"First Defense" by Dr. David Hopkins Jr. A Review
First Defense: Anxiety and Instinct for Self Protection by David Hopkins Jr. My rating: 5 of 5 stars When looking for ways to defend yourself, it is easy to assume programs and products are the simplest and quickest answer. But because violence is often chaotic, other things may be necessary to have a well-rounded approach to self-defense. Dr. David Hopkins Jr., psychologist, martial artist, Krav Maga instructor, and co-owner of Israeli School Security, has taken in hand the task of combining psychotherapy, psychology and personal protection in his easy-to-read 177 page paperback, "First Defense: Anxiety and Instinct for Self-Protection". Hopkins' approach is to help the reader learn to enhance anxiety, and then employ it like an intelligence satellite. To learn to trust one's own anxiety and instincts in critical and crucial settings. For the author, using anxiety as an ally is far different from slipping into "a fear response of panic" (20). When fea...