Kerambit Video Clip

another midget in the crowd...hi all!

the funny thing is this...i'm 5'3" and 130 pounds, and i teach FMA and most of my students average of about 6' feet tall and around 190-220 lbs. and guess what?! most of these guys are bouncers, police officers, and firefighters. :D

first thing new students do when they visit is size me up...now i'm not one of those instructors who don't train or spar with students because i'm too advance for them. i let them feel. sure i lose once in awhile. i've died hundreds of times in knife or blade fighting and that's just the reality of it. but 90% of the time i'm able to return that blade right back and honestly "survive" the sparring match. i do this with all methods of combat wether it's hand2hand, grappling, stick or sword, or whatever combination.

and i understand that i win most of the time because i have more experience, and as my students progress my percentage of winning deminishes, which only indicates that i'm teaching them correctly.

this is why they would want to learn from a midget? ;)

truth is when it comes to martial arts we all wanna be Asians. thank God i'm Asian! thank God Guru Jeff is Asian! it sure makes my art look legit. :)

...seeing a DVD clip doesn't justify or show all of the person's/guru's skill. from what i've seen from the clip. they are just ABC's for you younguns out there.

so lets keep immature comments and name calling for the first graders, shall we?
 
I agree, the issue here is the video clip, and personal attacks have no place. If I've been critical, then its good-natured and over an issue of methodology, not some issue about Guro Jeff's height (!). I'm no giant myself.

As far as people commenting on the trailer goes: There has been a fair balance of people praising it and people offering criticism. I don't think posting an opinion (negative or otherwise) means you are automatically a keyboard warrior / armchair guro. This is discussion forum, and a DVD trailer put out there in the public domain is as good a topic as any.
 
Oh woe is me...what have I done this time? starting even more drama. This debate will it ever end? ... See what happens, we open up and share and get shut down because of it..I'm inclined to never share again....sob, sob sniff sniff...

My point again and lastly, to judge on 10 seconds of what is obviously a display of rudimentary lines of attack and foot work. Entries and exits if you will. To judge on such and use words like "midget" and the like are predjuducial PURE and simple. As well, it is ignorant. You would have to see more than 1o seconds to know a persons energy as a fighter or anything else for that matter. Yes Joe, you are correct "welcome to the internet" I should know better....LOL It's true. I am just continually seeing people bashed around here at a mere glimpse at them or their skills. You can't say you've read a book if you only read one chapter. You can't say you've seen a movie if you have seen but half. You can't say you know something or give an accurate review of it if you haven't seen, read or experienced the whole thing, whatever that thing may be. Anything less is ignorant. Now when I say ignorant, don't take that at first glance as well. I mean it literally. No one here is stupid as they have all made fine arguments on how knife fighting "should be". However, it means literally that you are less than informed on the subject at hand. That subject being this clip andf Jeff's dvd. I'm sure everyone here has a friend ssomewhere at home or on the net who may own or will own a copy of this dvd. If you get the chance, take a look at it. The WHOLE thing. Then give an opinion. 10 seconds is just not enough. What I think Jeff has no bearing on my posts either. It's a matter of fairness. Say Jeff was the most amazing FMA teacher ever. But you didn't know it by that clip. Well now you have just screwed him out of spreading his abilities to a broader aray of MA students. You have lead people away from something that could physically enlighten them somewhat. Make life easier and less intimidating for those people who don't fight but get pushed around. All on 10 seconds of rudiments! That's just not cool. For other MA teachers and supposedly high level students to chime in is way unprofessional. Sure if someone was teaching people how to get their asses handed to them or worse..KILLED, then by all means confront the moron. That is not the case here....R
 
Okay, I'm too smart to get involved in this, but I can't resist.

First, everything I've heard about Guro Jeff, from anyone who has actually trained with him, has been positive. The guy gotz skillz. In addition, the "midget" comments are chickenshit.

That said, I think the response here has been entirely predictable. If that clip had been posted at selfdefenseforums or tacticalforums, it might've been worse. The video clips on a site are the instructor's chance to show his stuff and his system. I just went through all the clips, and all but one are very similar: opponent is static, or attacks once then is static. I've seen a Guro Jeff clip of a baseballbat-grip defense elsewhere that was not only static, but if I didn't know any better, I'd think Jeff had no knowledge of how the baseballbat grip is really taught and used, especially in how it has to be accompanied by forward drive and proper posture that puts a lot of weight on the knife arm. If you can't show how your technique still works against baseballbat grip + forward drive + posture (i.e., proper baseballbat grip technique), then it's inapplicable to real world. If Jeff can do this -- and if you say he can, I'll believe you -- he could be showing that, instead of showing a video that still leaves us wondering if he can handle a more realistic attack.

