Cheap Shots, Ambushes and Other Lessons Book Review

I first read Cheap Shots, Ambushes, And Other Lessons: A Down And Dirty Book On Streetfighting & Survival while stationed in South Korea in the 1980s. I was serving with the 2nd Infantry Division and did not know basketball in the future I would become friends with Marc MacYoung, work together, train together, and teach at the same events. I did not know he would write the foreword for my first book. What I did know was I was seeing the same kinds of things in the bars I was fighting in that he wrote about.

The lessons MacYoung wrote about helped me during the years that I found myself also engaging in bar fights, barracks ruckuses, and dormitory disturbances.

Many years later, I still believe this book shares some valuable realistic advice regarding real street fights. When Marc wrote this book, he was a lot closer to the streets and had not experienced some of the martial arts he has now, and that shows in his writing. His language is a bit rougher than in some of his newer books, and you can tell that he was just out of the street and not a fan of traditional martial arts. So if you are a traditional martial artist, you will have to look past this to gain the relevant advice regarding street violence that he shares.

I put some of Marc's practical advice about fights into practice in the bars and other places I was frequenting. It helped me then, and it could help you now if you find yourself in violent situations. I have learned a lot from Marc both in person and from his basketball This was the book that started it all, and it is still an excellent book on self-defense.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He writes and speaks about a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety topics. He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional dvds, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com or http://www.bennettlawofficepc.com