The Little Black Book of Violence

Street. Boulder, CO: Paladin Enterprises, Inc., 1991.

More or less an extension of Cheap Shots…, this book is more tactical than strategic. If you are not a trained martial artist, the various techniques, targets, and combat insight can truly enhance your ability to survive a street fight. Once again, the language is by no means politically correct, but still highly entertaining.

• MacYoung, Marc. Floor Fighting: Stompings, Maimings, and Other Things to Avoid When A Fight Goes To The Ground. Boulder, CO: Paladin Enterprises, Inc., 1993.

It is imperative to understand and appreciate the differences between a wrestling match and a real-life struggle for survival on the ground. This book is a no-holds barred look at the reality of ground fighting. We hope that we’ve already managed to convince you that despite what many grapplers think, the ground is a really bad place to be in a fight. This book gives you practical advice to help you avoid going there. It also teaches you how not to get hurt when/if you do. Topics covered include breakfall techniques, offensive and defensive ranges, what happens when you hit the floor, counters, floor-fighting positions, triangle defense, defending against stomps, and striking from the floor, and keeping the other guy down.

• MacYoung, Marc. Knives, Knife Fighting, And Related Hassles: How To Survive A Real Knife Fight. Boulder, CO: Paladin Enterprises, Inc., 1990.

You already know by now that there is no such thing as a knife “fight”; it is really more of a knife ambush, an assassination attempt. Unless you are fortunate enough to run into a dominance display rather than a wholehearted attack, are extraordinarily lucky, or are very highly trained, you will never see it coming should someone attempt to stab you with a knife. That’s why you need to develop superb situational awareness. This means that you need a comprehensive understanding of where, how, and why street thugs conceal their knives to pull off an effective assassination, all topics covered in this excellent book. The information is illuminating and very possibly life saving as well. You’ll learn a bit about how to use a blade offensively too.

• MacYoung, Marc. Pool Cues, Beer Bottles, & Baseball Bats: Animal’s Guide to Improvised Weapons for Self-Defense and Survival. Boulder, CO: Paladin Enterprises, Inc., 1990.

A comprehensive look at improvised weapons you might encounter on the street such as beer bottles, pool cues, baseball bats, brass knuckles, fighting rings, saps, chains, shovels, bricks, and the like. Even hairbrushes and orange juice, two of the more unusual things the author has actually been assaulted with, are covered along with solid principles of how to spot, utilize, and defend yourself from these potentially deadly objects. Importantly, the book also delves into awareness, covering in depth some of the subtle and not-so-subtle cues that people tend to give when preparing to attack as well as patterns of trouble, diversions, distractions, and other things to look out for.

• MacYoung, Marc. Street E & E: Evading, Escaping, and Other Ways to Save Your Ass When Things Get Ugly. Boulder, CO: Paladin Enterprises, Inc., 1993.

Let’s face it, unless you are a law-enforcement professional there are very few legitimate reasons to get into a fight. Rule number one for survival, as we’ve already stated, is “don’t get hit.” The best way to do that is not being there. Before things get ugly, leave. On occasion, however, you can’t just strap on those Nikes, make like brave Sir Robin, and beat a hasty retreat. The bad guys have a nasty habit of getting in the way.

MacYoung shows you how to survive when you’re outnumbered or outgunned. Real life isn’t like a kung fu movie. Rather than wading in with fists and feet flying, you need to learn to apply hit-and-run tactics, use the environment to your advantage, and use your attacker’s weaknesses against them. This book is chocked full of street survival lessons from a guy who knows. His writing style is engaging, entertaining, and sarcastically witty. The knowledge he imparts is realistic, practical, and very important.

• MacYoung, Marc. Taking It to the Street: Making Your Martial Art Street Effective. Boulder, CO: Paladin Enterprises, Inc., 1999.

Real fights have no rules. They tend to be short, fast, and brutal. While the average criminal does not hit nearly as hard as the average martial artist does, they frequently hit harder, faster, and more aggressively than the average martial artist, boxer, or sports fighter has ever felt. Consequently, it is important to understand how to bridge the gap between the structured safety of drills in the dojo and the mayhem of a full-on, back-alley brawl. Contents include the realities of street violence, centerlines, blocking, dealing with kicks, footwork, and dirty tricks, among other important elements. The author not only teaches practitioners how to identify and resolve gaps in their training to make it more effective for real-life encounters, but also provides important tips on what to do after you have survived an attack, dealing with witnesses, legal issues, revenge seekers, and one’s own mental welfare in the aftermath.

• MacYoung, Marc. Violence, Blunders, and Fractured Jaws: Advanced Awareness Techniques and Street Etiquette. Boulder, CO: Paladin Enterprises, Inc., 1992. This book truly helps readers refine and strengthen their situational awareness for survival on the street. It can help you instantly and easily identify the fighters, hustlers, workers, spectators and troublemakers using the same tricks that bouncers, law enforcement officers, prison guards, drug dealers, bikers, and street people utilize so effectively. It goes in-depth into subjects like family group operating systems, personal operating systems, utilizing and refining your personal radar, turf, territory, personal space, rural versus urban reactions, gambling, tacking, scarring, piercing, tattoos, etiquette, eye contact, and other issues that are commonly known only to a very small segment of society. Reading this book is a very eye-opening, mind-expanding experience.

Sergeant Rory Miller

Sergeant Miller has studied martial arts since 1981. He has received college varsities in judo and fencing and holds mokuroku (teaching certificate) in Sosuishitsu-ryu jujutsu. He is a corrections officer and tactical team leader who teaches and designs courses in defensive tactics, close quarters combat and Use of Force policy and application for law enforcement and corrections officers. A veteran of hundreds of violent confrontations he lectures on realism and training for martial artists and writers. Both Wilder and Kane have trained with him and know first-hand that Miller truly knows what he is talking about.

• Miller, Rory A. Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training and Real World Violence. Wolfeboro, NH: YMAA Publication Center, 2008. Violence is the soul of chaos. Martial arts are clean and structured, even simple in a way, yet somehow one arose from the other. Maybe it is the human need for structure that somehow converted a bloody, smelly, terrifying experience of combat into the beauty and structure of kata. Experienced martial artist and veteran correction officer Sergeant Rory Miller distills what he has learned from jailhouse brawls, tactical operations and ambushes to explore the differences between martial arts and the subject martial arts were designed to deal with—violence. This book is a refreshingly frank, honest, and in-depth assessment of the subject. Readers will learn how to think critically about violence, how to evaluate sources of knowledge, and how to identify strategies and select tactics to deal with it effectively. One of the most important aspects of the book is Miller’s insights on how to make self-defense work. He examines how to look at defense in a broader context as well as how to overcome some of your own subconscious resistance to meeting violence with violence. It’s truly outstanding stuff!

Peyton Quinn

Peyton Quinn is considered by many the “dean” of barroom brawling. He began his training in formal martial arts systems in 1964, eventually achieving black belts in karate, judo, and aikido. While he continues to respect and explore Asian martial arts systems, his real-world experience has shown him that for most people, training in martial arts alone is not enough for real fighting. He has written numerous books and created several DVDs on the subject.

• Quinn, Peyton. Bouncer’s Guide to Barroom Brawling: Dealing with the Sucker Puncher, Streetfighter, and Ambusher. Boulder, CO: Paladin Enterprises, Inc., 1990.