Rating: 
Summary: Requires a better layout
Review: This book contains a very good introduction and a _few_ wrestling techniques with lots of good pictures, but some of them apply only to very specific situations. If the author had included more general San Shou techniques, it would become a reference book. The bad part is the layout of the book: the pictures were placed one after the other, with no indication on where a series starts or finishes - some series starts at the middle of a page and ends at the middle of the next - requiring a lot of flipping and attention of the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must For All Practitioners of the Martial Arts
Review: This small volume on San Shou Kuai Jiao is brimming with good information. It will especially enable kickers & punchers to ascend the next level in their fighting. The written content provides very lucid principles to understand the Chinese view of the well-trained fighter. The pictures are definitely some of the best I've seen in a martial arts book with clear and high-contrasting photographs marked with arrows to dilineate the intermediate principles of motion. The layout is logical starting with general principles, then progressing to stances, warm-ups and exercises, then followed by techniques (which are subdivided further by application methods ie. holding leg throws, leg hooking techniques, throwing techniques, etc.). This little known art is a formidable tool in any fighter's arsenal. For those of you who are looking for Hollywood techniques that look pretty---THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU. All others will find this a very well thought out book that shows the strength of San Shou---getting the job done and getting the fight over with as fast as possible. I definitely would look forward to seeing more from this team of authors.
Rating:
Summary: A Must For All Practitioners of the Martial Arts
Review: This small volume on San Shou Kuai Jiao is brimming with good information. It will especially enable kickers & punchers to ascend the next level in their fighting. The written content provides very lucid principles to understand the Chinese view of the well-trained fighter. The pictures are definitely some of the best I've seen in a martial arts book with clear and high-contrasting photographs marked with arrows to dilineate the intermediate principles of motion. The layout is logical starting with general principles, then progressing to stances, warm-ups and exercises, then followed by techniques (which are subdivided further by application methods ie. holding leg throws, leg hooking techniques, throwing techniques, etc.). This little known art is a formidable tool in any fighter's arsenal. For those of you who are looking for Hollywood techniques that look pretty---THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU. All others will find this a very well thought out book that shows the strength of San Shou---getting the job done and getting the fight over with as fast as possible. I definitely would look forward to seeing more from this team of authors.
Rating:
Summary: A Must For All Practitioners of the Martial Arts
Review: This small volume on San Shou Kuai Jiao is brimming with good information. It will especially enable kickers & punchers to ascend the next level in their fighting. The written content provides very lucid principles to understand the Chinese view of the well-trained fighter. The pictures are definitely some of the best I've seen in a martial arts book with clear and high-contrasting photographs marked with arrows to dilineate the intermediate principles of motion. The layout is logical starting with general principles, then progressing to stances, warm-ups and exercises, then followed by techniques (which are subdivided further by application methods ie. holding leg throws, leg hooking techniques, throwing techniques, etc.). This little known art is a formidable tool in any fighter's arsenal. For those of you who are looking for Hollywood techniques that look pretty---THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU. All others will find this a very well thought out book that shows the strength of San Shou---getting the job done and getting the fight over with as fast as possible. I definitely would look forward to seeing more from this team of authors.
Rating:
Summary: Useful self-defense techniques.
Review: This work, subtitled "Throws, Takedowns, and Groundfighting",
is a training manual for San Shou Kuai Jiao,
one of the four traditional divisions of Chinese
martial arts, and perhaps the one best suited for
general Western self-defense.
The work starts with general principles (including
Internal, or mental, considerations), proceeds
through basic training and conditioning, then explains and
illustrates 75 throws and takedowns for defense against punches, kicks, and grabs. Of particular
interest is the section on Groundfighting/Ground
Controlling Techniques.
These techniques will, of course, be of interest to martial-arts students, but may also be useful to law-enforcement,
psychiatric personnel, and any others concerned with
self-defense.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting
within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not
employ numerical ratings.)
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Try This At Home
Review: Unlike most grappling arts, the philosophy of San Shou Kuai Jiao is to drop your opponent quickly without getting entangled and going to the ground yourself. You can use its throws to knock your attacker senseless and get cleanly away, all without breaking the fragile bones in your hands and feet with punches and kicks. This type of fighting is a good idea, but it is much easier read than done. This is evidenced by an informative section on groundfighting in the back of the book.As good as this book is, its many excellent photos and descriptions can't teach people how to use its techniques effectively. Timing, speed and body feel are key to successful application against an unwilling opponent or attacker, especially in this type of wrestling. An ex high-school wrestler won't let you do this stuff to him unless you are very fast. Anyone who has a modicum of boxing or kicking skills will break your nose or worse as you attempt to grab them. Having spent years sparring and wrestling in several different fighting arts, it's clear to me that only repititve practice with a qualified instructor can make fast wrestling fast enough to work. Unfortunately, unless you happen to live in LA or Columbus, Ohio, I have not been able to find qualified instructors of this art in the US. I wish there were more. For people in the rest of the US, perhaps some of the techniques could be used to augment practice in other grappling arts such as judo, aikido or ju-jitsu. But you would have to find a very open-minded instructor. Good luck.
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