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.

"The Art and Science of Self Defense provides you with a condensed system of distilled skills and techniques, each carefully selected for its reliability in a high stress environment. Martial arts, combat sports, and self-defense are different realms, and while interconnected, they are not the same. This book helps bridge the gap. While training in the martial arts or competitive combat sports can aid you in a self-defense situation, it does not prepare you on how to take action should you need to physically defend yourself. 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; and 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"--