Strong on Defense

Bibliography:

Strong, Sanford. “Strong on Defense: Survival Rules to Protect you and your Family from Crime.” Pocket Books. New York. 1996.

Review: I can’t remember how I came across this book. I suspect it was one recommended in another book I was reading at the time. It may have been Rory Miller’s Meditations of Violence or it might have been in Marc MacYoung’s book, “In the Name of Self-Defense.” I tend to study, through out my day, several books or other materials at the same, sequentially speaking, time. 

This one speaks a bit to mind-set training, which I appreciated. It also provides a lot of stories about crime and violence to give one some idea’s about that subject while feeding the training suggestions for creating a mind-set or mind-state that, hopefully, will allow the user/reader to act in those few seconds when a sudden, surprise, pain filled, fear inducing, hard and close blitz attack happens. 

The thing is, Sanford Strong is a retired police officer and his goal is to provide civilians, like me, who are not in the professional status to benefit from the training and experiences of some who spend their time dealing with crime and violence and conflict. 

Recommendation: Highly recommended for your SD library!

Bibliography:

Ayoob, Massad. “Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense”Gun Digest Books. Krouse Publications. Wisconsin. 2014.

Review: This book deals with firearms, etc. but is a solid teacher of general self-defense. Many of the topics or chapters explain things that will help a self-defense practitioner to expose themselves to those things that explain varying ways to justify actions taken in application of self-defense. 

Mr. Ayoob provides us a concise explanation of things like, "AOJ (Ability, Opportunity and Jeopardy), Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground, The Hierarch of Lethality, Knife-Impact weapon-Disparity of Force-Force of Numbers and so on that an SD defending themselves needs to justify and explain and be admissible type information. 

His Case Studies provide you, the SD practitioner, with knowledge that will get your evidence admitted because you used it as a reasonable and prudent means to justify and know the level of force you encountered and used that meets the standards of the law, etc. 

One of the most important concepts I got from this is "Exposure." If you are not well educated and/or versed on violence and all it entails then you cannot adequately protect yourself and most importantly you CANNOT apply SD properly to meet those legal and civil standards, etc. 

I would add this book to my library, ops-already added ;-) , especially to help create a complete, as possible, knowledge base for my SD.

Addendum: for clarity, Massad Ayoob quote, "Reasonable Fear is simply that apprehension of danger which any reasonable, prudent person would experience if they were in the same situation as you, knowing what you know at the time." My view: this means to me, that exposure to many facets of violence and SD provide you the knowledge necessary to make such critical decisions as well as make them admissible in a court battle, etc.