dnc101
07-11-2002, 09:00 AM
We've all seen the hype.
SCARS uses natural quickly learned moves that are unbeatable by any except those better trained in their system. I have some of their tapes, and have seen a few more. Their firearms defense is actually good, and their takedowns are all right. But almost all of their striking and blocking is done with large circular movements. Their kicks are mostly straight up the middle, and they are told to allways 'land' forward from a kick. Worse, the only stance they use is the fighting horse. I don't know about the 'best' of you martial artists, but there's not much there that worries me.
I've also seen some of the military 'Spec Ops' stuff. It's about what you'd expect from an entity that emphasizes superior tactics and firepower but has little time to train units to fighting form. Brutal and straight forward, and really usefull if you take out a lot of sentries. I'll stick with Kenpo.
Then there's Krav Maga. I finally got to see some of that yesterday- what a disapointment! Most of their attacks, and a good deal of their defenses, were launched from something similar to our forward bow, only with a less stable base. This less than stable base did, however, allow them to lean waaaaay over forward instead of using a foot maneuver to bridge the gap. Why didn't I think of that? One of its obvious advantages is that if you miss, or if your opponent withdraws his support, you can punch post holes in the ground with yopur nose. But their weapons defenses took the prize. For example, to defend against a knife, you first just reach down and grab his wrist. No preparatory maneuvers to give you position, nothing to minimize his effective range of motion, don't contour his arm to the grab, and no energy wasted on footwork. Just reach down and take ahold, and make sure your thumb is toward your belly, which is not too far from the knife blade. They do train for severe stress and chaos, which is seriously a good thing. I bet they experience a lot of it when trying to use this stuff.
About the only thing of this type I've seen that may be good or useful is the Jing Quan Tao tapes. I think there are only two out now, so it is a little early to tell. But the system is apparently based on solid CMA principles, and Mr Tao is clearly a senior and well rounded martial artist. But notice I said 'apparently', because I'm not well versed in CMA. And, just for the record, Gene didn't cooerce me into saying this. To prove it, I'm going to say there are some things about his tactics I'm not yet convinced of. But I'd be the last one to argue about it with this guy.
So, how about it? What have you guys seen? Anything good? Stuff to avoid? How 'bout something for a good laugh on a slow training day? Books, videos, web sites..., it's an open forum so anything goes. In fact, I was about to say no porn, please; but then I thought about those 'Naked Tai Chi' videos! Any of you admit to seeing those? Bet they were a hoot!
SCARS uses natural quickly learned moves that are unbeatable by any except those better trained in their system. I have some of their tapes, and have seen a few more. Their firearms defense is actually good, and their takedowns are all right. But almost all of their striking and blocking is done with large circular movements. Their kicks are mostly straight up the middle, and they are told to allways 'land' forward from a kick. Worse, the only stance they use is the fighting horse. I don't know about the 'best' of you martial artists, but there's not much there that worries me.
I've also seen some of the military 'Spec Ops' stuff. It's about what you'd expect from an entity that emphasizes superior tactics and firepower but has little time to train units to fighting form. Brutal and straight forward, and really usefull if you take out a lot of sentries. I'll stick with Kenpo.
Then there's Krav Maga. I finally got to see some of that yesterday- what a disapointment! Most of their attacks, and a good deal of their defenses, were launched from something similar to our forward bow, only with a less stable base. This less than stable base did, however, allow them to lean waaaaay over forward instead of using a foot maneuver to bridge the gap. Why didn't I think of that? One of its obvious advantages is that if you miss, or if your opponent withdraws his support, you can punch post holes in the ground with yopur nose. But their weapons defenses took the prize. For example, to defend against a knife, you first just reach down and grab his wrist. No preparatory maneuvers to give you position, nothing to minimize his effective range of motion, don't contour his arm to the grab, and no energy wasted on footwork. Just reach down and take ahold, and make sure your thumb is toward your belly, which is not too far from the knife blade. They do train for severe stress and chaos, which is seriously a good thing. I bet they experience a lot of it when trying to use this stuff.
About the only thing of this type I've seen that may be good or useful is the Jing Quan Tao tapes. I think there are only two out now, so it is a little early to tell. But the system is apparently based on solid CMA principles, and Mr Tao is clearly a senior and well rounded martial artist. But notice I said 'apparently', because I'm not well versed in CMA. And, just for the record, Gene didn't cooerce me into saying this. To prove it, I'm going to say there are some things about his tactics I'm not yet convinced of. But I'd be the last one to argue about it with this guy.
So, how about it? What have you guys seen? Anything good? Stuff to avoid? How 'bout something for a good laugh on a slow training day? Books, videos, web sites..., it's an open forum so anything goes. In fact, I was about to say no porn, please; but then I thought about those 'Naked Tai Chi' videos! Any of you admit to seeing those? Bet they were a hoot!