avoiding a fight

TOMSIE

i was wondering what books you'd recomend for a person who wants to be able to spot a fight before it happens.

Find ways to stop a fight from happening to defuse a row

And when you should use violance and take action

Also if there are cources in ireland about street survial i would be interested in going along the same lines

I would like to complete the above knowlede with the use of pepper spray disscuses in the pepper spray thread

Also has geoff thomspon written a book on this or his books more about martial arts technique or how would you rate his book

i appreciate your advice

Seion

Probably the best book that I know of for this is The Gift of Fear by Gaven Debecker.

Unjaku

I totally second the De Becker recommendation : probably the best place to start, and certainly for someone with no training.

Something The Gift of Fear doesn't address are de-escalation techniques or 'hands on' self defence methods, because De Becker stresses early recognition and avoidance so much (he does recommend training in these areas properly in the back appendices of the book). You might look at Geoff Thompson's The Art of fighting without fighting, which goes into de-escalation and how to speak in stressful situations in a fair degree of depth. Thompson also looks at pre-fighting indicators and emphasises setting where your boundaries and space are. Another option is George J. Thompsons' Verbal Judo, which is a classic (might need to order it on-line). Marc 'Animal' MacYoung also wrote a book on this area, but the title escapes me for the minute.

I would rate Geoff T.'s work very highly, with the caveat that it is quite repetitive : Much of the material is repeated again and again from book to book. If you are limited to two or three of his books then I would suggest getting Dead or Alive for a general overview of the subject of self defense, The Art of Fighting without Fighting for awareness / avoidance / de-escalation and The Fence for an overview of controlling your space and striking pre-emptively. It goes without saying that you will need to train the material somewhere.

Musashi

Again, what Unjaku said!
Also, use common sense, guys escalating tone and agressiveness,starting to shove and push.All classics of guys winding up to start fighting.A few people will attack with no warning but most need the "pre-show" to get maddened up for conflict.Drink and Drugs shorten prep. time though! When you are out, watch guys shaping and getting ready to fight,can be very educational! Also, see how giving way or "losing face" can mollify eejits so they don't "have" to fight you.
lastly, pepper spray etc. are illegal here so forget it, more trouble than it's worth!
Be aware and move away would be the best you can do with no MA training.
Even a trained fighter prefers a quiet night with no hassle and ego has no place in getting you and yours home safely mate! Mind yourself, your mates, your girl, but don't get in fights you don't HAVE to.Hope this helps and Geoff Thompson is stil recommended reading!

Emboss

search amazon for "a bit of cop on" and "common sense"

great reads...

paddyc

if thats fails learn thai