Kill or Get Killed: Riot Control Techniques, Manhandling, and Close Combat, for Police and the Military

The review posted here by Alan D. Cranford touched on all the high points that I would mention and with an expertise that is quite beyond mine. I want to zero in on a fine point about the philosophy espoused in this book versus the "martial arts" mentality so prevalent today, particularly as it bears on unarmed defense against a man wielding a knife. Another reviewer summed up what I call the "martial arts mentality" when he recommends studying Krav Maga to learn unarmed techniques for disarming a knife-wielding attacker. Where it says "Krav Maga," you may substitute the name of any fighting system, traditional or made-up, and there you have a statement that would fit into a discouragingly large number of martial arts books and schools. I'll be blunt. For at least 99% of us, the phrase "knife disarm" is just crazy talk, and if you try such a thing in real life, you will probably die. Assuming you are lucky enough to notice that a person is threatening you with a knife before he has stuck the knife in you, and assuming you are not at the moment pointing a weapon at him, your number one priority should be getting away from that knife so that he can't cut or stab you with it. Because if he starts doing that, you will probably die. And at the risk of belaboring the obvious, if you go reaching for a guy's knife arm, he will almost certainly cut and stab you plenty, even if he's a complete punk out of his mind on booze or drugs. If you go near the knife, the knife will probably go in you. I hope that's clear enough. What Applegate advises is decidedly not to grapple with the knife guy. Instead, he says to pick up a chair and use it lion-tamer style. That's excellent advice. Pick up anything-- a shovel, a bar stool, even a sturdy broom-- anything that'll brush knife boy back a little while you think about how to get some distance. You can yell for help, throw things, dodge behind furniture or cars, all to one end: keeping that knife out of you. Applegate advises this kind of thing because he was advising men who might one day face a knife-wielding attacker, and he did not want them to get killed. Applegate's advice comes from the real world, not from a gym or a dojo or a competitive sport. Go to the bookstore, open a book on Krav Maga or any other book containing "knife disarms," look at the pictures, and think about that. Are you a Navy SEAL or similar? Fine, if so, then feel free to break knife boy into small pieces with your bare hands. You know better than I do. But if the answer is "no, I am not a Navy SEAL," then the chances are good that you ought to take all those martial arts books with pictures of knife disarms in them and burn them. Better yet, give them to people you wouldn't mind seeing dead. I can envision a scenario where I'm attacked with a knife and have no better choice than to twist the guy's arm. If that happens, then things have really gone to hell, and I am in deep, deep trouble. But I've been taught how to twist arms, and

"Kill or Get Killed" is not about self-defense. Rex Applegate wrote this book for offensive combat. In his chapter on handguns, Applegate wrote that there was no defending with the handgun-he trained his students to ATTACK first. The chapters on unarmed and improvised weapon fighting were about asymmetrical combat-your enemy might have a knife, and you had a chair. The sections on riot control may seem to have little bearing on personal defense; Applegate wrote "Riot Control Material and Techniques" during the turbulent 1960's. "Kill or Get Killed" is history. It was cutting-edge stuff in 1943, and will still work today. I refer to "expert systems" and "idiot systems" for personal combat-the former will be very effective, but you need years of training (synthetic experience) under the guidance of a competent instructor and with full school facilities. "Idiot systems" have limited effectiveness, but within 40 hours or so of drilling with another student you will be an effective combatant. "Kill or Get Killed" is what I call an "idiot system" and it follows the KISS principle. If you think you can read a comic book and become a super ninja commando in less than fifteen minutes, reality will soon prove the error of your ways. On the other hand, if you read "Kill or Get Killed," then use it to produce a training program, then actually do the drills involved, within a few weeks of hard work you'll be more dangerous to an attacker than your attacker is to you. There are better methods of close quarter shooting with pistol and long gun-Rex Applegate produced a video on modern point shooting. A word about point shooting versus using the sights-you need to do both to be a competent shooter. For handgun shooting, if you lack the time and other resources to do it right, the "Kill or Get Killed" technique will work. The OSS sometimes had only an hour or two of firearms training for its agents before they were dropped behind enemy lines with a .32 automatic pistol for moral support. Just keep in mind that your effective range will be about ten feet-Applegate claims fifty feet for the handgun, but that is for someone who has first been trained in the traditional "target pistol" course to 50 yards, then put through the entire OSS shooting school. I corresponded with the late Colonel Applegate to clear up a few points about his pistol techniques, and I trained some of the Camp Doha Security Force officers in the point shooting techniques in addition to the standard FM 23-35 pistol course during five years on the Camp Doha security force. These shooters had been trained, but had trouble qualifying-and also were deficient in gun fighting skills. One of the firing tables took place at 7 meters-the officer was to draw his 9mm, rack the slide, and put 5 shots in the silhouette target in under 12 seconds. Most of the officers didn't manage to get their M9 pistol out and fire one shot (they would often accidentally engage the safety while racking

This book tells it the way it is. Long ago, dirty fighting wasn't our way of doing things. Cheap shots were unacceptable, and the good guy always wore the white hat. Our country went to war, and our troops were getting beat down and killed by a brutal enemy who had no rules. This book helped change all that. Written by Col. Rex Applegate, formerly of the OSS, it taught a lot of combat troops how to fight to win- to be as brutal and savage as the enemy. Applegate's classic text shows all the tricks to disable or kill the enemy with a knife, gun and even your bare hands. No fancy moves, no John Wayne nonsense (sorry Duke), and no BS!! This is the real deal! The pages on close combat is the best part of the book and more than justifies the price. The chapters on small arms is interesting as well, teaching cover, concealment, and point shooting, as opposed to aimed fire. It's obvious thst Col. Applegate was an advocate of realistic firearms training (silhouette targets in a killhouse opposed to bullseyes at the range), and although some of the techniques and weapons depicted are dated, it makes for good reading, and one could learn the fundamentals of combat shooting from these chapters. Police officers could learn a few defensive tactics that may give them the edge they need in a streetfight or while trying to subdue a combative suspect, but I would not recommend the use of some of the techniques for handling prisoners, as they are very outdated and unsafe....Also interesting is Applegate's chapter on battling Communist tactics and stategy, a bit of nostalgia for all you Cold War Commandos, ready to take on the reds! Read this book and LIVE!!...

Kill or Get Killed; In twenty-five years of study in the field of self-defence and combat I have never read a more concise and realistic work. Colonel Applegate is a man who has been there and done that. His unique insights and simple techniques are easy to read, follow, and understand, and they come, not from some Dojo or firearms compitition, but from years of service, both to his own country and others around the world. If you want to KNOW how to defend yourself, come what may, buy this book and memorize every page.

Kill or Get Killed, despite the rather ominous sounding title, is probably one of the best texts on self defense and unarmed combat ever written.Many of the techniques shown are still very useful today,despite the fact that the book was written during W.W.2.It's a real classic, yet very practical book that anyone interested in true self defense and hand-to-hand combat will treasure and learn a great deal from.Highly recommended!