The Combative Perspective : The Thinking Man's Guide to Self-Defense

Rating:
Summary: Mental preparation for combat
Review: Gabe Suarez, the author of this book is a renowed shooting and tactics instructor. In his former career as a SWAT team member, he has participated in numerous fights and several shooting incidents (I believe the exact number is four shootings).

This book is similar to Principles of personal defence by Jeff Cooper. In this book, Suarez handles the mental aspects of fighting, based on his personal experiences and those of his trainees. Rather than instructing how to use weapons the most efficient way, he tries to explain how the mind works in a life-threatening situation. Instead of tactics, you'll learn how the fear and stress change your performance, and how to prepare for a potentially lethal encounter.

Suarez advocates aggressive response to a threat, and man's right to defend himself even with lethal force, if necessary. The instruction he gives in the book fall into the same category, and his attitude is that unless you want to do things the way he instructs, it's the same as hiding your head into sand hoping the adversary does not attack you. As in other books by Suarez, his way is the only way to conduct business. I'm not arguing the facts, and he definitely has more combat experience than I do, but I dislike the way he forces his opinions to the readers. On the other hand, if man has proved his views correct in multiple gunfights, that may have a reinforcing effect on your outlook.

The things discussed in the book are not new, as almost every book devoted to self defense shooting has at least a chapter on mental issues. However, this book gives the most complete treatment of the subject I have read. It's sad that Suarez has such one-sided approach to the subject. However, with it's flaws, this book is definitely recommended reading to anyone who is interested in self defence.

Rating:
Summary: This book will become a classic for personal protection
Review: Having been a small arms and tactics instructor for a number of years now and always a student to the martial arts, I highly recommend this book. It is truly a landmark book that is written with a hard hitting yet effective and efficient style that anyone can read and learn from. But more importantly than just learn from, but live by.

The more a student of personal protection learns and developes the more they realize that it is not the gun or the knife, etc but the mind that is the final weapon. Mindset is the most important element in a fight. Mr. Suarez explains this in terms that are most enlightening. I have personally lent my copy of this book to a number of soldiers who are deploying to Iraq, street cops, students of martial arts, and everyday house wives. All simply say, that this book is an important part of their development by letting them see their strength and weaknesses. They all agree that by reading this book they have have a deeper understanding of what it takes to not only survive but to win. That is an important difference.

This is one of the only books I own that I read on a regular basis to ensure I am "getting my mind right".