Book Review: "Contact Weapons" by Steve Tarani and Damon Fey

Book:  Contact Weapons: Lethality and Defense by Steve Tarani and Damon Fay (2004), 262 pp., trade paperback. There does not appear to be an e-book version, but there seem to be various sources of the physical book both new and used.

     This is a very different book from most self-defense books because it looks not only at issues of self-defense, but also explores in detail what the physiological and psychological effects of being struck or injured by weapons. In fact, it probably has the most detailed discussion of the physiological aspects of damage and injury that I've seen in a book on self-defense. The authors also discuss methods to avoid being a victim, some basic defenses and actions should you be caught unawares of an attack, present some actual case studies of attacks, and wrap up with dealing with the aftermath of an attack.

      Warning: As you can probably tell from the cover, the accounts and many of the photographs in this book are graphic and brutal; the authors pull no punches in describing what can and does happen in these very personal types of attacks. This may not be a book to read in a break room or cafeteria.

      As the title suggests, the focus of this book is on what the authors term "contact weapons," or might otherwise be referred to as melee weapons: that is, short range weapons that cause damage by actually striking or being in physical contact with the target (as opposed to projectile weapons such as a firearm, bow, sling, etc.). But that still leaves a broad category of weapons that injure or kill by striking, cutting, crushing, slashing, strangling, etc., including knives and machetes, clubs and club-like weapons, chains and other flexible weapons, flail-like weapons, improvised weapons such as pipes or screwdrivers, and the always handy fist or foot. While most Americans probably think of firearms when it comes to violent crime, the authors note that (at the time of writing) 82% of aggravated assaults in the United States are committed with contact weapons, and 28% of murders are with contact weapons. More recent statistics from the FBI indicate that in 2017, 467 people were murdered in the United States with blunt objects, and 1,591 were killed with cutting instruments.

    The book is split into two basic parts. Part 1 pertains to the describing contact weapons and a discussion intended to provide you with an understanding of personal combat. This comprises the bulk of the book. Part 2 covers actual case studies, as well as the wrap up and discussion of the post attack/defense phase. The book has an Introduction and 12 chapters:

1. Human Life: The Paradox (being that the human body and psyche can be very fragile, yet resilient).
2. Science of Survival (looking at skeletal system and organs of the body, what happens when there is trauma, and the various ways a person can die from physical trauma).
3. Personal Defense--The Basics of Survival (discussing martial arts and defense in the real world, and the basics of situational awareness).
4. Defensive Tactics--The Essential Elements.
5. Shock--The Silent Killer.
6. The Dynamics of Fear (looking at both physiological and psychological components and fear management).
7. Control--The Primary Objective (discussing the physical elements of controlling distance, position, different types of attacks, and some methods of defense when suddenly attacked).
8. Practical Street Survive (which covers other tips and tricks of self-defense in a street fight).
9. The Traumatic Equation (laying the groundwork for the case studies).
10. Case Studies--Practical Analysis.
11. Crime and Punishment (essentially looking at the aftermath of violence). 
12. Death and Winning (a further review of being mentally and physically ready to survive a fight).

Finally, there is a glossary, a bibliography, and short biographies of the authors.

      There is a lot of good in this book and very little that I consider poor or bad. In fact, if I had to list the worst thing about the book, it would be the choice of font, which makes it a little hard for my old eyes to read.

      One of the best and most unique parts of this book, and why I think it useful even for someone with significant training, is the description of the physiological aspects of trauma and injury. You will come away with an understanding why it is important to protect the vulnerable parts of the body, especially the head and neck.

      But just as important as the physiological consequences of an attack are the mental aspects: one's mindset and will to live. That is, the victim of a violent physical attack can choose to, in effect, commit suicide!

     ... [I]t is interesting to note that under an unavoidable self-attack or internal violence, one will turn their body toward the attack as a solution. The suicidal person effectively exposes and opens his or her body to the force used to do harm. ... Freedom or liberation from one's fear or pain or intractable situation becomes the motivator to succumb. ...

