Sam Fury has had a passion for survival, evasion, resistance, and
escape (SERE) training since he was a young boy growing up in
Australia.
This led him to years of training and career experience in related
subjects, including martial arts, military training, survival
skills, outdoor sports, and sustainable living.
These days, Sam spends his time refining existing skills, gaining
new skills, and sharing what he learns via the Survival Fitness
Plan website.
www.SurvivalFitnessPlan.com
After taking a weekend long course with a Kali escrima grand-master
and then being unable to remember all the intricate moves, this
book is a helpful supplement to jog your memory so you can go home
and practice with your sparring partner. Now if you want to learn
Kali escrima or knife-fighting, you're not going to learn it from a
book. You need to attend a class, learn the moves, and then
practice it over months and years. But if you're like me, the kind
of student who learns through hard work and repetition, this book
will jog your memory so that pricey martial arts seminar you just
took will 'stick' . (Note: I'm a black belt in USA Urban Goju, not
Kali).
PROS: the step-by-step pictures break down each, tiny move so you
can learn it properly. The pictures are clear so you can figure out
what you are doing. It has most of the major moves, as well as some
of the less-known maneuvers.
CONS: you're not going to learn stick or knife fighting from a
book. Find a dojo, take some classes, earn some belts, and have fun
whacking and stabbing your friends. The book is meant to be a
supplement, not a replacement for learning how to fight.Anna
Erishkigal This book is good if you want to learn self defense. I
knew some of the things listed in here from another book written by
who I believe is the same author. This a great read and I highly
recommend you buy this book if you want to maximize your knowledge
on self defense William Chen What a great introduction to
self-defense.
Author Sam Fury explains flow of movement for every principal, and
the illustrations add to the clarity. Principals are presented in
alphabetical order for practical look ups when I went back to
examine intricate moves. The author explains the advantages of
using Newton's first law of motion--an object in motion stays in
motion with the same speed in the same direction until acted upon.
There is always a counter. For instance, "always crowd your
opponent. Get in his space and claim it. Constantly push your
opponent back and do not let up."
I liked reading about ways to take advantage of movements by
redirecting it.
Vortex, the motion of water going down a sinkhole, is a way to
break through an opponent's defense. In other words, use a vortex
motion to move under or around your opponent's hand direction to
free yourself. In most cases, Sam Fury advices, "you will want to
vortex towards your opponent's spine." These moves take planning.
Other moves are described as a waterfall. The free-fall of water
utilizes grounding and vortex. Fury suggests blocking in a way that
hurts your opponent.
From reading his self defense book, I learned about Yin (soft) and
Yang (hard). Sometimes slow movements of Yin allow you to observe
before going to Yang.
Sam Fury's book is divided into parts. The first is hand to hand
combat where every imaginable grip has a solution. Part Two is a
bit frightening with knife defense, but there are ways to
outmaneuver an attacker with block/grab techniques or the use of a
chip to the upper forearm where there is a cluster of nerves. Many
attacks are illustrated with self-defense tactics such as self-kill
explained and illustrated. Part Three covers stick fighting, and
this section discusses stance, stepping, and striking. There is a
method of returning to and controlling the center.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the vast number of fighting
positions to master. The author, Sam Fury, has mastered martial
arts and explains it in simple, understandable language. Sam is a
survivalist with years of training as a traveler and minimalist.
Special thanks to Sam Fury for sharing his knowledge to the general
public. Kathleen Rowland
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