Hard-Won Wisdom Reviews

Reviews of Hard-Won Wisdom, Alain Burrese's realistic look at self-defense!

Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks: How to Avoid a Fight and Things To Do When You Can't or Don't Want To

From American Survival Guide, Nov. 1999:

One of the best ways to avoid physically fighting another human being, is staying away from places that condone it, glorify it, or perpetuate the chances of disputes, bad tempers, and immature behavior.  Most people will never find themselves going to biker bars, or becoming the targets of road rage, or getting mugged in bad areas of town, simply because they avoid alcohol, have no desire to participate in contests of machismo, and use common sense and smarts to avoid even the slightest chance of getting into trouble.  For others, it takes the "school of hard knocks" to teach patience, mental/physical/emotional self control, and the necessary skills of hand to hand combat to survive physical attack and violence - whether provoked by criminals, drug addicts, or someone with a bad headache.  Most of us find ourselves between these two extremes of violence and non-violence.  But as in all aspects of survival, preparation is the key.  If you are the type that avoids disputes, you still need to learn how to defend yourself just in case.  And this is where this book becomes important.  You'll learn from the author how to avoid a fight, and what to do when you can't.  Chapters include: Violence and Fighting in General; Anyone Can Be Beat; The Law; Awareness; Getting Physical; Balance, Stance, and Footwork; Defense; Using your Hands; Kicking; Infighting Tools; To the Ground; Chokes and Sleepers; Training and Fitness.  Avoid the school of hard knocks - get this book and use its wisdom.

From the Site of Loren Christensen:

It is refreshing to read a book in this genre by an author who is not trying to convince the reader how tough he is. Hard-Won Wisdom from the School of Hard Knocks: How to avoid a fight and things to do when you can't or don't want to, by Alain Burrese, is an informative book about the nastiness of fighting when it gets up close and personal.

Alain does not glorify street fighting, bar brawling, fighting over women, or fighting for no other reason than a need to kick somebody's butt. He titles his first chapter, "A Little about the Game" but then points out in the first sentence that fighting is not a game. He says it this way. Serious consequences happen when people fight. People get hurt and people get killed. Many wind up behind bars, and unlike in Jailhouse Rock, it's not fun spending time in prison on a manslaughter charge for killing a guy in a fight.

Hard-Won Wisdom contains a slew of self-defense techniques, concepts and principles that the author has found applicable from his many years traveling around the world and frequenting some very rough places.

However, the book is also about the nature of fighting and ways you can avoid it. He says: There are people who become addicted to and like violent encounters. How you handle these feelings determines what kind of person you are. The fist step to overcoming the problem is recognizing the feeling. The next step is to realize and determine what brings it out. This takes a lot of introspection, but it can be worth the trouble. You learn this about yourself and control it - or it will control you. Remember, it gets expensive paying for things you break and people you hurt.

Chapters include the following.

• Violence and fighting in general
• Anyone can be beat
• The Law
• Awareness
• Balance, stance, and footwork
• Using your hands and feet
• In-fighting tools
• Ground fighting
• Chokes and sleepers
• Fitness
• Friends you run with
• What you are wearing
• Walls and stairs
• Drunks
• Weapons
• Young and stupid
• Realizing when you don't have to
• When you want to
• Sometimes you have to

Hard-Won Wisdom from the School of Hard Knocks is applicable to the needs of police officers and martial artists, not only for the techniques that it teaches but for what it teaches about the nature of fighting toe to toe. The book will not only help you understand some of the dangerous people you encounter every day, but it will also help you understand yourself.

Review of First Edition of Hard Won Wisdom by Loren Christensen.

Check out the link to Loren's site on the Link page!

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