Cold Steel

Rating:
Summary: Best of the old corps
Review: This book is the best of the WWII styles. Influenced more by the existing traditions of the Marines rather than judo, it is mostly a weapons based bayonet system. It is easy to teach, yet retains a great amount of credibilty for a hasty boot camp system.

Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: this book is what you need if you want to defend yourself against a knife,bayonet,stick or unarmed attack and there is also a small course of knife throwing at the end of the book.it's easy to learn by heart and pactice,you will be able to kill someone if it is necessary(ever in a knife or a bayonet match!).Mr Styers is considered the chief of the 4th generation of knife fighters after mr Bowie!He knows what he do and the information in this book will save your bottom in life-or-death situations! buy the book,only if you really want to strangle your opponent with one hand!have pity for him.

Rating:
Summary: Classic For a Reason -or- What To Do When Your Gun Jams
Review: This is a complete fighting book, in that it REALLY tells you everything you NEED to know about fighting for keeps. What I like best about it (besides that fact that the techniques work, are easy to learn, the book is inexpensive, etc) is that the stance and many of the movements he teaches are the same for knife, stick, and unarmed combat. Most people who buy these books think that by merely owning them and flipping through them from time to time they automatically become qualified to judge the material. Hence some of the negative reviews. Amazingly enough, you actually have to read, study, and then practice. One review questioned the knife fighting techniques on the basis that they were developed from fencing- as if that is somehow an invalid form of short blade combat. Seemed to work fine for Jim Bowie and his ilk back before the revolver became affordable and reliable. I guess all of the people who died in knife duels using these techniques can get back up now. Another complained that you had to be quick to utilize them. Well, duh. If you actually read the instructions and THEN look at the pictures you will see why these techniques were effective against the Asian martial arts trained Kommies in Korea. Simple, brutal, and devastating. See also "Bowies, Big Knives, and The Best of Battle Blades" and "Everybody's Knife Bible". Combined with "Cold Steel", these three books will teach you everything you need to know about knives and their proper uses. One caveat- don't throw your knife in combat!!! Don't throw any knife unless it is designed for throwing!!! The knife throwing section of this book is novelty fluff, for people with too much time on their hands. Also, his knife grip on page 43 is obviously a misprint, so disregard it. Also also, don't lean your rifle against a tree where you can't get to it,like in the scenario he describes on page 37. If nothing else, your rifle will fall over and you will damage the finish.

Rating:
Summary: A classic book
Review: This is one of the classic books on close quarter combat. The techniques shown are rather simple and brutal. Knife fighting approach is more a knife duel mindset to me, and you have to be very lucky and very fast to make the techniques work right: they may led to a double kill otherwise (some photos show it clearly, though they didn't intend to) . Anyway, the other sections are more realistical and down to earth.