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A Professional's Guide to Ending Violence Quickly: How Bouncers, Bodyguards, and Other Security Professionals Handle Ugly Situations
People who deal with violence on a daily basis know that the best way to avoid getting injured or sued by the jerk who started the trouble is to defuse the situation or put him down fast and hard. Here Animal shows you how to do both.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1996
173 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
About the author
Marc MacYoung
26 books49 followersMarc "Animal" MacYoung is a teacher of self-defense.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 6, 2019
Okay, so as anyone who follows my reviews probably knows, I've been reviewing early works by Marc MacYoung because he's been re-releasing them on Kindle and I'm a fan of his work.
Also, I've noticed a pattern here; the author finds a concept and builds on it, using stuff he talks about in prior books to go into a particular subject in more detail. That makes his books hard to review sequentially, because you'll find yourself noticing the same stuff over and over. That's not a flaw of the author, but rather a feature of the subject matter. Violence both is and is not simple.
With that in mind, I'll talk about what I personally found fascinating about this book.
As the title says, the text is about how "professionals end violence quickly". All right, fine. All of the author's statements about why a professional should "get it done" resonated with me - I was a security guard for a time, and when you're in that job violence is to be avoided if possible and dealt with as quickly as it can be if avoidance is not possible.
That's not what fascinated me here.
Naw, it was the physical aspects of the techniques he talked about.
Let me be clear; my main source of employment for my whole life was blue-collar labor, which among other things involves the movement of heavy objects from Point A to point B, often for long hours. Yeah, I've written a couple of books. I still had to pay the bills somehow, and there's a reason people talk about 'starving artists'.
Anyhow, what I found fascinating about this book was how the physical techniques MacYoung discusses for how to neutralize a threatening person dovetailed so well with my understanding of how to lift heavy objects without hurting myself. I mean damn, the two went hand-in-glove. On one hand I'm not surprised, but on the other hand I am, because (thanks to my other identity as a crime fiction writer) I do a lot of research about how violence happens and once again, MacYoung is one of the few authors who wrote a book I could connect to in this way.
Granted,when it comes to actually explaining stuff, the illustrations (and the discussion - MacYoung is nicknamed 'Animal' for a reason) are crude; I have a hard time imagining anyone without either my understanding or his really "grokking" the concepts he lays out in the text. I almost gave this book three stars for that reason, but there was enough other goodness to make this warrant four stars.
Also, I cannot tell a lie; seeing the connection between my work and his was...well, not precisely an ego stroke, but it was cool. More like a revelation. I'm still thinking about it.
Anyhow, if you want an interesting book about bouncer work, give this one a shot. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Also, I've noticed a pattern here; the author finds a concept and builds on it, using stuff he talks about in prior books to go into a particular subject in more detail. That makes his books hard to review sequentially, because you'll find yourself noticing the same stuff over and over. That's not a flaw of the author, but rather a feature of the subject matter. Violence both is and is not simple.
With that in mind, I'll talk about what I personally found fascinating about this book.
As the title says, the text is about how "professionals end violence quickly". All right, fine. All of the author's statements about why a professional should "get it done" resonated with me - I was a security guard for a time, and when you're in that job violence is to be avoided if possible and dealt with as quickly as it can be if avoidance is not possible.
That's not what fascinated me here.
Naw, it was the physical aspects of the techniques he talked about.
Let me be clear; my main source of employment for my whole life was blue-collar labor, which among other things involves the movement of heavy objects from Point A to point B, often for long hours. Yeah, I've written a couple of books. I still had to pay the bills somehow, and there's a reason people talk about 'starving artists'.
Anyhow, what I found fascinating about this book was how the physical techniques MacYoung discusses for how to neutralize a threatening person dovetailed so well with my understanding of how to lift heavy objects without hurting myself. I mean damn, the two went hand-in-glove. On one hand I'm not surprised, but on the other hand I am, because (thanks to my other identity as a crime fiction writer) I do a lot of research about how violence happens and once again, MacYoung is one of the few authors who wrote a book I could connect to in this way.
Granted,when it comes to actually explaining stuff, the illustrations (and the discussion - MacYoung is nicknamed 'Animal' for a reason) are crude; I have a hard time imagining anyone without either my understanding or his really "grokking" the concepts he lays out in the text. I almost gave this book three stars for that reason, but there was enough other goodness to make this warrant four stars.
Also, I cannot tell a lie; seeing the connection between my work and his was...well, not precisely an ego stroke, but it was cool. More like a revelation. I'm still thinking about it.
Anyhow, if you want an interesting book about bouncer work, give this one a shot. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
December 11, 2009
Marc "Animal" MacYoung's sense of humor and guts and blood feeling criterion for what works and doesn't is both fascinating and easy to follow.
