New Shredder review

[Richard Dimitri]

This is an old thread from 2004 that just got renewed with the topic shifting focus, I thought it'd fit better here, please feel free to participate in, but make sure you look at the date the replies were posted on and reply in accordance or as you wish...


Here's a new Shredder Package review from muscles and martial arts website...

Title : The Shredder Package

Author : Richard Dimitri

Publisher : Richard Dimitri / Senshido Inc.

Web Address: http://www.senshido.com

Email : see website

Length of Tape : 1hr 20 mins

Length of Book : 70 pages

Price : $75

Score : 9.9 / 10

The Shredder has been a part of Richard Dimitri’s work for some time now. When I look at it in its current form, it is not hard to see how and where it has developed from, especially if you have seen his TUC 1 set. Only recently has it been given a name, but until this video and book set it had not been fully explained or demonstrated in such detail, with only a small section of the Stick Fighting video dealing with it. When you look at it for the first time, if you had never seen or heard anything about it, I think it is fair to say that there are only two reactions 1) “Is that it?” 2) “That wouldn’t stop me; I’d just parry his hands and kick his ass.” The second statement is just plain wrong. The first however seems to me to be at the heart of the shredder; simple and natural movements that can be applied by anyone. Have you ever heard of such a concept in the self defence world? Something that can be used by anyone and still has the same degree of success regardless of size, strength, ability, previous experience etc etc etc. But that is exactly what this is. Finally a proper self defence concept has emerged, one that can be used by all.

“The Shredder is a close quarter tool and concept” and can be applied any time you are close enough to get your hands on your opponent. Once your hands are there it uses non-telegraphic strikes to attack on the quarter beat and thus by-pass the opponent’s defensive flinch response. In layman’s terms this means that the shots are not cocked or drawn back and are thrown with speed and efficiency in mind, the aim being to hit so fast that the opponent cannot defend. This does not rely on physical speed but rather on intelligent tool and target selection for example a palm strike can be followed by a rake, then an eye strike, then an elbow and so. The result of this is that many more strikes actually land in the same time that conventional punches or striking tools would and if the opponent can’t see the strikes then it follows that he can neither defend them nor flinch away from them.

It is neither a technique nor sequence either. It would be too easy to turn it into a repetitive movement that can be memorised and practiced by rote, but to do so would be fundamentally all that the Shredder is based on – improvisation, fluidity and efficiency. And this takes me back to the two quotes I said would be the reaction of most to this concept. If you have not experienced it nor applied it yourself you’ll never know what it feels like. It’s all to easy to be an armchair player, pointing out how the next football play should be executed, or how the boxer should throw his next punch or how the fight could easily be ended with a figure-4 choke. It is devastatingly effective, it’s amazing no-one thought of it before. But then that’s how you know something is great – a) it is simple to understand b) you don’t know why it hasn’t been thought of before and c) you don’t know how you coped without it. Take the wheel for example.

The set is a book and video set although there is also a t-shirt should you wish to add that to your purchase. Mr Dimitri recommends you to read the book first prior to see the video, and even though I knew what the shredder was I did so. It was a well written 70 page book filled with anecdotes, description and explanations. It doesn’t actually teach the shredder but rather it describes the effects of the shredder and how and why these effects were brought about. In this sense it was great at giving an insight as to the philosophy and allows you to get into the mindset required. It would be impossible to explain how to perform the shredder on paper and I think that the way the book has been used in this set is perfect. In addition to shredder-related material this book contains a lot of general self protection advice and this emphasises that not only is the shredder integral to your street arsenal but also that other skills and attributes are required to properly apply the shredder.

