I think Smoke reviewed Volume one a few weeks ago, so here is a fairly in-depth review of #2 and a brief review of #3 (I'll explain why shortly).
"Knife Craft" is a set of three volumes (sold seperately or as a set) starring James A. Keating and available from Combat Technologies or "Comtech" (www.combattech.com). They are designed mainly for beginners and draw heavily on the FMA with some influences from Indonesian MA and Japanese Tantojutsu.
"Knife Craft" (Volume Two)
The video begins with a brief introduction by James A. Keating (JAK) and goes into the twelve angles of attack he uses. He demonstrates them against both a training aid (that shows each line) mounted on the wall and then the same training aid being held by someone else. This is pretty standard FMA.
Next, he demonstrates a 6 count "banda-banda" exercise (is that how it is spelled?) with a partner. It is a give and take drill and each person takes turns feeding and countering. It is a flow drill.
JAK briefly discusses some "rules" of knife fighting, such as "steel always meets flesh" and "once you go in, never cut less than three times."
Next is another drill (which I cannot remember the name of) consisting of the #7, #6, and #5 angles. Again, it is a flow drill.
Then comes the "punyo sembrada" drill.
As JAK introduces each of the drills listed above, he shows you how to execute them and then how to break them up and change them around to add variables in order to further develop your attributes. He also shows the applications of each movement. JAK points out that they are all conceptual, and that he is using technique to impart concept. He does a very good job of this too.
Interspersed with the drills are advice on both safety and legalities. He advises you to get a wooden or plastic trainer that replicates your carry knife so that your training is more realistic.
Next comes a discussion of "crescent moon" actions in the reverse grip. He shows them both high and low, and shows the applications of the moves as well. He follows this with a brief section on snap cuts, and then goes into a section on empty-handed disarming. I can't remember how long the disarming section is (I forgot to write it down).
At the end of this video is some footage from his annual "Riddle of Steel" seminar in Hell's Canyon, Oregon.
"Knife Craft" (Volume Three)
This tape is very different from the first two, since it is basically a knife kata. Now, before you blow it off (I saw those faces!), it is not the same as most kata. JAK states that he is trying to teach the viewer how to combine the various moves into combinations rather than as isolated parts. This is necessary, as he points out, in order to really functionalize the skills you have learned in the first two videos. The kata is demonstrated and then broken down. It is a kata that covers an attacker attacking along each of the twelve angles followed by JAK countering each angle differently. As he breaks it down and explains it, he demonstrates multiple variations of the defensive actions. Like the other tapes, this one is conceptual as well. The kata is clearly designed to teach concept, rather than just memorizing it and going through the motions. Each counter to each angle is different and is shown from several angles. I'm not a big kata person, but this tape presents a lot of conceptual stuff that you can really use even without learning it as a kata. It is very difficult to review this tape without literally explaining every move in it, which would take hours. He has his wife and students go through the whole kata full-speed at the end of the tape. It is also significantly longer than the first two. I think the first two were about 45 minutes (vol. 1) and an hour or so (vol. 2), while this one goes well over an hour (maybe 1 hour and 20 minutes or so).
The set definitely builds on the previous volumes. You could get volume two and start from there, but you are much better off starting with volume one and then going on to volume two. I think volumes one and two are the real "must haves" here. Volume three strikes me as a "nice to have" kind of thing. Certainly there is a lot of material covered in it, but the first two fit together as a good package of skills. If you are experienced in the FMA, this set may not be really earth-shattering, but I would still bet you will learn something new. An experienced FMA person would likely get more out of volume three than the others. On the other hand, if you are new to combative knife skills, the first two are really excellant tapes. They would be my first recommendation for a newbie to knife combatives (no matter what your style), and even a useful set for someone with some experience. They are also "learner friendly." It is very easy to learn from these tapes if you are willing to practice. They may not look as "studio-ish" as many of the newer videos on the market, but the audio and video quality is still very good. Strangely, on volume three, the audio is really weak. I had to turn my TV volume up to like 20 (normally 12 is fine for listening) in order to hear it well. I saw someone else's once before and their volume three had the same problem. Has anyone else experienced this? It is not really a problem, just an inconvenience. Overall, I like his tapes. Volumes one and two more than three, but three is still good.
I might add that if you order the "Knife Craft" tapes through Shomer-tec, they are only $39.95 each instead of the $49.95 Comtech sells them for. Shomer-tec does not sell volume three at all, just the first two. Also, if you buy the whole set of three as a set from Comtech, it's $135.00. "Modern Knives" customers get to take 10% off these prices.
As an interesting side note, the "Drawpoint" volume one tape is sold by Comtech for like $59.95, but you can buy it from Paladin-press under the name "Reverse Grip Knife Fighting" for only $29.95. The two are identical except for the introductions. I have seen both and, personally, prefer the Paladin-press version.
Hope this review helps out a bit. If anyone has any information about these tapes that they would like to add, feel free! JRF.