The thing is, these are the clips Guro Jeff has chosen to put on his website in order to show off his stuff. It's the way he'll be judged, like it or not. I have no trouble believing he's as awesome as many people say ... so this is really friendly advice: let your clips show off your skills, show your they can be applied to real situations and realistic opponents (within the limits of the medium). The videos are the only thing people have to judge, and they will judge. And if, as RDT says, Jeff's teachings and DVD's are as strong as they are, Jeff owes it to himself to do them justice. Right now, he is most assuredly not.

The only exception to the videos I've described above, is the sparring clip at the bottom, which shows that there are some talented students at NT Kali. So don't look at this as a bash of Jeff, look at it as constructive criticism on what video clips Jeff has chosen to put on his site. Me, based on what I've heard of Jeff, I wouldn't hesitate to train with him. But if I only had those clips to go on, and not firsthand reports, I would choose otherwise.


Joe
 
Joe, that is the first reasonable critique yet! Thank you. :D I have not said he's a Super Ninja, I have said only that EVERYONE should be given a chance and 10 second clips are not a chance and not enough to judge a man. We as students should know rudimentary teachings when we see it and that is that. It's a level 1 dvd for christ sake...LOL Anyway, I have trained 2 or 3 times with Jeff in his class and it was totally competant and up to par. We did mostly drills while i was there and as a former FMA practitioner myself, I can say without a doubt that they are sound. He was sound and all was well. A good class with good students and a good time. What more I know of his skill? not much but even with more info than his detractors here I can say that I don't know enough to give the public an educated opinion. I have had friends train with Jeff for a while and they vouch for him as well. In the end when it comes to knives, as we all know. A monkey with a knife will do serious damage because it doesn't take much other than INTENT to do harm with such an impact weapon. A slight swipe of a sharp blade will draw blood and most of us might crap our pants should that ever happen. Knowing that is why nmost of us have studied balde at least a little because no matter how high in rank or whatever, we still got cut sparring. So we trained, taking the steps the instructors we chose taught us. One step at a time. Drills, foot work, angles of attack, zoning, techniques, half that stuff fly's right out the window and you'ld be lucky to get off one or two in a real fight. At best we'd kick and punck and grapple anyway. Eye gouging and biting and scraping. Clawing and doing ANYTHING to disarm someone. We all know this do we not? Yes, I think so. Yet we train anyway for that instance and that security, that muscle memory, that edge over the opponent.
 
Im far from an expert, but I KNOW that technique is useless without a basis on real experience in combat, and that you could be a so called "black belt" or "master ninja", and have no actual combat experience or at least simulated training. No matter how perfect your technique is, if you have no feel for the physics and components of ACTUAL fighting, it is completely useless. That being said, one who has both obviously has an advantage, but this video is not convincing of practical application in the slightest. I invite Guru Jeff to show us a more practical video displaying somewhat realistic use, I'll eat my words if he does. Perhaps there is some reality-based training in his teachings, but on this video alone, I give it F-. I know of too many people who trust their lives to traditional martial arts that are all style and no substance, and it makes me sick to think that people actually think they can protect themselves when in reality they are just setting themselves up for a back alley shanking from some gutter rat who has no formal training, but understands the reality of life and death struggle. Did you check out shivworks?

P.S. I honestly apologize for my rude remarks, I just get angry when I see unrealistic portayals of combat. I'm no giant myself at 5'9", so you can call me a midget back in retaliation. I promise it wont hurt my feelings. And please do show us a video of REAL training. If you don't, you may have tarnished your marketablity in the SD world.
 
RDT said:
I think the point is everything is done in steps. That is obviously a template. Just a show of targeting and footwork. Of course you need a real live opponent in class and out, to show you how it will all be applicable in real life. But for the layperson and beginner's sake, it looks like merely a template so they can understand the angles of attack. After that will come resistance from a partner. After that will come some competition within the class. After that, will come the bruises and lacerations and sweat. After that will hopefully come tyhe ability to turn on and off that "switch" between life and death, that "killer insinct" if you will. After that will come the ability to see the connectivity of it all, the rythm. Finally after that (goodness forbid), if attacked on the street after all that work. you might be able to turn on that killer instinct for sake of survival and make short work of a real opponent so you can walk away with your and your family's life in tact. It's all about steps.
Click to expand...