The video builds on what has been said in the book and frequent references are made to it. It contains detailed explanations and demonstrations and is applied in a number of scenarios to show how its core principles apply at all times. In all demos the attack is negated quickly and almost effortlessly and the same happens when multiples attackers are involved. In one scenario Richard Dimitri gives his student a live blade and instructs him to pull it out and use it during one of the scenarios. So overwhelming is the shredder that the student couldn’t even find his pocket with this hand let alone pull and use the knife. The video is very well instructed and even though the tape is packed full of info you are left aching for more. The demonstrations not only show you how the shredder is applied but also show how useful this tool is. Using the many drills described and explained on the tape and in the book, you’ll soon get a good grasp of this awesome concept. It can only benefit you – buy it now.

***********************************************************

[christopher1]

Here's a new Shredder Package review from muscles and martial arts website...

Title : The Shredder Package

Author : Richard Dimitri

Publisher : Richard Dimitri / Senshido Inc.

Web Address: http://www.senshido.com

Email : see website

Length of Tape : 1hr 20 mins

Length of Book : 70 pages

Price : $75

Score : 9.9 / 10

The Shredder has been a part of Richard Dimitri’s work for some time now. When I look at it in its current form, it is not hard to see how and where it has developed from, especially if you have seen his TUC 1 set. Only recently has it been given a name, but until this video and book set it had not been fully explained or demonstrated in such detail, with only a small section of the Stick Fighting video dealing with it. When you look at it for the first time, if you had never seen or heard anything about it, I think it is fair to say that there are only two reactions 1) “Is that it?” 2) “That wouldn’t stop me; I’d just parry his hands and kick his ass.” The second statement is just plain wrong. The first however seems to me to be at the heart of the shredder; simple and natural movements that can be applied by anyone. Have you ever heard of such a concept in the self defence world? Something that can be used by anyone and still has the same degree of success regardless of size, strength, ability, previous experience etc etc etc. But that is exactly what this is. Finally a proper self defence concept has emerged, one that can be used by all.

“The Shredder is a close quarter tool and concept” and can be applied any time you are close enough to get your hands on your opponent. Once your hands are there it uses non-telegraphic strikes to attack on the quarter beat and thus by-pass the opponent’s defensive flinch response. In layman’s terms this means that the shots are not cocked or drawn back and are thrown with speed and efficiency in mind, the aim being to hit so fast that the opponent cannot defend. This does not rely on physical speed but rather on intelligent tool and target selection for example a palm strike can be followed by a rake, then an eye strike, then an elbow and so. The result of this is that many more strikes actually land in the same time that conventional punches or striking tools would and if the opponent can’t see the strikes then it follows that he can neither defend them nor flinch away from them.

It is neither a technique nor sequence either. It would be too easy to turn it into a repetitive movement that can be memorised and practiced by rote, but to do so would be fundamentally all that the Shredder is based on – improvisation, fluidity and efficiency. And this takes me back to the two quotes I said would be the reaction of most to this concept. If you have not experienced it nor applied it yourself you’ll never know what it feels like. It’s all to easy to be an armchair player, pointing out how the next football play should be executed, or how the boxer should throw his next punch or how the fight could easily be ended with a figure-4 choke. It is devastatingly effective, it’s amazing no-one thought of it before. But then that’s how you know something is great – a) it is simple to understand b) you don’t know why it hasn’t been thought of before and c) you don’t know how you coped without it. Take the wheel for example.

The set is a book and video set although there is also a t-shirt should you wish to add that to your purchase. Mr Dimitri recommends you to read the book first prior to see the video, and even though I knew what the shredder was I did so. It was a well written 70 page book filled with anecdotes, description and explanations. It doesn’t actually teach the shredder but rather it describes the effects of the shredder and how and why these effects were brought about. In this sense it was great at giving an insight as to the philosophy and allows you to get into the mindset required. It would be impossible to explain how to perform the shredder on paper and I think that the way the book has been used in this set is perfect. In addition to shredder-related material this book contains a lot of general self protection advice and this emphasises that not only is the shredder integral to your street arsenal but also that other skills and attributes are required to properly apply the shredder.