      A particular point of vulnerability is when someone gives way to the onset of pain. When the attack has yielded pain to the victim, the tendency will be to keep that area exposed until the pain stops, just like in a suicide. The effect of stopping the defensive action in order to deal with the pain drops concentration elsewhere. By then, one is more vulnerable and suffering great bodily harm or death becomes the choice of the offender.

     This can also be seen in the effect of stunning blows or seemingly incapacitating strikes. By itself, a single strike may not be well placed or cause much more than some bruising injury. This is the point in attacks where lesser-skilled combatants and poorly prepared offenders win. They win when the one they were attacking gives way to their threat. The bad guy wins when the one they are attacking allows the force used against them to have more kinetic energy, build speed, expose a more vital organ or multiply the amount of damage than the attacker intended. It all started from yielding to the fear and the strike. This acute "suicidal" ideation becomes the predicate event toward the loss of the close-quarter battle -- the mindset of giving up and hoping the pain goes away only develop and enhance the external violence about to occur; in short, a homicidal event becomes a functional suicide. ...

     ... People, under a seemingly indefensible attack, will often mentally give up amidst the attack and simply enable the attacker to complete his mission. They seek freedom from the situation... . 

(pp. 26-27). The authors also note that "there is not only a physiological compromise, there is a mental one as well. The brain shifts the body in survival, and this often translates to surrender or submission." (p. 29). To counter this, the authors adamantly assert that you must not only have the intention and will to win, but that you must be focused on carrying out that intention and be able to physically carry out that intention.

Once the decision to win -- at all costs -- is made, this sets the foundation for which all other factors may squarely rest. Built upon this stable rock of predetermination, the remainder of our arsenal can now include the understanding to know that there are no rules, to remain calm, to exit or equalize and to use gross motor skills.

(p. 249).

     But how to defend against an attack? Well, the best way is to not be there (Farnam's rules). At a minimum, you need to have situational awareness, and the authors discuss situational awareness, including the color codes for different levels of awareness. They also note that you must have environmental awareness: paying attention to where exits are located, who is in the room, the availability of improvised weapons, etc.

    If you are involved in a fight, the authors warn that you must control the fight rather than letting the fight control you. That is, although you initially may react to an attack, you must eventually act proactively--if all you do is try and block blows, it will just take longer for the attacker to beat you to death. There are three basic elements of control: control of the target; control of distance; and control of position. For instance, you can control the target simply by turning slightly or covering up a vulnerable area. You can control distance, obviously, by moving away from the attacker. And you can control position by moving out of the attacker's position of advantage and maneuvering to where you have the advantage (e.g., side-stepping so you are to one side of the attacker instead of in front of him).

     As far as tactics or physical responses, one of the important points brought up by the authors is to avoid what they term "frozen foot"--that is, when under a sudden attack or surprise, "our shoulders rise to our ears, our hands come up above our waist, our feet 'stick' to the ground and our knees bend." (p. 84). So, you must train yourself to respond by getting "off the X" when you sense an attack. Don't just stand there waiting to receive the full strength of the blow, or the precision of the stab, etc.

     Another concept discussed in the book is "exit or equalize." Basically, there is generally an optimal distance for most attacks with contact weapons. As a defender, you need to decide whether you can escape or, at least, back up and create space so that you are outside the range of the attacker and his weapon and escape from the situation; or, move in closer so that you are too close for the attacker to effectively use his weapon. For instance, if someone swings a baseball bat at you, you can try to move out of range, or move inside the optimal distance where the energy and range of motion of the attacker is limited. Or, as the authors describe it:

1. Get away.
2. If you can't get away or it's necessary to "stay and play" then get something in your hands that be either placed between yourself and harm's way or that you can use to effectively stop the threat.
3. Failing #2, employ some technique to get to a better position.

