The Art and Science of Self Defense: A Comprehensive Instructional Guide

The Art and Science of Self Defense Training provides you with a condensed system of distilled self-defense skills and techniques, each carefully selected for its reliability in a high stress environment.

Topics include situational awareness, avoidance, and how to take action should you need to physically defend yourself.

Martial arts, combat sports, and self-defense are different realms; although interconnected they are not entirely the same. — This book can help bridge that gap.

This curriculum is streamlined and divided into nine logical stages of training that allows both martial artists and those with no formal fighting experience to quickly and methodically learn and develop reliable skills for self-defense.

While training in the martial arts or competitive combat sports can aid you in a self-defense situation, it does not prepare you for those aspects that are unique to actual self-defense.

The book begins with the basics, upon which everything else relies – awareness, avoidance, and anticipation skills – before moving on to building a reliable arsenal of self-defense techniques. You will progress through a series of carefully selected actions for high stress situations.

The aim of this curriculum is to improve confidence and skills in a structured and logical way.

Topics include

• Awareness skills including situational, spatial, and environmental
• Avoidance skills to deal with fear, escape, and de-escalation
• Anticipation skills for being approached, posturing, and reading body language
• Action arsenal including targeting, striking, yelling, evading, and countering
• Advanced arsenals for dealing with ground fighting, weapons, and multiple attackers

Whether you are just starting out, or have been practicing martial arts for years, there are important self-defense skills for everyone in this book.

Joe Varady is an award-winning author of The Art and Science of Staff Fighting, and The Art and Science of Stick Fighting. He is a sixth-degree black belt with over thirty years of experience in martial arts. Joe has trained in numerous Eastern and Western disciplines, including karate, judo, eskrima, boxing, fencing, and long sword. He has won numerous awards competing in full-contact weapons tournaments around the world. Joe holds a master’s degree in elementary education. He is the head instructor at Satori Dojo and Modern Gladiatorial Arts. Joe Varady resides in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

Gary Quesenberry is a US Army veteran and a career Federal Air Marshal. As a defensive tactics trainer for Federal and civilian services, he has devoted his life to studying the areas of violence and predatory behavior. Gary serves as the CEO of Quesenberry Personal Defense Training and has developed numerous basic and advanced level training courses focused on mental toughness, marksmanship, and defensive tactics. As a competitive pistol shooter, Gary has been featured on the History Channel’s hit television series Top Shot - Season 3 and Top Shot All-Stars. He has an extensive background in domestic and foreign counter-terror training and has worked in both the private and corporate sectors to help educate others on the importance of situational awareness, and personal safety. Gary resides in Hillsville, Virginia.