Company: Sports Training Institute (a.k.a. Warrior Productions)
Tape Name:
Devastation Enhancement
Cost: 69.95
Length
of Tape/Time: Approximately 55 minutes
Number of Moves/Techniques: various
Return
Policy: Refund on damaged or defective tapes only
Experiences in dealing with
this company:
The Instructor: John LaTourrette
Company's Address: 6252 Dark
Hollow Way, Medford, OR 97501
Company's Phone Number: 541-535-3188
Web Page:
http://www.thespeedman.com
E-Mail: sales@thespeedman.com
Primary Grading Criteria:
1.
Production/Tape Quality: 8
2. Instructors demonstrated skill level: 9
3. Comprehension
Score/Immediate Understanding: 8
4. Degree to which this will make someone a better
Martial Artist: 8
5. Score on delivery vs hype: 8
6. Degree to which we would
recommend this product: 8
7. Wasted Time ( The higher the number, the less "fluff"/repetition
): 9
8. Playback Score/Watching if over-and-over again: 8
9. Would I purchase
more of this company's products:8
10. Overall grade based on cost vs. Value: 8
Grand
Total: 82 % ( Poor = 0.5 Stars )
Secondary Grading Criteria:
1.
Beginners benefit: Poor
2. Intermediate benefit: Poor
3. Advanced benefit:
Poor
4. Time to benefit: Never
5. The need to buy additional tapes to understand
this one: None
Written Summary:
Let me
be blunt. I am not a fan nor am I a believer in the utility of pressure point fighting
in street fighting situations. The study of pressure points is best left in our respective
martial arts basements along with chi theory, neurolinguistic programming and all
the other toys that most mature martial artists have outgrown or discarded for lack
of effectiveness. I suppose that if you are a Jedi Knight in training, then this
video tape may hold some fascination. Perhaps because I gave up my Jedi aspirations
long ago, I found this video to be either absurdly funny or hopelessly inept depending
on which particular "devastating enhancement " was being demonstrated at
the time.
This is one of the worst videos I have ever had the misfortune to
watch. The quality is horrendous. It is obviously filmed with a home video recorder
( one of the crummy ones from the 1980's ) and it is a close contest between which
is worse, video or audio. The theme of this video is how to take various strikes
and make them work more effectively. Sounds good, I will admit to that. And if I
can take an opponent in the street, ask him politely to extend a limb or stick out
his abdomen to me, then I can make these techniques work as well. It is fairly easy,
even for an untrained fighter, to cause excruciating pain on an unresisting, compliant
uke. Mr. LaTourrette is very smug as he dishes out pain to his submissive students.
They groan and grimace while their smirking "all powerful" instructor inflicts
pain on them ( apparently enjoying every moment of it ). But the underlying fallacy
of all of the moves on this tape, is " How do you apply these moves in the heat
of a full speed, unrelenting street fight ?". My personal opinion is "
You don't ". Mr LaTourrette makes no attempt to address this rather obvious
question. If this nonsense were effective, we would have seen it being used to some
degree in the various NHB fights. But we haven't. And if it can't be done in the
NHB fights, then it most likely cannot be done on the street either. While I certainly
cannot prove it, there appears to be a great deal of " hero worship " of
Mr. LaTourrette by the students in this class. Mr. LaTourrette strikes me as the
classic martial arts bully/instructor. He chuckles as he inflicts pain and states
of semi consciousness. Does anyone remember the Count Dante ads from the old 1960's
comics ? If you do remember, then this is what Mr. LaTourrette looks like. Beard,
black gi, slicked back hair. Except I'll take the " Count " any day. The
Count had a much better hair style.
So what are the specific techniques that
are so " devastatingly enhancing "? He hits people on the arm. That's right,
he hits his students on their arms. Of course the student is willingly extending
his arm to be hit so Mr. LaTourrette has the luxury of taking perfect aim on the
sensitive parts of the limbs and then blasting into them. But the majority of these
techniques are Mr. LaTourrete giving some half assed anatomy lesson followed by him
hitting a student on a sensitive part of the extended limb. As far as content, that's
about it. We are told that there is much more to the pressure point fighting thing
but we only get to see the introductory material on this tape. Guess I'll just dig
up another 70 bucks and find out what the other " devastating enhancements "
are. Maybe I will get to see the fat student stick out his abdomen while Mr. LaTourrette
sucker punches him in the gut. But then again, at least that might work in a street
situation so I am quite sure it won't be on any of these videos.
Mr. LaTourrette
actually brags about his high pain tolerance during one part of the video. He shows
it by letting an undersized teenager try to do " lone kimono " on him.
Mr. LaTourrette outweighs the kid by about 60 pounds and the kid is obviously too
intimidated to really rip into the great karate master for real. I noticed that LaTourrette
didn't ask the fat guy in the class to do it. The fat guy looked a little bit pissed
off after being dropped to his knees a few times.
Folks, this stuff is fun
to study, fun to practice and very easy to do. It is also very dangerous because
one can begin to think it can work everytime, all the time, in the street. It can't.
In fact, I think it will hardly ever work, if at all. The targeting ability, the
fine motor coordination skills that are required coupled with the rush of adrenalin
make this type of training worthless for streetfighting. If you don't believe me,
check with people like Peyton Quinn, Geoff Thompson, David James, Tony Blauer, and
Hock Hochheim. See what they say and then ask yourself "Who should I believe,
the dojo warriors like LaTourrette or the guys who have done it in the street for
real ?". I think you already know the answer.
CJ
