- Joined
- Jul 30, 2005
- Messages
- 952
:thumbdn: :thumbdn: :thumbdn: :thumbup: :thumbup: : Not sure if this is the right place for this , but here goes.
I just recieved 2 DVDs from Paladin Press entitled "The Art of Penchak Silat: Ground Combat/ and Advanced Combat". They aren`t actually produced by Paladin, but were made by a company called Reel Combat. The Instructor was an Englishman by the name of Steven Benitez.
Each DVD is 70 minutes in length and the production values were great. The sound is clear the lighting was good and the pictures are clear. The practitioners are extremely talented in the technical aspects of Silat. A great deal of time is spent with the conditioning exersises needed to make the techniques effective. The movements are all shown from multiple camera angles.And from the interview portion it`s obvious that they are also well spoken and able to say what they want clearly and easily.
That`s what made watching the "Instructional":thumbdn: portion such a downer. There is absolutely no naration or explanation of the moves being done. No key points to remember. No pointing out common errors. Nothing. The only sound is the cheesey soundtrack. It`s a crying shame because the presenters are both clearly VERY talented, and would probably be able to teach quite well if they opened their mouthes.
The camera work is very random. Meaning , each move is shown from several angles because it is repeated several times (without explanation), but the cameraman just keeps wandering in a 1/2 circle over and over again instead of focusing on what moves are being demonstrated. Sometimes he`s in the right spot at the right time and sometimes he`s just too far away.
I`ll keep them to watch and study again because I think I can learn something from them.....but I wouldn`t suggest anyone pay full price for them. They were way too expensive to justify the time I`ll have to spend rewinding over and over again trying to see what they`re doing. Go to Ebay and get it there.
There was SOOOO much wasted potential in this production it breaks my heart.2 out of 5 thumbs.
I just recieved 2 DVDs from Paladin Press entitled "The Art of Penchak Silat: Ground Combat/ and Advanced Combat". They aren`t actually produced by Paladin, but were made by a company called Reel Combat. The Instructor was an Englishman by the name of Steven Benitez.
Each DVD is 70 minutes in length and the production values were great. The sound is clear the lighting was good and the pictures are clear. The practitioners are extremely talented in the technical aspects of Silat. A great deal of time is spent with the conditioning exersises needed to make the techniques effective. The movements are all shown from multiple camera angles.And from the interview portion it`s obvious that they are also well spoken and able to say what they want clearly and easily.
That`s what made watching the "Instructional":thumbdn: portion such a downer. There is absolutely no naration or explanation of the moves being done. No key points to remember. No pointing out common errors. Nothing. The only sound is the cheesey soundtrack. It`s a crying shame because the presenters are both clearly VERY talented, and would probably be able to teach quite well if they opened their mouthes.
The camera work is very random. Meaning , each move is shown from several angles because it is repeated several times (without explanation), but the cameraman just keeps wandering in a 1/2 circle over and over again instead of focusing on what moves are being demonstrated. Sometimes he`s in the right spot at the right time and sometimes he`s just too far away.
I`ll keep them to watch and study again because I think I can learn something from them.....but I wouldn`t suggest anyone pay full price for them. They were way too expensive to justify the time I`ll have to spend rewinding over and over again trying to see what they`re doing. Go to Ebay and get it there.
There was SOOOO much wasted potential in this production it breaks my heart.2 out of 5 thumbs.