Company: SDS/ JEET KUNE DO
Tape Name: Combat Weapons Of Jeet Kune Do
Tape Cost: $49.95
Length of Tape/Time: Approximately 90 minutes
Number of Moves/Techniques: Approximately 80
Return Policy: Don't Know
Experiences in dealing with this company: Don't Know
The Instructor: Gary Dill
Company's Address: P.O. Box 3396, Bartlesville, OK 74006
Company's Phone Number: Don't Know
Web Page: http://www.jkd-garydill.com/
E-Mail: sales@jkd-garydill.com

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Main Grading Criteria

Production/Tape Quality: 8
Instructors demonstrated skill level: 8
Comprehension Score: 9
Degree to which this will make someone a better Martial Artist: 8
Degree to which we would recommend this product: 8
Score on delivery vs hype: 8
Wasted Time (The higher the number, the less " fluff "):9
Playback Score/Watching it over-and-over again): 8
Would I purchase more of this company's products: 8
Overall grade based on cost vs value: 8

Grand Total: 82% ( Poor = .5 Stars )

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Secondary Grading Criteria

Beginners: Fair
Intermediate: Poor
Advanced: Poor
Time to benefit: Tape geared for beginning students
The need to buy additional tapes to understand this one: None

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Written Summary:

Let me say right up front, I know next to nothing about the world of Jeet Kune Do politics and anything I may like or dislike about this video is because of what is shown on the video. I have no martial arts agenda, JKD, TKD or any of the rest. That said, let's jump right into Mr. Dill's Combat Weaponry of Jeet Kune Do.

This video is an overview look at the use of 5 weapons (knife, kali stick, nunchaku, 4 foot staff, and the yawara stick). Mr. Dill states that the study of Jeet Kune Do is really the study of weapons. Apparently, all you have to do to become proficient with weapons is to learn JKD from Mr. Dill. After you do, the rest is just picking up the appropriate weapon and applying it using JKD techniques. The first weapon we are shown is a knife. And what a knife it is. This monster blade would embarrass Crocodile Dundee and get most of us arrested just for looking at it. Mr. Dill makes no mention of how he would deploy this cutlass or how he would justify it's use in the eyes of the law. But he does proceed to show us " the correct knife fighting stance " which is of course a basic JKD stance with a knife in the front hand. I can think of a thousand situations where I would not want my knife deployed in my front hand but Mr. Dill apparently thinks one size fits all when it comes to knife stances. Mr. Dill begins to do knife techniques against a very slow uke and so far, I haven't seen anything that I have not seen already in my grandmother's kitchen on how to cut up a chicken. Actually, some of the stuff is pretty good IF you are a rookie to weaponry and are impressed by slow kata-like rehearsed techniques.

Mr. Dill moves on to the kali stick and makes a few comments about how he has really had to use this weapon in his career as a policeman. I feel quite certain that these technique would be exquisitely effective against drunks, unarmed students, and most women. I would not want to use these techniques against any experienced filipino martial artist nor do I suggest entering a Dog Brothers match with this material either. I think you get the picture. This material is simple and is geared for the rookie martial artist with minimal weapons training. The use of extremely wide attack angles done at ridiculously slow speeds only serves to mislead and confuse the novice martial artist/viewer. If you use this stuff (and Mr Dill actually calls it the Dill system of stick fighting) against someone who knows what he is doing and you will be hearing the voices of long dead relatives.

The yawara stick section and the nunchaku sections were slightly better. The nunchaku are illegal in many areas and require a great deal more practice and training than is shown by Mr Dill on this video. The yawara, which is nothing more than a crude fist load, is a common sense weapon that anyone can teach themselves in about 10 minutes. Once again, fine for beginners and rookies, but way beneath the knowledge and capabilities of most experienced martial artists. With so many other fine videos available on the subject of weapons (Keating, Hochheim, Worden to name a few), I would say it is best to look elsewhere for effective weapons training if you have any advanced skill level at all.

CJ