The video builds on what has been said in the book and frequent references are made to it. It contains detailed explanations and demonstrations and is applied in a number of scenarios to show how its core principles apply at all times. In all demos the attack is negated quickly and almost effortlessly and the same happens when multiples attackers are involved. In one scenario Richard Dimitri gives his student a live blade and instructs him to pull it out and use it during one of the scenarios. So overwhelming is the shredder that the student couldn’t even find his pocket with this hand let alone pull and use the knife. The video is very well instructed and even though the tape is packed full of info you are left aching for more. The demonstrations not only show you how the shredder is applied but also show how useful this tool is. Using the many drills described and explained on the tape and in the book, you’ll soon get a good grasp of this awesome concept. It can only benefit you – buy it now.

***********************************************************

So we can use that Shredder for our daily safe protection.

[Richard Dimitri]

Yes.

[craig welsh]

Yes

[kravist123]

Is it $75 or $100/120?

YT.

Kravist123

[Richard Dimitri]

It's..... 1 BILLION DOLLARS... okay, no, it's not... it's $100 for the package brother, if interested, please email me at rich_dimitri@yahoo.com, it's my personal email but my Senshido emails are temporarily down as we are chaging servers and soon uploading our new website, you can also just wait until the new site is up and order it directly online or even purchase it directly and download it from the new site.

Thanks.

[Tap_or_Choke]

It's..... 1 BILLION DOLLARS...

Ok that's it... I'm outta here.

Kravist, the package is a good deal!

[Richard Dimitri]

especially for.... 1 BILLION DOLLARS.... . . ... .... ...... . . . ... . . . .

[craig welsh]

Kravist..... don't listen to Rich.. I'll sell the packege for 900,000,000...

[Richard Dimitri]

ok, ok, 800 Million. No way Craig's gettin this sale!!!

[Roadrunner]

Do you take American Express? I just got, Georges', credit card numbers off the internet.

[Richard Dimitri]

why yes, we most certainly do... and we're soon to accept Texas Express as well

[[ted]]

Georges got that credit card number for the internetz as well...this Nigerian prince had emailed him and...well..you wouldn't be interested.....

[Richard Dimitri]

I'm very interested... go on...

[kravist123]

How can I see some idea of it properly to decide? $100 is a lot unseen. Is there YouTUBE you would reccomend or something similar? Interested, but need some A/V aids...

[Richard Dimitri]

Yo bro, yeah, there are plenty on youtube, just type in Senshido and you'll find quite a few samples, keep in mind they are but glimpses... and here is a personal account along with a video of me demonstrating the Shredder with than then unknown seminar particpant who outweighed me by at least 80 pounds and towers over me as well as being a seasones grappler and self defense instructor asking the brother to submit me or strike me any way he can.... twice... and I use the Shredder concept on him... you won't see anything pretty or fancy and as a matter of fact, you are probably going to wonder what it is you are looking at or I am doing in the the vid.... if you check out a few threads here and in the product reviews sections, you will also find countless people's accounts of our materials as well...

Take the time to read the intro - Enjoy:

http://senshidointernational.blogspot.c ... -lmao.html

[kravist123]

hey rich - great YouTube videos. i like your growling. but dude, the potty mouth! Sorry, parenting slipped out. Kidding. I am sure your students have heard it before. so u r not the english guy? i am so confused...

But you need better sports medics. That sling was awful... no offense...Clavicle injury? Dislocation? They hurt, don't they?

I enjoyed the night training and shredder vs grappling particularly. Why didn't he eye gouge you back? Not a facetious question. If all else failed, copy? Arms locked up? Couldn't see as well as I'd like.

The knife defenses are pretty wild and wooly, but my understanding of real knife attacks is that they are too. Interesting. Very different than what I learn in krav or in trankada aldabon. Neat to watch.

