Self-Defense book: How To Protect Yourself By Developing A Fighter’s Mindset gets 5 Stars

Alain Burrese is one of those people who has been there. He does not dwell in mere theory like many of the so-called experts in the self protection industry. Coming from a military background he knows exactly what it means to have a good combative mindset. A good combative mindset allows you to function competently under high stress conditions and do what you have to do, to get the job done without falling apart at the seams.

This book will give you the tools and understanding to do exactly that. It’s a comprehensive over-view of the soft skills needed to have a complete self protection gameplan.

Self defence is not all about physical skills and hitting people. It it were it would be easy and there would be nothing to worry about.

To be any good at self defence you must also understand concepts such as awareness, stress management, conflict avoidance, combat psychology and a number of other key concepts. These are more important in my opinion, than any physical skill. It is these concepts that will not only keep you out of trouble in the first place, but also allow you to respond in the best way if trouble does come your way.

The book covers all these concepts and more. Style wise it is not overly wordy, which can only be a good thing. It is very easy to read and is well laid out. Each of the sections is clearly and concisely explained and backed up by relevant and entertaining stories from Alain’s own life.

There is also a great use of quotes in the book. Many authors use quotes in their books, but I find in many cases that the quotes are just there for the sake of it, they add little to the subject at hand. The quotes in this book are very relevant however, and come from many other respected authorities on self defence, such as Rory Miller, Kelley McCann and Marc McYoung. Every quote deepens your understanding of the material.

This is one of the best books I’ve read on combative soft skills and psychology, not only for its comprehensiveness, but also because of its clear and concise style.

Overall, an excellent introduction to the theory behind self defence and one that I will be recommending to my students to read.

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