "If the guy wasn't sure he could take you, he wouldn't have moved against you in the first place" i.e. he has stacked the deck in his favor and it's your job to unstack it); 10 - many other useful and important things. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to help people augment their training. It won't replace training, but it can certainly help people understand that, when fit and shan collide, there are other things to consider besides a head-high round kick. Things which may just save your life. Additionlly, I recommend checking out his website, http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/ As for the negative reviews on this book, it seems to me that many of the people who have knocked this book have done so for one of two reasons: 1 - they don't like Marc's attitude; or,
2 - they don't believe his background. As for #1, like it or not, fine. To each his or her own. But these reviewers generally complain without ever really engaging the principles contained in the book and their effectiveness. Concerning #2, the same idea applies. While I happen to very much believe that Marc has been where he says he has and done what he says he has done, the people who make this argument also do not make many fact-based criticisms of the material inside the book.
Rating:
Summary: Principle Based Effectiveness
Review: The principles in this book will help make just about anyone more effective in their day-to-day self-defense. I recommend it to anyone who asks me how to improve their basic self-defense knowledge. The principles include: 1 - Understanding that the normal rules of polite society are out the window. (i.e. the "no kicking in the jimmy" rule doesn't apply in a real fight); 2 - Understanding the different distances involved in fighting; 3 - Using your opponent's axes and controlling the centerline; 4 - Using the wedge and other blocking techniques; 5 - Stepping into your opponent rather than retreating (when appropriate); 6 - Dealing with kicks; 7 - Proper and effective footwork; 8 - Dirty tricks; 9 - Understanding the realities of street fighting (e.g. "If the guy wasn't sure he could take you, he wouldn't have moved against you in the first place" i.e. he has stacked the deck in his favor and it's your job to unstack it); 10 - many other useful and important things. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to help people augment their training. It won't replace training, but it can certainly help people understand that, when fit and shan collide, there are other things to consider besides a head-high round kick. Things which may just save your life. Additionlly, I recommend checking out his website, http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/ As for the negative reviews on this book, it seems to me that many of the people who have knocked this book have done so for one of two reasons: 1 - they don't like Marc's attitude; or,
2 - they don't believe his background. As for #1, like it or not, fine. To each his or her own. But these reviewers generally complain without ever really engaging the principles contained in the book and their effectiveness. Concerning #2, the same idea applies. While I happen to very much believe that Marc has been where he says he has and done what he says he has done, the people who make this argument also do not make many fact-based criticisms of the material inside the book.
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