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Editorial Reviews:
Product Description U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Larry Jordan was given a unique assignment by his commanders - come up with a truly down-and-dirty hand-to-hand fighting system for his fellow Green Berets and U.S. Army Rangers. The goal of this system was to give soldiers a handful of hard-core techniques that could be easily learned, easily mastered and effectively applied in any close-combat situation. Jordan devised a set of 12 techniques that were surprisingly simple, shockingly fast and brutally effective. He has now adapted this military system for civilian self-defense. He calls it "The Dirty Dozen." The 12 self-defense lessons in this book are specifically designed to provide the average citizen with a series of easily learned techniques that will enable him or her to prevail in any violent situation. Besides the ever-present threat of violent crime, the recent terrorist attacks aboard commercial airliners show that people can no longer rely on "somebody else" to protect them. Preparing to resist and defeat evildoers is everyone's responsibility now. That's where The Dirty Dozen comes in.
Interesting ConceptNovember 3, 2008 I have bought this book and been inspired by it.
The Good Points 1) It works from a limited number of moves. This is good as it reduces thinking. 2) I have decided to add two of the moves to my repitore 3) It inspired me to make my own "Dirty Dozen" (O.k I have only 10 moves and two of those are ground work.In a pinch I could reduce it to 8)
The Bad Points 1) While it claims to be twelve moves, in essence there are only six moves. 2) They all deal with a single unarmed attacket from the front, either standing, sitting or on the ground. 3) I feel that some of the moves are a little esoteric.
However, it does make one think. Real self defence should be simple and consist of the minimum set of techniques for the maximum effect. After reading this book I am revamping the self defence courses that I teach. This book will not be useful to all people. And some people will find this too simple, but that just shows their lack of comprehnsion of real life self defence. I just find it hard to reconcile the techniques in this book with credentials presented by the author. I would have thought the moves would have been simpler, much nastier and slightly more direct.
I would still recommend it to serious students of self defence. Even if you know all the moves, understand the concept. If you think the moves and concepts are to simple, then you are not a serious student of self defence and the arts.
The best self-defense book I've ever seenJune 5, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The book covers a number of moves you can do to defend yourself from an attacker while you are in a number of positions; seated, standing, in your car, at a bus or train stop or after being knocked to the floor.
The author does not artifically elongate the book with unnecessary chatter... he simply tells you exactly how to defend yourself. He describes where and how to strike any would be attacker in such a way to STOP them from harming you.
Some of the defensive moves described can cause severe injury or be lethal. Everyone who reads this book has to decide for themselves at what point they need to use lethal or near lethal force to defend themselves.
Unlike most martial arts books, there are not so many moves described here that you will forget most of them. It is a fast and easy read that goes right to the point. I feel confident that my wife and I are perhaps 10 times more able to defend ourselves from personal attack now than we were before buying and reading and then re-reading this book.
The 1st self protection book you should get if you know nothingApril 6, 2008 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
If I knew absolutely nothing about fighting and martial arts this would be the very first book I would buy. These are fundamental simple easy-to-use techniques. With sufficient training these techniques can be used under extreme duress and could certainly save your life. Many martial artists scoff at these techniques because they are so simple, but simple is good when you have to remember what to do while in a life-threatening situation. I've trained martial arts all my life (Greco- Roman wrestling, Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, Krav Maga, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), My father was US Army Special Forces in Vietnam for 7 years and my step-father is a Special Forces colonel and a TKD black belt currently serving in Iraq and we all would attest to the effectiveness of these techniques. (Generally I think it's a good idea to trust the advice of cops, soldiers, and those who've actually experienced life threatening close quarters combat, than those who've only played a sport or practiced in a dojo). There is definitely much more to fighting than what is in this book, but this is an excellent place to start, and if you wanted a bare bones effective and versatile set of techniques, the Dirty Dozen is were it's at.
A bunch of attacks banned by the UFCJanuary 17, 2008 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a short and sweet guide to effective, but illegal, fighting techniques. It describes fighting techniques that can protect you against a violent attack. However, if you use them in a typical street fight, you can expect to spend time in prison. Personal injury lawyers may also come after you. Children especially should not be allowed to read this book.
This book heavily focuses on using the head/hair grab to control your opponent's body movement, followed by repeated strikes to vital areas such as the eyes, ears, throat, neck, back of the head, knee, and groin. This book is basically a bunch of moves that are not even allowed in the UFC. (The UFC lists its fouls on its web site. Anyone who has read this book will recognize many of the fouls listed.)
The techniques taught in this book are far more effective than what you'd learn studying a traditional martial art like Tae Kwon Do. This book is written for people who have no martial arts background, but I would recommend it for anyone studying a modern martial art like Brazilian Jujutsu or Krav Maga, as well.
Good basic book on some nasty techniquesJanuary 4, 2008 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Dirty Dozen: 12 Nasty Fighting Techniques For Any Self-Defense Situation is a simple little book containing some practical advice and techniques for self-defense. As a self-defense author and instructor myself, I found it to be a quick read based on some sound principles.
The book starts out with a brief description of some of the threats you might face, and then goes into a chapter on the winning mind. I believe this chapter, focusing on having the right attitude is one of the best chapters in the book. A person must have the proper attitude to survive an attack and be committed in executing the nasty techniques presented to stop an attacker and make it home safe.
Jordan then goes on to discuss the natural weapons we have at our disposal, which include hands, elbows, knees and feet. The next chapter focuses on targets. Mind you, these are very short chapters with just a brief overview of these areas.
Next comes the 12 techniques Jordan chose to illustrate in this book. The descriptions are short, but easy to understand. Finally, Jordan illustrates his 12 techniques with photographs in the final chapter.
This book is not a complete self-defense text, but it serves its purpose among books in a self-defense library. It does provide some very basic self-defense concepts and principles and illustrates some techniques that could be effective if properly performed. I wish it would have addressed awareness and avoidance more as a person's first line of self-protection. However, if you are like me, and enjoy studying everything you can about self-defense and personal protection, this is a quick read to add to your collection.
Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D. - Author, Speaker Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks and the dvds: Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, and the Lock On Joint Locking Essentials series.
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