Neal Martin’s E-book, Street Smart: The Smart Approach to Street Self Defense is available for download. Mr. Martin’s martial arts background includes formal training in karate and jujitsu. In addition he also has worked as a bouncer.

This book draws on those experiences. Street Smart is written for those with no martial arts experience as well as those who consider themselves to be seasoned martial artists.

Martin starts this book off with some foundational definitions. Included are self-defense, the law’s view of self-defense, and the difference between fighting and self-defense. The main lesson to be learned here is that from a get sued standpoint, one has to be very careful when defending one’s self in a perceived attack.

Here Martin offers two simple rules: 1) Don’t be the aggressor and 2) Don’t overreact if you do have to defend yourself. Regarding the first point the advice is simple: Violence is the last option and you should walk away if possible. If you cannot walk away and are forced to defend yourself then the second rule applies: Respond with enough force to allow you to escape. Anything beyond that — especially if you are a martial artist and hurt the attacker! — could open you up to lawsuits.
From here Martin spends several pages discussing something that many people do not realize is self-defense: Prevention. As a former correctional officer this section really resonated with me. It’s something that the trainers always covered and also is something that I relied on to avoid tight spots. Included in this section are the author’s “three A’s”. These are “attitude”, “awareness”, and “action”. 

Attitude is how potential street criminals see you. If they perceive that you are an easy target then the more likely you are to be a crime victim. Next on his list is awareness. Or, as we called it in prison, scene awareness — a good dose of commons sense and alertness. For example, always pay attention to your surroundings and don’t put yourself in a bad situation (e.g. walking in the worst part of town, alone, and at night!).

Article Author: Bob Patterson

I write from a broad perspective and cover a variety of martial arts-related topics. I typically focus on the following: Self-defense, reality systems, traditional martial arts, martial arts news, and reviews of books, DVDs, etc.

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