And what happens if you are attacked before you are "taught" this killer instinct? I find it hard to beleive something as primeval as this can be "taught". I would think it would be the other way around, learn to fight first, techniques and fancy BS later. And all this "angle of attack" and "footwork" stuff is nonsense. If you are taught these things against an immobile unresisting statue, thats how you will fight. In my uneducated, unconventional, and unbiased opinion, fancy shmancy techniques go to sh*t in the real world. You don't hear of convicts going jackie chan in the prison yard. Thats cuz they know the truth: simple, direct, brutal, and without hesitation. You can't predict an alley fights composition, so how can you choose the techniques you will use? I know how we can solve this debate: Guy from shivworks vs Guru Jeff, to the death. If that happened you would see the difference between killing and winning by the judges scorecards. And nothing martial should ever be considered an "art". I doubt real killers talk about technique on the net. They would laugh at our petty, couch ninja conversations. They would know the difference between a sporting event and life or death.
 
El Rata,
No doubt there is a difference between real and taught fighting, that isn't the debate. It's whether Jeff has something to offer people. We all know a street fight is way different than sparring. Definately! I have had many street fights, most when i was younger and didn't know a thing about MA. Now, every once in a while some jackass wants to test me. Sure, I have been fortunate enough to walk away. Mostly because I use the deadly art of "Nut Job Fu"! I go f-ing nuts and it is usually over in a minute or less. Hallelujah for the sacred Nut Job Fu! ;) As I stated earlier, we know, when the sh*t hits the fan. most technique or skill hit the floor. Stressful situations like possible loss of life will do that. If you box you gotta know how to jab right? So some people take more steps than others, no matter how chaotic a fight is there is still geometry to it. Anyway, my point isn't what is realistic or not, art or fighting, that is an age old debate best left to Bruce Lee (RIP) and all his detractors....LOL
 
:D ...i checked out shivworks...pretty cool stuff. i like it. but honestly most of their training and moves look FMA to me. correct me if i'm wrong but i thought i saw one of their drills as being "hubud" which is "higot -hubad-lubad" drill in FMA. elbows and knee strikes and entries sure looks FMA, too...i wish i could have seen some clip for the gun defense. i wanted to see if it would resemble any FMA gun retention training. i believe Pekiti Tirsia includes gun curriculum. something like Estilo Bandido or something.

i know other guys who show stuff like this...Mr. Hock Hocheim (sorry i'm sure i misspelled that), but guess what he's background is FMA. who else? Mr. James Keating...FMA. anymore...sure! how about the Dog Bros? still FMA.

it's all about presentation and how you package and market it. that's all.

i would bet that if you trace the lineage of these guys with Sayoc you would probably see that they are related at one point in time in training. it would be a fun thing to see.
 
Saint, you are corrcet! Everyone with a knife these days is borrowing from FMA basically. Not a bad thing! :D
 
well I'm glad we have come some to some sort of agreement on this one! I'm not trying to validate one system over another, and for all I know, the shivworks stuff is probably based on FMA. Its delivery seems much more practical and to the point than the Karambit vid, in my humble opinion. Im sure that back in the day when FMA were actually regularly used in a militant sense, there was enough reality to go around for everyone. My worry is that people are being taught a system dominated by theory and techniques, and noone is being pushed into the realm of adrenaline, savagery, and split second violence. It's true that the average student of the martial arts would probably rather take the easy way out, and avoid the pain and hardship that is the core of real fighting. People want it sugarcoated and conveniently packaged for their overactive media-influenced imaginations. One thing I've learned in my time practising MA is that alot of the time it sucks and isn't fun or flashy (like when you get punched in the head by a 250 pounder and you see stars and wonder how much more your fragile brain can take. :mad: ). But without knowing what its like to take a hit, or knowing what its like to fall to your knees puking cuz you've pushed your body to the limit, it's impossible to make peace with the core of combat. And that, without the sugar coat, is pain, hardship and mental toughness. Im sure most of you guys know that, but I think some have kind of an ideal view on the use of MA in the world of violence. To those who keep it real, respect. To those who don't hopefully you'll find it before it finds you.
 
Before reading these posts, I had been completely unaware that an assailant might move around a bit and take more than one lunge at you. The red mat in the video clip really had me fooled I thought it was a training area but thanks to reading up on all the expert knowledge posted here I was able to understand that what I was watching was a streetfight. Furthermore, I had absolutely no idea that in real combat people experience an increase in heart rate and adrenaline. Serpiente you really broke it down for me on that one.
 
Stickaction, ....LOL ! :D you said it.
El Rata, you are correct, there are those who sugar coat things out there, no doubt. Yes, a real fight isn't pretty....it's one of those things where when you watch it's all "oooh eeew, awe, ouch! damn! awe sh*t!" the whole way thru. When you see someones face get scraped along the pavement, slapped with a broken bottle, their head getting smashed on teh sidewalk. It's isn't pretty at all. :(
 
RDT, I think we're agreeing with each other in different ways, but to keep it going:

RDT said:
We as students should know rudimentary teachings when we see it and that is that. It's a level 1 dvd for christ sake...LOL
Click to expand...

