First Strike: End a Fight in Ten Seconds or Less!

I like the following things about this book: he cuts to the chase, and I was able to read the book in about an hour. The pictures are clear and helpful, and there are a lot of them. He does not philosophize too much, as some authors do. I take krav maga - the Israeli defense forces' martial art - and there is about a 90 % overlap between what Mr. Franco teaches and what the Israelis teach. So if you are interested in krav, buy this book, because it is the only book I know that illustrates the defenses in krav against unarmed assailants (there is a krav book on armed attack). Mr. Franco does not teach krav, but his method is the same thing, mostly, just with a different name. What works, works.

I am writing this late at night because several hours ago I got into a confrontation with some guy who was looking to harm me and my wife. I used several of the techniques described in this book and ended up knocking the criminal out cold. The police officer came to the scene and said that I was justified in what I did. It happened just like the book stated. I guess you can learn from a book. Hats off to Sammy Franco and FIRST STRIKE.

Once again Sammy Franco shows why he is near the top of those qualified to explain and teach self-defense. Mr. Franco draws from several arts (lots of jkd and cqb) to show how to take a person out when all negotiations have failed. Too many dojos teach counterstrikes to the detriment of their students. Mr. Franco pulls no punches as to the harsh realities of the street and what it takes to survive. Every martial artist should read this book and reevaluate his art. Every instructor should learn this book and look himself in the mirror to see if he is teaching his students real survival techniques. Military people don't have a problem with Franco's concepts. It's time the public understands them also. KEEP IT UP SAMMY!

First Strike is a great book. The concepts outlined in this book by Sammy Franco are logical and very effective. The concept of striking first in a fight is vital. Franco teaches step by step the best way to perform your preemptive strike and gives various techniques and scenarios to undestand the principles better. Just like any self-defense book, this book is useless without continuous practice of the techniques outlined. Franco also outlines psychological aspects of the fight. The only bad thing, i could point out in this book, altough minimal, is the use too many terms that seem irrelevant in some of the beginning chapters. Overall though the book is pretty straightforward and the techniques are easy to put into use in practice right away.

Napoleon said that the logical end of defensive warfare is surrender. What was true on the battlefields of Europe a few centuries ago is equally true in the concrete jungles of today: victory is born of offensive action. Many people have never considered the idea of striking first to end a threatening situation. To the average person, executing such an action in self-defense would seem a contradiction in terms. In FIRST STRIKE, Franco exposes this common (and dangerous) misconception. Fortunately for the reader, this is only the beginning. FIRST STRIKE is a strong treatment of the preemptive strike in its many forms. Franco covers the legal and moral aspects of the first-strike attack, the mentality required, and a wide variety of physical tools the reader can use to launch -- and equally important, to finish -- the attack. The book also devotes space to valuable drills, training routines, and scenarios. FIRST STRIKE is a complete blueprint for adding the preemptive strike to your self-defense arsenal. If you have not addressed this issue in your self-defense training, you MUST do so. FIRST STRIKE is an excellent training aid to help anyone, regardless of skill level or fighting discipline, begin to study this critical field.