Review: Fighting Smarter, 3rd Edition by Tom Givens

[SouthNarc]

Soooooo.......

I finally finished my autographed copy of Fighting Smarter. Some thoughts in no particular order:

-I think this is truly Tom's opus. As noted previously it represents him very well and I think it is a legacy piece that will continue after him. Not that he's going anywhere!

-I REALLY appreciate the simple, elegant prose. So many firearms trainers and self defense instructors can't wait to use a word like "proprioceptive" when they teach or write. Tom never uses a big word where a small one will work just as well and the writing is engaging. Even if you haven't trained with Tom and can't hear his voice like I can, when you read the book it feels like you're having a conversation with him. That's really hard to pull off in writing. An example:

Carrying a concealed weapon allows one, regardless of gender, age, or physical ability, to control his own immediate environment and thereby have options in various emergencies that unarmed people simply do not enjoy

That's pretty concise and bulletproof logic.

-The organization of the book is spot on; software then hardware. Chapters 6-9 are particularly noteworthy as they go beyond firearms into tactics and strategy. In order those chapters are:

-Controlling Fear and Making Sound Decisions Under Stress
-Visualization, or Mental Imagery
-Awareness Games, Self Training
-Intelligence Gathering for Personal Safety

I think these four chapters in particular would make an excellent mini paper on "mindset". Tom avoids this word which I again like, as so many toss it around like it's a verb. Tom gives specific advice on how one should go about making themselves more aware and easy steps to assess your environment.

The hardware and "shooting" portion of the book are current and applicable. The track record of Tom's students shows this. I think Tom is one of the few people in the training industry who actually lives the idea that things change and we must change also. Tom's original pedigree is Gunsite but Tom's doctrine is...Tom's. He continues to watch and learn and shape his curriculum based on what's happening in the world.

Closing this out, if I had to smash the library down to one book as a definitive reference it would be Fighting Smarter. There's simply not a more comprehensive book out there on the subject written by someone as credible as Tom Givens.

-Craig Douglas April, 2015

[Hizzie]

Source for the book?

[BaiHu]

Source for the book?

I believe this is where you can grab it: https://www.createspace.com/5230622

And here, but there is an issue and you can't get it from Kindle right now...mmmm. That'd be my preference.: http://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Smart...ghting+smarter

[Jay Cunningham]

Wow, great review. Thanks Craig and thank you Tom for writing it.

[JDM]

Just pulled my copy out of the mailbox. I'm really looking forward to reading it.

[Robinson]

Ordered!

[vcdgrips]

The post below is something I wrote in 2011 and is even more true today re Tom's acumen as a writer, teacher, indeed professor (as in one who creates knowledge) re
the uniquely American martial art of Pistolcraft etc.

Full Disclosure- I hosted Tom for a two day class in KC in April 2011. I attended the Rangemaster Instructor's Course in Oct 2010 and Tactical Confs in 2009 and 2010. I first met Tom at the Cooper Memorial in 2007. He along with Todd have influence my mindset/shooting/training more than anyone else in the last few years.

Tom is one of the few old school masters of the Modern Technique who continues to study and improve the art. He understands that what was state of the art in 1981 may have changed/evolved/improved/developed/morphed etc in 2011. Tom is arguably the best living bridge between between the 1st gen students of Cooper ( i.e. Givens, Taylor, Smith, Awerbuck, Jeans, Hackathorn, Rogers etc) and today's younger instructors of note.

[SLG]

Just finished reading my signed copy of the book. Since I stole that line from S'Narc's review above, and I don't want to type the rest of what S'Narc said out, all I will say is I completely agree with his review and highly recommend the book to any new or aspiring shotist. More experienced people will get less from the second half of the book, but the first half is worth the price by itself. It is the most modern, up to date, one stop shop available.

[s0nspark]

This book is pure no-nonsense gold. Tom puts things in the most understandable terms - I now have a much better grasp of many of the concepts I thought I already understood.

Cannot recommend this highly enough. Since I got my copy all of my shooting friends have been getting a earful