I
will take a wild guess here and say that most of my readers have a least a
small library of books in the field of martial arts and related subjects. As a
kid I particularly liked those that featured many techniques and forms in
detailed pictures, as well as those with cool pseudo-historical anecdotes about
the origins of the styles presented. Later, as I was growing up and (hopefully)
maturing on my path, my focus shifted to training methods and principles behind
training systems.
Today’s
post is review of a superb work that highlights the foundational
meta-principles behind any combative training approach aimed at developing the
real world civilian fighting prowess. And what a piece of work it is! I had
stumbled into the name of author Varg Freeborn quite recently, through the
Conflict Research Group’s page, and one of his interviews
hit a chord with me, so I then took a closer look at his own website, and finally ordered
the book.
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| The author... |
Well,
the book “Violence of Mind” belongs to the category of paradigm shifting, game
changing pieces (or packages) of information you occasionally run into. The
author has a rather unique biography that provides him with some “privileged”
insights, and I am certainly glad he chose to share those with the general
public. Freeborn’s intimate knowledge of violence lead him to formulating a
robust method of preparation for those life events we all (well, the sane ones)
hope to never have to deal with.
From
the very start it is clear that the book fills some of the large gaps that most
other instructors either neglect or are even ignorant about. I got my money’s
worth just from either of the chapters on Mission, Orientation or Conditioning,
and there are still few others that will make you take a deep and honest look
at your training and reassess how it is conducted. For example, how often and
how in depth do you consider legalities of the possible application of the material
you work on during your training sessions? Or, how about the standards and
validation of what is done in those sessions?
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| ...and his legacy. |
Although
his writing comes predominantly from the perspective of firearms training and
use, the principles are readily applied to any other domain of practical
preparation for self-preservation. Another aspect that I liked immensely is
that although the goal of the book is to be critical of the current widespread self-preservation
training practices, the author manages at the same time to clearly exude the
good-meaning attitude behind it, i.e. it is obvious that his intent is to help
the readers adjust their training to the demands of reality, and not
self-aggrandizing through mockery of others.
In
conclusion, if your involvement in martial arts and general fighting stuff is
in any way inclined towards the real world management, beyond recreational
practice and sportive applications, you owe it to yourself to get this book and
read it…repeatedly!