He goes with first principles and has a very engaging writing style that makes him fit within his profession and reputation. The surprising thing is the depth of detail he goes to in trying to explain things and how he relates everything back to fundamental principles. I hightly recommend reading the notes in-line with the text as one goes.
I've been in only two real fights in my life, most of the rest has been in dojos, on the fencing strip, or as sports; so a lot of this book really acted as kind of a "Mythbusters" look into real violence. I loved that.
The thing that keeps this from being a five star is just that he keeps advertising all his other books, or leaves entire sections of this book out and says that the details are in another book. *laughs* A good way to sell other texts. He does follow through the logic train that leads to the other books, so not too frustrating, but it gets intrusive.
He goes with first principles and has a very engaging writing style that makes him fit within his profession and reputation. The surprising thing is the depth of detail he goes to in trying to explain things and how he relates everything back to fundamental principles. I hightly recommend reading the notes in-line with the text as one goes.
I've been in only two real fights in my life, most of the rest has been in dojos, on the fencing strip, or as sports; so a lot of this book really acted as kind of a "Mythbusters" look into real violence. I loved that.
The thing that keeps this from being a five star is just that he keeps advertising all his other books, or leaves entire sections of this book out and says that the details are in another book. *laughs* A good way to sell other texts. He does follow through the logic train that leads to the other books, so not too frustrating, but it gets intrusive.
February 15, 2025
This book is hard to use to actually train anything it teaches, and I have it as an E-book with bookmarked pages to refer to.
If the book had a section at the end which shows all of the diagrams and instructions for the techniques making it structured into a training guide to learn the physical skills, separated for solo training and with a partner, it would be great. With how it's structured now, it's useless as both a book to read during downtime or with the intent to train from it page by page.
There are other issues, the most recent one which makes me not want to finish is the misuse of the term heel hook.
If Marc actually trained in grappling, ie one of the combat sports he shit talks because he from Da Streetz, he would know that a heel hook is a ground grappling move that, like a wrist lock, will break someone's foot when applied to completion rather than submission.
What Marc is calling a heel hook is actually just a foot sweep. Hearing a foot sweep referred to as a heel hook every sentence hurts my brain.
If the book had a section at the end which shows all of the diagrams and instructions for the techniques making it structured into a training guide to learn the physical skills, separated for solo training and with a partner, it would be great. With how it's structured now, it's useless as both a book to read during downtime or with the intent to train from it page by page.
There are other issues, the most recent one which makes me not want to finish is the misuse of the term heel hook.
If Marc actually trained in grappling, ie one of the combat sports he shit talks because he from Da Streetz, he would know that a heel hook is a ground grappling move that, like a wrist lock, will break someone's foot when applied to completion rather than submission.
What Marc is calling a heel hook is actually just a foot sweep. Hearing a foot sweep referred to as a heel hook every sentence hurts my brain.
September 23, 2020
Ok for a novice with little experience in the art of coercing folks into cooperation.
My time in the Marine Corps, and a few self defense classes cover the basics outlined in this book.
The author is descriptive about the movements and the illustrations are helpful.
My time in the Marine Corps, and a few self defense classes cover the basics outlined in this book.
The author is descriptive about the movements and the illustrations are helpful.
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September 29, 2020Book review
Well written and entertaining ! As a fellow "violent professional" this would be week worth the read for new guys and a good review for guys that should already understand!
Well written and entertaining ! As a fellow "violent professional" this would be week worth the read for new guys and a good review for guys that should already understand!
June 7, 2022
Pretty decent book on the psychology involved with de-escalation, excellent in stating the obvious which is not always so obvious.
October 25, 2024
I've done various styles of Martial Arts and now, slower plus older, my emphasis is on the 'Martial' rather than the 'art'. What I liked was 'yes' given the typical dojo or commercial style training you do gain an over confidence plus opponent predictability. Then add in the non reality of how effective your expected attack to a training partner is twinned with their submission and you think you're tougher. Especially, when no one suggested an alternative view point. This book gives that alternative view point and its good to see some realism and lived advice being applied through the various anecdotes.
The bouncer/door man has one responsibility and that is to protect the business owner interests. The truth of that combined with how ego will get you into a whole pile of trouble combined with fast fighting and not to be fancy but crude/effective resonated with me.
The diagrams etc only make sense if you're familiar with their application.
The bouncer/door man has one responsibility and that is to protect the business owner interests. The truth of that combined with how ego will get you into a whole pile of trouble combined with fast fighting and not to be fancy but crude/effective resonated with me.
The diagrams etc only make sense if you're familiar with their application.
October 16, 2008
A fun read for anybody who has to deal with drunken idiots. It provides anecdotes, but no real help in working a security job. Fun though.
August 16, 2008
Maybe if the dumbfucks on the UN ' security counsel ' read this thing'd be different ~
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews