Search - Live to Tell About It: Self Defense Techniques on DVD

High Production Values, So-So Techniques

Charles Hepburn II | Brooklyn Park, MD United States | 10/18/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD started off very good. Good information about crime statistics done with a lot of style and quality. Throughout the entire DVD (which is a short 52 minutes, not 55 like amazon says) the quality of production is very high. They must have paid a bundle for the really high quality cameras and editing. Well done all the way.

However, once the fairly good intro is over, they dive right into arm grab defenses and other physical techniques. They stay focused on various techniques and moves through the rest of the 52 minutes. Most of the techniques are simple, but some are overly complex, requiring 6 to 8 steps to get through.

I found myself saying... if a women tried that on me, and I was a criminal, I would just punch her lights out. (By the way, they don't even show any defenses against any type of punch or strike) They teach you 3 or so techniques to escape an upper arm grab, but a simple poke / scratch to the eyes would solve all of those situations and many more.

They don't really cover a lot of different kinds of attacks to defend yourself against. No ground moves, no sexual assault moves (unlike what the cover states), no Domestic Violence advice (unlike what the cover states)... just a lot of missing categories of physical attacks neglected.

Although I must say these guys are excellent instructors who explain everything very well in clear steps... no problem there. My main gripe is that this DVD is primarily teaching that practicing various martial arts dirived techniques are the biggest part of learning and in-turn using effective counter-violence / criminal survival. Although learning some very simple techniques can be beneficial as a part of a holistic and responsible self-defense education, it is NOT the main component!

There are many other things a person needs to consider, understand, and practice that have far greater influence over them ultimately prevailing over violence then a dozen so-so techniques they may or may not work in the moment. It's too big of subject to address here in this review, so I'll just sum it up. Wonderful production quality and excellent clear instruction... but the meat of your DVD is off-base. You missed the big point. Your stuck in the techniques mindset of self-defense training which is flawed for many, many reasons. Although the content of this DVD may be helpful in some situations, there are many other important aspects that are not covered in this DVD which should be prerequisite and superior in importance to physical techniques.

There is some good, although brief advice given about using your intuition and not going to the second crime scene, but most of the emphasis is placed on medicore (at best) techniques that are limited in scope and serve to partially equip the student with a faulty imcomplete sense of empowerment. I applaud your efforts, but you kind of missed the point. Sorry :-(

-Professor Charles Hepburn II, VITAL Self-Defense, LLC"

Interesting

GIJane | Phoenix, AZ | 12/23/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I have been teaching women's self defense since 1975 (which is not to say I know any or everything). While the production is great, and pushing info out to women to protect themselves is great, what I see is the typical "martial arts" stuff, sprinkled with safety and security info. Susan007"

Everything that is promised and more!

Dave Anderson | Agoura Hills, California United States | 08/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD takes the fear and complexity out of defending yourself. I viewed the DVD with my wife, daughter and mother-in-law and assumed the role of the "bad guy" to let them use the techiques they had just learned. I was impressed with how effective the techniques were and by how fast my family was able to learn to use them. I am a large man and they were able to disable me quickly with what they had learned! No DVD can cover every situation one may encounter, but the lessons taught in this program are transferrable to dozens of unpleasant or dangerous situations you or your loved one might find themselves in. The production quality is also top-notch. The instructors are the real deal."