Secret School Of DVD

[Mike NSW]

As the title suggests, what does everyone think about training via DVD??

I can understand training by correspondance if you move away from home and have your Sensei put the things he wants you to practice on DVD. But what does everyone think about picking up a DVD from a store about a system/weapon your not familar with and being taught from an instructor you know nothing about and becoming a lounge room master?

Don't get me wrong, I've got a Karate book at home that came with in "Introductory DVD". I read the book, glanced at the pictures and watched the DVD. But that's as far as I ever took it. There was no "A-B Repeat" involved lol. However if I wanted to become a Karate black belt, I would need to purchase the next 15 Vol @ $35.99 AU ;-)

Personally, I believe the money would go to better use on ongoing One-on-One personal lessons with your head instructor but I'm old fashioned that way. If I wanted to learn the Sai, I would wait until my Sensei felt that I was ready or passed a certain exam rather than picking Joe Blow's Introductory to the Sai.

This is the new age however, And there's alot of good information out there. But my questions to everyone here is;
How seriously do you take your DVD training?
Do you believe that it's a way to educate or a way to enhance the size of one's wallet?
And, will DVD's become the new Sensei

I AM NOT insulting DVD trainers or creaters, I just feel that this is an interesting topic to discuss with students of different thoughts, beliefs and experiences

[Bart Scovill]

I think it's a nice enhancement to a training program. I find them especially useful in groundfighting. I'll watch a technique, take it to the dojo and it usually works pretty well. I don't think this would be the case if I didn't have a background in it and some pretty good partners to try it out on. I guess I feel it's like everything else. You've got to pick your best alternative among many choices. If DVDs are your only choice, it's better than nothing. But I would always pick a good school over every other choice. The best DVD in the world can't tell you if you're doing it right.

[Berserk]

I myself bought a couple of DVDs last year. Two of those are Tashi Price's and the other four are from another dude I found on Youtube.

I found nothing decent near where I live so I've decided to learn from DVDs. I have a good foundation and understanding of Martial Arts now and I think I can be pretty good by learning from disks. :)

[Jonathan Forrester]

I tend to agree with Bart on this - a Book is better than nothing, a DVD is better than a book, but nothing can take the place of a live instructor. You can't ask questions of a book or a DVD, but an instructor is interactive. Maybe in another 50 years, you can have an interactive hologram that can train you in your home - but Star Trek isn't here yet!

It is a nice enhancement to a training program - especially for kata. If you are already familiar with the form then it will help you to perform it better by giving you a template to work with.

As far as Jiu Jitsu goes - after you reach a certain level, you can most certainly pick up a DVD and learn things from it. Just take it back to your dojo and work it and figure out how to integrate it into your arsenal of personal weapons if you like it, discard it if you don't.

However, for a beginner to pick up a DVD and try to learn karate - I don't think so, there are too many little things that a good instructor will pick up on that an untrained person won't even catch. So - enhancement to an existing program - great!

[Mike NSW]

Who is this Tashi Price guy?

His name has come up a few times on this website

[Berserk]

He is a Shuri-Te Jiu-Jitsu instructor.

More info on him: http://warriorpages.ning.com/profile/TroyPrice

His videos: http://warriorpages.ning.com/video/video/search?q=tashi+price

[Jonathan Forrester]

He is a gorilla trapped inside of a chimpanzee body.

He is a swarm of bees that continually sting every inch of your body at different times and you never know where the next sting is coming from. The stings are everywhere and the only option you have is to run away.

Anyting you do to try to counter is too late and you've already been hit at least twice as you're thinking of where they came from.

Seriously - he is a great Combative Jiu-Jitsu Instructor. Check out some of his videos and you will see.

[James M. Gray]

Jonathan

Thanks to you and Bart. I just trained with Troy Price again. We did the 36 Elbow form. I hope to train with him more. I love pressure points and it will take me a while to learn the numbers that you-all use.

[Bryan Alstat]

Just my two cents - Several years ago we had a set of teenage brothers come to our dojo with DVD/Internet training. They were worn out before the end of exercises and had very little knowledge. They said that thhey had been studying this way for about a year. I'll take a live class over virtual everyday, but I'll take virtual over my imaginary UKI Harvey - For those too young to remember check out the classic Movie by the same name with Jimmy Stewart.