My main question, watching the shredder or the knife defenses, is how you can grip the ear or other extremties (even the knife arm most of the time) with a full-blown sympathetic nervous response creating profound diaphoresis? For lay people, when we fight or flee we produce epinephrine (adrenalin) and norepi (noradrenalin), which are called cathecholimines. These make us stronger, faster, more agressive and frightened, less perceptive and understanding, more aware and less aware, lose bowel or bladder control, etc. Along with a dramatic rise in pulse, blood pressure and breathing, they will have more muscular strength and speed until the drug wears off. And they sweat like CRAZY. So a person on major drugs, a person who has gone mentally haywire, a desperate attacker - anyone but a stone-cold killer, basically - will be sweaty as they can be, as a cooling system for the body to allow them to continue to fight or flee without overheating.

Even in training, I get pretty sweaty (not tremendous cardio and lots of hard work, combined with not being the youngest guy in the gym), and most of the locks, holds, parries, clinches, etc that co-students try slip off if I keep moving. I know this is a bit gross to discuss, but important to one's survival in a crisis.

So my question is if they are super sweaty, can you grab anything useful, or are you reduced to ripping and tearing, using crevices like eye and ear sockets for finger holds, raking with nails if you have them? If reduced in options, does it still work? Has this been "field tested" as opposed to gym tested? (I know, I know - read your background, it's probably there... I am reading as much as I can, seriously!) if so, how does the sweatiness of an opponent affect it?

[kravist123]

Ok, bio read. Very cool. U and Nir should have a coffee. U would probably know lots of the same people. But i still don't know if the shredder has been tested by LEOs or military, as opposed to classroom or single-individual skill? There are many gifted people out there who can do things I cannot. i like empirical data, particularly real world, ideally repeatable, life or death situations. Then the rest follows naturally.

That said, I find the idea interesting, incorporating ideas from JJ/BJJ, DT, KM, biomechanics, NLP, etc as well as obvious personal innovation. And maybe a bit of tai qi sticky hands thrown in? Gosh, did I say Tai Qi on a self-defense website? I hope to come to Montreal for a class or two, or a seminar, in the future. Would make a great road trip.

I know how hard it is to grow a business from nothing to something. Tough work. Good for you. Nice job doing it without needing billions in marketing. This is always a struggle. your site and forum are great.

thx, and hope to meet one day. Perhaps after the Jewish holidays in the fall, when I get a break from my school.

[Richard Dimitri]

Yo bro... I'm not the English guy... I'm the dude doing most of the babbling away and explaining, short or long dark hair depending on the clip...

As for the swearing, well, where I come from violence usually goes hand in hand with... if my language offends anyone to that degree in a self defense seminar then perhaps, they shouldn't be learning self defense at all because the brother in the 'street' is gonna use language that'll down right send them into a catatonic state...

Why didn't he eye gouge you back? Not a facetious question. If all else failed, copy? Arms locked up? Couldn't see as well as I'd like.

He could have, but he didn't... also the point wasn't to demonstrate how the Shredder would fair against someone eye gouging, someone in the audience asked how it would work against a grappler, questions I often get in seminars from varying stylists...

The knife defenses are pretty wild and wooly, but my understanding of real knife attacks is that they are too. Interesting. Very different than what I learn in krav or in trankada aldabon. Neat to watch.

I've been involved in and personally know enough people who have also been involved in knife attacks... what you saw in those vids is pretty much the reality of it... I've yet to see a fully realistic knife defense system out there... most modify reality to fit their system as opposed to the other way around,.. from my experience anyway... not saying that there aren't any with any value, but that most often don't address the full reality of it...nor do they bother with the psychological, extreme emotional, physiological and behavioral elements...

is how you can grip the ear or other extremties (even the knife arm most of the time) with a full-blown sympathetic nervous response creating profound diaphoresis? For lay people, when we fight or flee we produce epinephrine (adrenalin) and norepi (noradrenalin), which are called cathecholimines. These make us stronger, faster, more agressive and frightened, less perceptive and understanding, more aware and less aware, lose bowel or bladder control, etc. Along with a dramatic rise in pulse, blood pressure and breathing, they will have more muscular strength and speed until the drug wears off. And they sweat like CRAZY. So a person on major drugs, a person who has gone mentally haywire, a desperate attacker - anyone but a stone-cold killer, basically - will be sweaty as they can be, as a cooling system for the body to allow them to continue to fight or flee without overheating.

