Geoff Thompson is an ex-doorman as well as being a first class martial artist. He is 6th Dan at Karate and 1st Dan Judo. If you have read his autobiography Watch my back you will know that he has done it all in terms of real fighting.

This book seeks to address the way to avoid fights in the first place, something that even Geoff Thompson now does. As he says in this book if some guy nicks your road space or cuts you up in his car is it worth a fight, when the result might be that one or other of you is seriously injured(or even killed). Is someone nicking your space worth 10 years in prison? When you think of it in that way the answer is clearly no. You may be as tough as hell, but there can always be someone tougher out there

He breaks the book down into five main areas: Avoidance, Escape, Verbal Dissuasion, Postering & Restraint. Each is dealt with in about fifteen pages and the book is just short of 100 pages in length. I was particularly interested in his explanation of the adrenaline rush that precedes a fight which is frequently mistaken for fear, but is the bodies natural fight or flight reaction to a stressful situation.

Whether you are a martial artist, or just somebody who would like to know how better to avoid trouble, this is well worth reading.