(p. 87). Point #3 could be, for instance, putting a table or counter between you and an attacker, or moving within the optimum distance as discussed above, or other positional changes that get you out of the most critical danger zone.

     Of course, if you are under a sudden attack, you may not have time to select the optimum counter or defense. You may only have time for something that, you hope, will be good enough to give you time to assess your situation. Thus, the authors discuss some basic defenses. But to apply the defenses, you need to comprehend the general category of attack: whether the attack will be along the high-line (targeting the head, neck, or upper torso), or low-line; and whether the attack is open (coming from the attacker's outside) or closed (coming across the attacker's body). An incorrect action can be bad; for instance, using a maneuver to block a high-line attack with a knife when the attacker is aiming for your belly (a low line attack) will leave you open to the attack.

     The first of the basic techniques that the authors suggest is what they term the "Quick Shield." This is essentially a boxer's standard blocking position: both arms up in front of your body and head, back of the hands facing toward the attacker (in case you take a slash across your arms, a slash to the back of the arm will be better than a slash on the inside where it could sever tendons). This provides a the bases of a reasonably good defense to a high line attack. But for goodness sake, don't try and reach out with your hand to block an attack with an edged weapon like a machete or ax (see the photograph in the lower left corner of the cover).

     Next is what the authors call the Quick Break. As they describe it:

Optimally, for a low-line attack, especially with an edged weapon, you want to parry or redirect the incoming strike. The direction you would optimally want to parry the incoming edge or tip would be down and away from your center mass. One of the best ways to accomplish this task of redirection, warding off or deflecting an incoming attack, is by turning it aside (or down) and from your vital organs, which are located in your center. Hence the classic term that is echoed through DT training circles -- protect your center mass. 

(p. 138). The specific maneuver will depend on the location of your hands. "If [your] hands are oriented below the belt and you are attacked along the low-line, the optimum response resulting in the least amount of damage is to parry with the outside of the forearm." (p. 140). But, "[i]f [your] hands are oriented above the belt and you are attacked along the low line, the optimum response resulting in the least amount of damage is to parry with the outside of your elbow." (p. 141). And, finally, "[i]f [your] hands are oriented away from your body and you are attacked along the low line, the optimal response ... is to parry the attacker's forearm with your nearest defensive appendage -- the palm of your hand." (p. 142).

     Ideally, after executing one of these basic defenses, you would be able to escape or maneuver to a position where you could bring a firearm, if you have one, into play. But if this is not an option, the authors have a couple other defensive actions you can take. For instance, if you blocked or parried an attack to the high-line using your "Quick Shield," the authors recommend a maneuver that they call the "Push Back"--"slam your hands violently into your opponent's center mass and use your legs like you're pushing a car up a hill to move yourself or him 45 degrees away from the line of attack in the other direction." (p. 144). Alternatively, you can attempt what the authors term the "Push Thru" maneuver, where you "maintain contact with and slam your forearms violently into your opponent's weapon arm using legs like you're pushing a car up a hill to move yourself through him forward 45 degrees to the green zone" (i.e., to a position to his side or back where he cannot strike you with the weapon). (p. 145).

     Fortunately, the book as lots of illustrations, and the authors describe different types of attacks, with different weapons, and how you could respond to them using the simple tools given above. It should be fairly easy for you to practice these maneuvers with a partner.

     Besides these more general tools, the authors offer up some "golden nuggets" of information on specific topics: keep your eyes open (e.g., don't blink when a punch is thrown) and be aware of what is happening within your whole field of vision (similar to when you are driving a car); be aware of what is in a person's hands; avoid going to the ground if you can; when dealing with multiple attackers, try to maneuver so that you are only facing one at a time and deal with them one at a time, starting with the nearest person.

    Of course, there is a lot more to the book than the few points discussed above. I found the book to have plenty of useful information for the student of self-defense or the martial arts, and would recommend it.