Well, yes and no. Yes, it looks rudimentary to me, and people should be able to recognize that. On the other hand, anyone who has been around the martial arts long enough has seen things being taught that look rudimentary, but are not deemed so. How many techniques in many TMAs don't work against a real-life attacker? I think folks have a right to cast a skeptical eye. How hard would it have been to, at the end of the clip, included a few seconds of some technique being used at speed?

I'd also point out that even beginners benefit from seeing a technique used in realistic application. There's no reason a beginner DVD shouldn't show techniques used realistically. Unfortunately, there's no clip of that on Jeff's site -- Jeff chose that mannequin-attack clip as how he wants to represent his teachings. And, a skeptical reader will quickly note that every other clip on the site is that way, too. Again, while I don't think there's need to be insulting or disrespectful, I think there's every reason to be extremely skeptical. Many of the techniques in those clips, working against static "attackers", drew parallels to TMAs immediately, in my mind -- could they possibly work against a real attacker? Why not show it at speed, applied in a realistic combative drill or sparring, just to show that he can apply his stuff?

Anyway, I have trained 2 or 3 times with Jeff in his class and it was totally competant and up to par. We did mostly drills while i was there and as a former FMA practitioner myself, I can say without a doubt that they are sound. He was sound and all was well. A good class with good students and a good time. What more I know of his skill? not much but even with more info than his detractors here I can say that I don't know enough to give the public an educated opinion. I have had friends train with Jeff for a while and they vouch for him as well.
Click to expand...

Ya, Jeff is well-reviewed by those who have trained with him. I knew that, because I've been around long enough, and know Jeff is highly thought of. But a random person just peeking in at Jeff's clips? They have every right to be skeptical about techniques that are never shown being applied realistically, and often look like they can't be. Jeff picked those clips himself, none of the guys insulting him picked those clips for Jeff, so Jeff is judged on what he himself has chosen as representative of his techniques and skills.

My main point: I'd not criticize others for what is a high-predictable reaction to the kinds of clips Jeff chooses to post. Time for Jeff's supporters to point the finger the other way, and constructively find a way to represent AT Kali as a viable system for self-defense. If AT Kali is only meant to be an FMA form of a TMA, and not a realistic defensive method, then those clips are fine.

Again, no matter how the tone of the post turns out, it is meant in the spirit of constructive criticism. As I said, knowing Jeff's reviews, I wouldn't hesitate to train with him.

Joe
 
Stay tuned for future clips that will answer the queries.

In the meantime, keep in mind that a demo clip is merely that. It is NOT a reflection of the type of instruction that is being offered.

To see how I teach and the quality of my teaching, come and visit me at the Fighthouse in Manhattan. 122 West 27th Street.

Don't let other people's limitations limit what you can learn as an individual.

I continue to train and teach instructors from other systems who come from all over the US. I have taught Federal Air Marshalls, numerous Law Enforcement trainers and Corrections Officers, and several of my students have actually fought and survived without injury against knife attacks over the past year and a half.

Guro Jeff
 
IMO, anything I won't be able to use in an actual confrontation should go out the window. I don't wanna waste my TIME and MONEY on a useless nothing. It's laughable that extraneous concepts are taught in MA. It kinda defeats the whole purpose, don't you think? Save the crossover dribbles and slam dunks for basketball. The sooner you can develope a sound fighting ablitity, the sooner you can move on and learn other skills for hobbies that should actually be taken lightly. I don't think of fighting as a joke or a showcase. I think in reality, fighting sucks and I hate it. Thats why training should be to the point, not beating around the bush. Fancy techiniques are basically a money making scheme. If you wanna spend your hard earned dollars on it, go ahead. Thats just my "expert" opinion. :rolleyes:
 
I'd also point out that even beginners benefit from seeing a technique used in realistic application. There's no reason a beginner DVD shouldn't show techniques used realistically. Unfortunately, there's no clip of that on Jeff's site -- Jeff chose that mannequin-attack clip as how he wants to represent his teachings. And, a skeptical reader will quickly note that every other clip on the site is that way, too. Again, while I don't think there's need to be insulting or disrespectful, I think there's every reason to be extremely skeptical. Many of the techniques in those clips, working against static "attackers", drew parallels to TMAs immediately, in my mind -- could they possibly work against a real attacker? Why not show it at speed, applied in a realistic combative drill or sparring, just to show that he can apply his stuff?
Click to expand...

Well, this is pretty much what I was getting at, although you put it more succintly.

Can't wait to see the new clips!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top