Get Tough

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Summary: Fairbairn, the man from the famous commando dagger!
Review: A clear and plain book! little time is wasted on philosophic mumbo jumbo. A quick book to learn from. The techniques are very easy and effective and thus very useful for everybody; so I would surely recommend it for beginners; for advanced students: this book gives you an extra edge, no NEW techniques but that does not matter with this book. If you want to learn self defense from a book, this book is gonna help you. keep in mind that the use of some techniques could bring you to jail but can also save your life. The unarmed section is also suitable to set up self defense courses, it does not cover every situation, but it is a firm base to start from! There are no flashy jump kicks here and no flowery techniques. Not a book for sissies!

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Summary: Get Tough-how to win in hand to hand fighting
Review: As the son of a WW2 Ranger (4th BN) and a former student of Col Rex Applegate I have some insight on this volume. Most of Fairbairn's good material was intentionally left out by Fairbairn and was written mainly for Fairbairn to make some cash since his pension from the SMP was gone with the Japenese capture of Shanghi. Sykes himself called much of the book, "Hokum" and in some manuels listed in Applegate's last book he explains why. This isn't meant to critize Fairbairn himself(who was a true PRATICAL master of close combat) but merely to put this book into perspertive. The blows are excellent, as are the pistol disarms but many of the throws and holds were dropped later on in the war. Police officers are urged to buy a copy of SHOOTING TO LIVE to really appreciate what Fairbairn & Sykes had to offer. A good instructor helps since the blows are delivered in a manner unlike many martial arts being taught today ( the chops, for example, were taught more as a jab/saber cut than as a karate shuto) The WW2 systems are not quite as simple as some instructors like to believe and are hard to learn from books, but this gives good historical refrence.

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Summary: What a book!
Review: Get Tough by Capt Fairbairn is a gem. His 1 1/2 pages of humble introduction is worth the price alone. His techniques are illustrated and clearly described in British English. I'd say if your son or daughter were going to be in a life/death struggle and you had only one week to whip them into shape for it, following the advice in this book would be better than 30 years of karate lessons. I wish there was more informtion about Fairbairn and his partner Sykes for historical reasons since these two gentlemen were the real grandfathers of close quarter combat for the allied forces and an inspiration for those who came after them. Without their work, we all might be speaking Japanese or German by now...Best Wishes to all. Mike Member Veterans of Foreign Wars Member Vietnam Veterans of America

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Summary: You must have it!
Review: I bought this "old" book and I can say that I made a good deal.The book described very clear over a dozen of lethal techniques which can save your life someday. Buy it and start practice! You won't be dissapointed!

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Summary: beginners guide
Review: I had purchased this book due to the positive reviews and here's my take on it. There's very little info on actual striking techniques and the ones that are shown, I've already knew them when I was 12 years old! Even a dozen of other very simple techniques are not even here. Weren't they known around that time period?. The ones here most people probably know about, I mean how 'new' is it that you can hit a person in the groin with your knee?? If you didn't know that was possible then 1) you must be from another planet 2) be a complete idiot. This book will not make you 'street safe' no matter what other fools tell you. If you think it will then you're dead already. This is more like a beginner's book to H2H combat since a bit of everything is touched upon. Low on info and a bit overpriced.


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Summary: Excellant Research Material
Review: I have used this book to conduct research into unarmed combat and the techniques that were employed during WWII. As with some systems of unarmed combat in the worlds armies today, some of these techniques still exist as they were designed to be simple but effective..............

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Summary: In a Fight, Simplicity is Survival
Review: I only got 2 years and 4 months practicing Kempo and I am now in an intermidiate level. Since I started a bit late in my life, because I was 24 years old, I got to supplemment my instruction at the dojo with home workout and book-knowlege. This is why I get my hands on this GOOD book.
The military aproach of Captain Fairbairn to hand-to-hand combat gives the reader the perspective of a life threatening situation, and with it, the richness of reality aplications of techniques. The "waza" or techniques shown in this book are based on common sense and brutal effectiveness, so careful must be taken when practicing with any partner, martial artist or not.
I think that when you have to react against an attact the simpliest form is the best, because when you try to aply a complex movement you become slow, innacurate, fancy, and worst of all, inneffective. This book will show some easy movements with a good explanation. It is excellent as an introduction to self defense and a good supplement to day to day training because it not only train the body, it will train the mind to be alert to do the correct move.
I also recommend this book for people who wants to defend against the police harassment in your neighborhood, school or university.

Rating:
Summary: In a Fight, Simplicity is Survival
Review: I only got 2 years and 4 months practicing Kempo and I am now in an intermidiate level. Since I started a bit late in my life, because I was 24 years old, I got to supplemment my instruction at the dojo with home workout and book-knowlege. This is why I get my hands on this GOOD book.
The military aproach of Captain Fairbairn to hand-to-hand combat gives the reader the perspective of a life threatening situation, and with it, the richness of reality aplications of techniques. The "waza" or techniques shown in this book are based on common sense and brutal effectiveness, so careful must be taken when practicing with any partner, martial artist or not.
I think that when you have to react against an attact the simpliest form is the best, because when you try to aply a complex movement you become slow, innacurate, fancy, and worst of all, inneffective. This book will show some easy movements with a good explanation. It is excellent as an introduction to self defense and a good supplement to day to day training because it not only train the body, it will train the mind to be alert to do the correct move.
I also recommend this book for people who wants to defend against the police harassment in your neighborhood, school or university.

Rating:
Summary: Meat and Potato Fighting at its best
Review: If you have never taken a martial-arts or self-defense course in your life, you will be able to learn from this book. The techniques in it are simple and brutal, with many involving a knee to the groing and broken limb. It was originally designed for soldiers during WWII, and you can tell by the illustrations. I think it would be a good reference for military historians because of that. Many military orgs. in the west have apparently still clung to many of Fairbairn's moves, such as the chin jab, throat chop, and scrape-stomp. While not filled to the brim with techniques, the book does offer some little "tricks" that aren't found much these days, like using a matchbox or chair to defend yourself. The book also contains a chart showing how long it takes someone to die from various stab wounds (hmm, wonder how he found that out...) and a chapter on the smatchete, which looks like a cross between a Bowie knife and a meat cleaver. Some of the stuff in here is probably not very usefull to the average guy trying to defend himself, like securing a prisoner to a tree, but for the sake of learning what's in the rest of the book, that stuff can be overlooked. Overall, a good book for anyone interested in defending themselves in a life-or-death situation, and an interesting historical piece.

Rating:
Summary: Good book for non-martial artists, too!
Review: If you have never taken a martial-arts or self-defense course in your life, you will be able to learn from this book. The techniques in it are simple and brutal, with many involving a knee to the groing and broken limb. It was originally designed for soldiers during WWII, and you can tell by the illustrations. I think it would be a good reference for military historians because of that. Many military orgs. in the west have apparently still clung to many of Fairbairn's moves, such as the chin jab, throat chop, and scrape-stomp. While not filled to the brim with techniques, the book does offer some little "tricks" that aren't found much these days, like using a matchbox or chair to defend yourself. The book also contains a chart showing how long it takes someone to die from various stab wounds (hmm, wonder how he found that out...) and a chapter on the smatchete, which looks like a cross between a Bowie knife and a meat cleaver. Some of the stuff in here is probably not very usefull to the average guy trying to defend himself, like securing a prisoner to a tree, but for the sake of learning what's in the rest of the book, that stuff can be overlooked. Overall, a good book for anyone interested in defending themselves in a life-or-death situation, and an interesting historical piece.