So my question is if they are super sweaty, can you grab anything useful, or are you reduced to ripping and tearing, using crevices like eye and ear sockets for finger holds, raking with nails if you have them? If reduced in options, does it still work? Has this been "field tested" as opposed to gym tested? (I know, I know - read your background, it's probably there... I am reading as much as I can, seriously!) if so, how does the sweatiness of an opponent affect

You answered the question yourself… the Shredder isn’t a systematic approach, it is a conceptual one… ifgrabbing because of sweat or other factors doesn’t work, there are countless other tools at one’s disposal… it’s not a set form or a memorized sequence of events, nothing is etched in the proverbial stone… we do drills with Vaseline (get your mind outta the gutter ) to replicate those kinds of situations.... the philosophy abides by 2 main principles:

1. Your opponent will always dictate what your next move is going to be based on his reactions which needs the ability to spontaneously improvise moment to moment which needs a conceptual approach in order to “provide analytical skills useable in any situation rather than technical skills adaptable to certain situations”. Now from my experience, the majority of people say they do that... but they don’t. They preach it, but when it comes time to go hands on, they do the complete opposite for the most part... I only of a handful of people who truly teach this way in the world.

and

2. The situation will dictate the appropriate response… again, without the ability to improvise spontaneously based on pre-planned strategies rather than having to select technical applications to suit a particular situation; one, in my most humble of opinions and experience and research, will more often than not, be able to access these ‘techniques’ under real conditions...

And yes sir, everything I teach has been field tested, thoroughly researched, and tested again,, over and over since I began formulating The Guardian Angels Mexico City chapter learn and use Senshido daily in arguably some of the roughest streets in the world today and have been doing so for over 3 years now... I’ve had cops, soldiers from varying nations and all kinds more than successfully field test our materials with rave reviews... and I have no problem abolishing anything that can be replaceable with something better... matter of fact, I pride myself on it.

Please keep in mind, that we do not teach ‘techniques” (read the sticky post for more details) and that the entire system of Senshido is conceptual and evolutionary… it’s not about if your opponent does this move, you respond with that move… at all… kinda hard to explain via this medium but I’m going to move this thread to the general section as it has shifted in topic and others could also chime in who aren’t instructors but who have trained in both our Senshido and other systems to explain the difference…

Good questions, glad you enjoyed the clips… check out our blog and really old ass website I’m about to change after over 11 years, get a little more familiar with our ‘movement’ if you will…

Please don’t take this the wrong way, I will explain myself….but please don’t come back and tell me Krav does that too cause Krav as a general whole, does not at all… maybe a select few Krav teachers incorporated it as such, but I’ve seen enough Krav and in enough countries to know, that not a single one of these places teaching Krav taught it on a conceptual level, it was entirely technical when it came to the physical portion, which was 97% of what I’ve ever seen being taught in Krav and I have 2 members on the Senshido team that werr Krav instructors who can tell you the same… not trying to be an ass here at all, but if I had a dime for every time a martial artists of you name the style or system said that they did that too, when clearly they didn’t maybe they preached it but they definitely did not practice the conceptual approach at all…

Would love to have a coffee with Nir, it’s always a pleasure and learning experience to speak to others in a similar line of work…

[Beach Comber]

Kravist, keep in mind, had Rich been shredding for real, the grappler would be struggling to flee rich as fast as possible, it only went on as long as it did because no real pressure was being applied.I would suggest that you attend a senshido class and see for yourself.The mere effect of having a hand in your face is so disruptive that it becomes the focus of attention for the attacker.