Bouncera (TM)S Guide to Barroom Brawling: Dealing with the Sucker Puncher, Streetfighter, and Ambusher

Okay, I know it seems odd to talk about wisdom in connection with a book about fighting. But the first eighteen pages of the book are well worth the price of admission. That's because our friend here, like Lofty Wisman, SAS hand to hand instructor, has been in a fair number of fights and has reached the conclusion that being in fights is a bad idea if you can avoid it. Ditto Gichen Funakoshi. Ditto Marc "Animal" MacYoung. This is a wonderful book for a beginner or an experienced martial artist. If you're a beginner, the book will give you insight into real physical conflicts and what they are like, as opposed to sparring matches with referees. If you're an experienced marital artist, this is about as entertaining as a book can be; Peyton Quinn has a dry sense of humor and an eye for the sublime and the funky, and the mixture is just plain funny. Note that his language is pretty salty, which will help convince teen-agers that he knows what he's talking about. The rest of us can tell that he knows what he's talking about just because of the quality of the advice he gives. The particular self-defense and fighting techniques he favors most aren't the important part of the book. A lot of different sorts of techniques work well for different people. His choices are just that, his choices. Fairbairn made different choices, and those are also good. But it's clear that both men agree that having some techniques that you a very, very good at is much better than being okay at a whole lot of techniques. Both men agree as well that pre-emptive striking is a good idea if a fight can't be avoided. In my view, the greatest value of this book is its portrait of an ambush attacker; Quinn points out that even though such an attacker may have little in the way of formal martial training, he may still be very effective because of his (unknowing) embrace of Musashi's approach to fighting. Frankly, Quinn is a Musashi-quoting, Harley-riding bouncer who is the real-life incarnation of the bouncer in the movie "Road House", complete with philosophical musings about the broader implications of fighting and avoiding fights, including his stay out of prison plan. And that makes for a darned entertaining read.

Being the author of several books on the martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it's definitely worth owning. One such book is Peyton Quinn's, "A Bouncer's Guide to Barroom Brawling." The most important thing to remember when reading this, or any book dealing with self-defense techniques, is that the principles behind the technique are far more important than the technique itself. Once again, Peyton does a great job of this, and you would do well to sit down and read this book from cover to cover several times in order to grasp what he is trying to teach you. So without further ado, let's get started. 1. The Ambush: Awareness and Avoidance One of the important points that the author tries to get across to you in this section is that fighting has serious legal and medical consequences and should be avoided if at all possible. Remember, nothing is easy to do unless you're first willing to do it. Also, learning how to avoid a potential conflict is perhaps the most important "technique" that you can learn. It is vitally important and should be considered your first line of defense. 2. The Reality of Fighting Here are just a few of the items of interest that are discussed in this section. a. The sucker puncher's strongest assets that he uses are as follows; confidence, experience, competence and tactics. b. Some of the very real characteristics of "Real Fights" such as; real fights are actually very sloppy compared to the ones portrayed in movies, most fights only last a few second, most fights are decided by punches to the head, most real fights involve some form of grappling, kicking (particularly above the waist) is not very effective in an actual fight. Now I have to admit that I am not too fond of statements such as the last one that seem to knock the effectiveness of kicks in a real fight. I for one have trained extensively in kicking and have used it successfully many times in "real fights." However, having said that, I freely admit that the point the author is trying to get across here is actually a very good one. Most people not only don't know how to kick properly to start with, but they have no idea on how to apply them practically in a "real fight." c. The author's observations about the martial arts versus real fighting; Peyton, in my opinion, is one of the more realistic self-defense authors out there today simply because he takes a realistic and practical approach to the effectiveness of traditional martial arts when it comes to the subject of self-defense. Unlike other authors out there that seem to knock any and every kind of formal martial art there is, Peyton freely admits there importance and value not only in self-defense, but also in every other aspect of your life. He does provide some really good "food for thought" in this section and it was a real pleasure to read. 3. The Tool Box This section starts out with some great ad

This is a no nonsense book about keeping yourself safe BEFORE the punches start flying. It's got great concepts and info on staying away from getting yourself stomped. It's a must read for any martial artist.Payton Quinn knows his stuff!

The literature of martial arts and self-defense is filled with hype, and with books that fail to deliver the real goods. This gem of a book is one of the rare exceptions. Mr. Quinn is knows a great deal about how violence actually occurs. He clearly describes what you can do to avoid violence in the first place, and how to prepare for those cases where violence cannot be avoided. The first chapter, which explains the author's "stay out of prison plan" is, by itself, worth the price of the book.The book is informative, well thought out, well written, and even entertaining. Mr. Quinn is a natural story teller, and illustrates his arguments with very interesting personal anecdotes. If you've read this far, you are likely considering whether you should buy Bouncer's Guide. Yes, you should.

Don't be misled by the title---this book is first and foremost about surviving a bad situation by never letting it come to a physical confrontation. Quinn gives an excellent profile of what motivates attackers, allowing the reader to recognize them before they are physically attacked. Also, he emphasizes again and again the importance of being aware of your surroundings. He debunks the idea that if you know the right techniques or are armed, that you are safe. Techniques and weapons won't save you from an attack you never saw coming.