How to Fight the Pain Resistant Attacker: Fighting Drunks, Dopers, the Deranged and Others Who Tolerate Pain

by Loren W. Christensen

There is a truth in the world of hand-to-hand combat that too many martial artists aren;t aware of or refuse to Every time you discover a sure-thing technique, one that makes all your training partners groan and writhe in agony, there exists out there in the mean streets, a host of people who won t feel it. People like * Attackers with large muscle bulk or large fat bulk, * Attackers intoxicated on alcohol, * Attackers under the influence of drugs, * Attackers out of control with rage, * Attackers who are mentally deranged, * Attackers who feel pain but like it. This book isn't about working out with a training partner it s about surviving a desperate street attack against a nightmare who doesn t acknowledge what you thought was your best shot.

Genres: Martial Arts

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Loren W. Christensen is a Vietnam veteran, retired police officer, a martial artist since 1965, and a prolific author of books and magazine articles.

As a writer, Loren has penned over 70 books and dozens of magazine articles on a variety of subjects. While his target audience is most often what he calls “the warrior community” – martial artists, cops, soldiers – his writing has become popular among high school and college students, parents, professionals of every kind, and people interested in a side of life outside the norm.

Loren is most thankful to his many friends, associates and fellow writers in the warrior community for their continual support and expert advice.

Biography:

Bachelors of Science - PSU
Vietnam veteran – 716th Military Police
Career police officer (ret) – Portland, Oregon
Street patrol, gang enforcement, defensive tactics instructor, bodyguard
Script advisor for the motion picture Best of the Best 3
Martial artist since 1965
Earned a total of 13 black belts in three fighting arts
Starred in 7 instructional DVDs
Author of 70 books and dozens of magazine articles
Nominated for the Frankfurt award
Co-author (with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman) of “Evolution of Weaponry” in Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, Academic Press
Wrote regularly for Black Belt, Karate Illustrated, Inside Kung fu and many others
Currently writes regularly for Black Belt and Police and Security News magazines
Book Solo Training was ranked in Amazon’s top 3 for three years in a row
Named in the 2007 - 2008 Heritage Registry of Who's Who in publishing

Reviews

[Alain Burrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most people who have engaged in a number of fights have experienced the "now what" moment when a technique didn't produce the desired result, or when they faced someone of humongous proportions or obviously out of their mind due to some intoxicant. ("Now what" is probably not what you were thinking, it was more like, "Oh - and you can fill in the expletive") I've always taught that nothing is 100%, and I like seeing that Loren W. Christensen teaches the same thing. He mentions it more than once in his book "Fighting the Pain Resistant Attacker: fighting drunks, dopers, the deranged and others who tolerate pain." This book is full of advice and techniques to use against those who don't feel or react like most people to painful techniques. These are techniques for the "now what" moments. The book doesn't attempt to cover everything. It focuses on a collection of techniques for a specific purpose, and in that regard, it is a very good book.

The book is just over 200 pages long and divided into ten chapters. These chapters consist of: The Nuts and Bolts of Feeling No Pain; Back of the Head, Temple, Mastoid and Eardrum; Eyes and Nose; Brachial Plexus, Vargus Nerve, Throat & Back of the Neck; Carotid Artery Constriction; Head and Neck Combinations; Torso; Biceps, Forearms and Fingers; Legs, Femoral Nerve, Knees & Peroneal Nerve; and Takedowns. The table of contents pretty much sum this book up. Strait forward, Christensen teaches techniques aimed at those body points specifically for attackers who are not feeling pain. They are brutally effective and for the most part simple to execute, which self-defense techniques need to be. There are many black and white pictures that illustrate very well the moves Christensen teaches.

Additionally, there are "Key Concept" and "Caution" side bars that impart extra little nuggets of information important to anyone studying self-defense and wanting to learn to better defend themselves, both on the street and in the courtroom after the violence has ended. Christensen also adds a little levity and humor in what is otherwise a serious topic. In one picture sequence where he is attacking a female model, the caption starts out, "The handsome attacker grabs your left arm." Another time, after telling a story about asking a student to hit him at a level 2 on a 1 to 10 scale, he acknowledges, "it's not that I'm a coward, I just don't like pain."

Overall I really enjoyed this quick read, and it reinforced some of the techniques I already teach, and I picked up a couple variations to work into my training. I also appreciated some of the medical explanations because I don't think the person studying martial arts or self-defense, and especially those of us who teach, can know too much. We must always be learning and bettering ourselves. This book was a very good addition to my martial art and self-defense library and it will be a good addition to yours too!