The Hustler: Sword Play and the Art of Tactical Thinking

"We all have this mental image of traveling around the world and training with different people that have mastery over different disciplines. Well, if I'd have to list the ones id pick for such a pilgrimage, Maija would be one of them. She has shown me the ways of geometry and footwork in a way that I could have never really understood until she put a short sword In my hand. She gave me a few dimensions to play in and she shared with me the secret of her art. Don't get hit...." - Ed Calderon, @Edsmanifesto"This is a fascinating little book. Sword fighting as risk management. Seeing the opponent not just as someone to read, but as someone waiting to be written. Managing uncertainty, the most unmanageable of all things and yet the key to damn near everything dangerous. In a ridiculously small amount of verbiage (see what i did there) Maija Soderholm has once again written a book that should be a paradigm-shifter for martial artists, self-defense instructors and conflict professionals world-wide." - Rory Miller, Rory Miller, author of Meditations on Violence, Facing Violence, and ConCom – Conflict Communications: A new paradigm in Conscious Communication"My career as an Anthropologist of martial arts has led me to many out of the way places. My fellow traveler, Maija Soderholm, has in her book independently verified my own insights and attitudes towards combat being shaped through different historical circumstances, cultural norms of behavior, evolutionary adaptations of aggression, and an individual’s quirks.The culturally valued role of deception and the determination to survive is seen in advice I myself have received over the years from 'the old men', and I enjoyed reading how other people in other places try to even the odds through misdirection, illusion, and deception, and how this body of subversive knowledge is celebrated, valued, and laughed over. The modern world supports openness, transparency, and a level playing field. The old fighters knew better and passed their hard won insights through their arts to those few willing to put in the work. There is much in this book to enjoy, ponder, and practice." - Michael Ryan, SUNY Oneonta, Author of Venezuelan Stick Fighting: the civilizing process in martial arts"The book lays maps out a new paradigm: The Way of the Hustler. Dying second is not winning and don't get hit. Easier said than done, requiring both great skill and risk management mindset to pull it off. Maija Soderholm embodies them both.This book gives context, strategy & tactics to "leverage the relationship with your opponent." Maija elegantly points out the heuristics of becoming the grey man while in the midst of a fight. I will read this book many times, as will you." - Mahipal Lunia Sensei, Chairman of Immersion Labs Foundation Read more