New reviews of Stick, FCDT & Lone Warrior

[Richard Dimitri]

The following are reviews for our Strategic Stick Fighting Tape, The Lone Warrior and Functional Combative Drill Training from mma.mainpage.net/

Title : Strategic Stick fighting

Author : Richard Dimitri

Publisher : Richard Dimitri

Web Address: www.senshido.com

Email : see website

Length of Tape : 1hr 40mins

Price : $39.95

Score : 9.7 / 10

When thinking about self protection in the home and in the car for example, many people carry or strategically place some sort of equaliser. This usually takes the form of a baseball bat or short length of stick, basically a long hard weapon. The trouble with weapons however is that if you aren't sure how to use them and integrate their use with your unarmed skills, then they tend to hinder rather than help you. This tapes aim to address the use of the stick as an addition to your other self protection skills. The key here is "in addition to," not instead of and in making this distinction we recognise that the stick is only an accessory which we must be able to discard should it become a hinderence.

As with Mr Dimitri's other tape featuring weapons, h stresses that you must not fixate on the weapon as this will cause panic should it be dropped or if for some reason it cannot be accessed. This follows on from the idea that you should not have any attachment to any range, technique, tool or weapon. This I felt was and is very important psychology, and while it is something I am familiar with since it has been on his very first tapes, many (including instructors) still cannot grasp its meaning. In a fight every second counts and you cannot afford to lose concentration or take your eye off the opponent. This can happen if when fighting with a weapon, you try to regain control of it having dropped it. It is vitally important that you carry on fighting regardless of what is happening without pause, and this is another of the ideas that Mr Dimitri continues to stress throughout the tape. He goes on to show a variety of drill to work position sense, spontaneity and prepare for the worst case scenarios. His attention to this sort of detail makes him a cut above the rest. He not only provides you with the knowledge, but also gives you the formula to allow you to adapt that knowledge to your own individual style.

In the middle of the tape there is a section focusing on the "Shredder" a name given to the process of delivering a series of short shots that occur without set up or wind up, making them non-telegraphic. Some have criticised it saying that this is just another "style", while others believe it to be the holy grail and an undefeatable "move." Both are wrong. It is not a style, merely the physical application of a number of ideas about non-telegraphic and debilitating strikes. Also, it is not undefeatable (as Mr Dimitri is keen to point out) but just very effective since it is based on sound principles. Ever the innovator, he states that "up until now I have never known it to fail, but if and when that day arrives, I will examine why and then modify it." To me this shows an integrity and confidence in his own abilities and his teaching and is not so stuck in his ways that he is unable to accept other concepts.

I have tried not to describe this tape because it contain so much great stuff. This is one of his newer offering and he has come along way from his early material. When I saw his first TUC set I didn't think it could be beaten, such is its quality, but his new material is excellent and is a credit to him and his team. This tape along with all of his other material, old and new, comes highly recommended.


Title : The Lone Warrior

Author : Richard Dimitri

Publisher : Richard Dimitri

Web Address: www.senshido.com

Email : see website

Length of Tape : 1hr 30mins

Price : $34.95

Score : 9.6 / 10

Most tapes on the market assume that you either train at a school or have a partner or partners to train with. The reality is that many people do not live near a school (at least not near a GOOD school) or do not have anyone to train with. You may as well pack up and go home, because there is no hope for you and you are doomed to live in fear and feebleness. But hang on a second, what is this; a tape that focuses on the situational realities of real scenarios and real people. I fear that there may be a new generation of instructors who actually address real situations. What has the world come to!!!

Many, if not all of the solo training tapes available on the market today, are not geared toward street survival. They are packed full of beautifully performed katas and patterns which in reality do little but give you a false sense of security. This tape however shows that all is not lost if you train alone. However at the start of the tape, Mr Dimitri makes it clear that in order to maximise your street survivability you do eventually need to train with people. But training alone can and does have benefits and will improve your abilities.

It is important to emphasise that this is not a technique tape, but a concept tape, and a full one at that. To truly get the most out of this tape you will need to watch it more than once and really disect the concepts and ideas provided. Many of the people who train for the street and martial arts want something physical to do ie they want moves and sequences to practice, and this is understandable since in a fight you will be movin'! So the tape starts off with Mr Dimitri showing and explaining exactly how shadow fighting can be used to improve your skills. He shows how to create and disect scenarios, how you should move, how to program realistic responses, how to create spontaneity etc. The section is packed with excellent ideas and shows that every spare minute can be used as a training opportunity.

As stated at the start of the tape, its aim is not to deal with physical aspects of fighting, but with all other aspect eg behavioural profiling, situtaional awareness, "mental blueprinting," perception speed and a whole lot more. As I say time and again, it is this sort of material that sets Richard Dimitri apart from the rest. His wholistic approach to street survival is very refreshing in a world where everyone warns maximal gain for minimal effort. But he doesn't settle for this. If it will take time and effort, he will say so. And believe me this stuff is tiring. In fact I get more exhausted doing profiling and scientific people watching that actually working out. This stuff is very mentally draining, so don't expect to cruise along in auto-pilot. Though after a while much of this info-gathering becomes subconcscious, you just have to put the hours in now.

Another great video from Richard Dimitri's newer range, showing that continual evolution of material is the key to street mastery.


Title : Functional Combative Drill Training

Author : Richard Dimitri

Publisher : Richard Dimitri

Web Address: www.senshido.com

Email : see website

Length of Tape : 1hr 30mins

Price : $39.95

Score : 9.3 / 10

This tape is designed to present a group of drills designed to work all of your physical arsenal. However these aren't just a bunch of full contact exercises (which, don't get me wrong serve a very valuable purpose in becoming street ready) but a selection of the drill that they do at Senshido HQ to develop various physical attributes, individually and as a whole.

Unlike most, if not all of Mr Dimitri's tapes, this tape covers none of the psychological and behavioural aspects of street combat. The funny thing about this however, is that he is so used to integrating physical and psychological tools that it seems as though he has to keep reminding himself to just focus on the physical. How many other instructors can you say have researched and teach equal amounts of physical and mental sides of combat. Not many I would guess! The drills don't really follow any strict order ie you don't need to "master" one before another, but each add another piece to your jigsaw.

Where these drill succeed in their ability to provide excellent attribute training, lies in their ability to re-create as close as possible the emotions and physiological state that you are in when in a fight. Obviously nothing ever quite feels like that moment when it all hits the fan, but getting as close as possible to that state, and then really exploring it is a sure way to seriously improve your chances of surviving a street altercation. This is the premise that Mr Dimitri works on. Scenarios, scenarios, scenarios. He has looked at a huge range of street situations and developed drills to work the various attributes needed. The execution of the drill is fully explained as well as the why behind it and what the drill is meant to achieve. There truly is a 360 degree look at the drill, the attribute and the way it fits in with your overall arsenal.

The drills shown work hand-eye co-ordination, cause adrenaline dumps, force you to develop gross motor skills and in general aim to make you a more "rounded" fighter. There is an amazing amount of material in this tape and it will give you alot to work with. As usual the teaching style is very friendly and the improvised nature of it makes it very watchable. This is another great video from Richard Dimitri and if your serious about training you'll get it.

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[Poignant]

Great stuff indeed! Rich's tapes are top notch.

[Richard Dimitri]

Thanks much appreciate it!