[This message has been edited by jrf (edited 02-23-2000).]
"Knife Craft" is a set of three volumes (sold seperately or as a set) starring James A. Keating and available from Combat Technologies or "Comtech" (www.combattech.com). They are designed mainly for beginners and draw heavily on the FMA with some influences from Indonesian MA and Japanese Tantojutsu.
"Knife Craft" (Volume Two)
The video begins with a brief introduction by James A. Keating (JAK) and goes into the twelve angles of attack he uses. He demonstrates them against both a training aid (that shows each line) mounted on the wall and then the same training aid being held by someone else. This is pretty standard FMA.
Next, he demonstrates a 6 count "banda-banda" exercise (is that how it is spelled?) with a partner. It is a give and take drill and each person takes turns feeding and countering. It is a flow drill.
JAK briefly discusses some "rules" of knife fighting, such as "steel always meets flesh" and "once you go in, never cut less than three times."
Next is another drill (which I cannot remember the name of) consisting of the #7, #6, and #5 angles. Again, it is a flow drill.
Then comes the "punyo sembrada" drill.
As JAK introduces each of the drills listed above, he shows you how to execute them and then how to break them up and change them around to add variables in order to further develop your attributes. He also shows the applications of each movement. JAK points out that they are all conceptual, and that he is using technique to impart concept. He does a very good job of this too.
Interspersed with the drills are advice on both safety and legalities. He advises you to get a wooden or plastic trainer that replicates your carry knife so that your training is more realistic.
Next comes a discussion of "crescent moon" actions in the reverse grip. He shows them both high and low, and shows the applications of the moves as well. He follows this with a brief section on snap cuts, and then goes into a section on empty-handed disarming. I can't remember how long the disarming section is (I forgot to write it down).
At the end of this video is some footage from his annual "Riddle of Steel" seminar in Hell's Canyon, Oregon.
"Knife Craft" (Volume Three)
This tape is very different from the first two, since it is basically a knife kata. Now, before you blow it off (I saw those faces!), it is not the same as most kata. JAK states that he is trying to teach the viewer how to combine the various moves into combinations rather than as isolated parts. This is necessary, as he points out, in order to really functionalize the skills you have learned in the first two videos. The kata is demonstrated and then broken down. It is a kata that covers an attacker attacking along each of the twelve angles followed by JAK countering each angle differently. As he breaks it down and explains it, he demonstrates multiple variations of the defensive actions. Like the other tapes, this one is conceptual as well. The kata is clearly designed to teach concept, rather than just memorizing it and going through the motions. Each counter to each angle is different and is shown from several angles. I'm not a big kata person, but this tape presents a lot of conceptual stuff that you can really use even without learning it as a kata. It is very difficult to review this tape without literally explaining every move in it, which would take hours. He has his wife and students go through the whole kata full-speed at the end of the tape. It is also significantly longer than the first two. I think the first two were about 45 minutes (vol. 1) and an hour or so (vol. 2), while this one goes well over an hour (maybe 1 hour and 20 minutes or so).
The set definitely builds on the previous volumes. You could get volume two and start from there, but you are much better off starting with volume one and then going on to volume two. I think volumes one and two are the real "must haves" here. Volume three strikes me as a "nice to have" kind of thing. Certainly there is a lot of material covered in it, but the first two fit together as a good package of skills. If you are experienced in the FMA, this set may not be really earth-shattering, but I would still bet you will learn something new. An experienced FMA person would likely get more out of volume three than the others. On the other hand, if you are new to combative knife skills, the first two are really excellant tapes. They would be my first recommendation for a newbie to knife combatives (no matter what your style), and even a useful set for someone with some experience. They are also "learner friendly." It is very easy to learn from these tapes if you are willing to practice. They may not look as "studio-ish" as many of the newer videos on the market, but the audio and video quality is still very good. Strangely, on volume three, the audio is really weak. I had to turn my TV volume up to like 20 (normally 12 is fine for listening) in order to hear it well. I saw someone else's once before and their volume three had the same problem. Has anyone else experienced this? It is not really a problem, just an inconvenience. Overall, I like his tapes. Volumes one and two more than three, but three is still good.
I might add that if you order the "Knife Craft" tapes through Shomer-tec, they are only $39.95 each instead of the $49.95 Comtech sells them for. Shomer-tec does not sell volume three at all, just the first two. Also, if you buy the whole set of three as a set from Comtech, it's $135.00. "Modern Knives" customers get to take 10% off these prices.
As an interesting side note, the "Drawpoint" volume one tape is sold by Comtech for like $59.95, but you can buy it from Paladin-press under the name "Reverse Grip Knife Fighting" for only $29.95. The two are identical except for the introductions. I have seen both and, personally, prefer the Paladin-press version.
Hope this review helps out a bit. If anyone has any information about these tapes that they would like to add, feel free! JRF.
[This message has been edited by jrf (edited 02-23-2000).]
