Company: Scientific Streetfighting Congress
Tape Name: Chain of the Knife
Cost:
$35.00
Length of Tape/Time: Approximately 60 minutes
Number of Moves/Techniques:
30 + Drills and Concepts
Return Policy: ?
Experiences in dealing with this company: Excellent
The
Instructor: W. Hock Hochheim
Company's Address: PO Box 292373, Lewisville, Texas
Company's
Phone Number: 1-972-315-5128
Web Page: http://www.forcenecessary.com/
E-Mail:
HockHoch@aol.com
Primary Grading Criteria:
1.
Production/Tape Quality: 9
2. Instructors demonstrated skill level: 10
3. Comprehension
Score/Immediate Understanding: 10
4. Degree to which this will make someone a
better Martial Artist: 9
5. Score on delivery vs hype: 10
6. Degree to which
we would recommend this product: 10
7. Wasted Time ( The higher the number, the
less " fluff" /repetition ): 9
8. Playback Score/Watching if over-and-over
again: 10
9. Would I purchase more of this company's products:10
10. Overall
grade based on cost vs. Value: 10
Grand Total: 97% ( Excellent = 4.25 Stars
)
Secondary Grading Criteria:
1.
Beginners benefit: Excellent
2. Intermediate benefit: Excellent
3. Advanced
benefit: Excellent
4. Time to benefit: Immediate
5. The need to buy additional
tapes to understand this one: Sinawali Streetfighter, Volume One might be helpful.
Written Summary:
Hock Hochheim,
founder of the Congress of American Knife Fighters, burst onto the the national scene
a few years ago with his revolutionary knife fighting program. This video is the
first knife fighting video of Mr. Hochheim's that we have had the pleasure to review.
As in his Streetfighter video series, this material on this video is well organized,
systematic, and equally accessible to the beginner as well as the advanced martial
artist. The underlying premise of this video is to build on a base ( some would call
it a "root" ) movement, and gradually but systematically add fundamental
concepts until you have a powerful system of knife fighting. This logical approach
to a very broad and diverse subject is characteristic of the way Mr. Hochheim organizes
and teaches his material.
We are introduced early in the video to the root
movement ( or drill ) called the Chain of the Knife drill which consists of a block,
counter, and grab using a knife against a similarly armed opponent. The essence of
the movement is that it can be used aggressively ( as in offensively ) or in a defensive
mode. This particular concept is a subtle and often overlooked aspect of any martial
art movement and I was pleased to see Mr. Hochheim make this distinction. Mr. Hochheim
goes on to emphasize the importance of training with a knife against a) the air,
b) a heavy bag, c) a dummy or similar target and d) a live training partner. Using
the basic " chain " drill, we are introduced to the use of the live hand
and ways to make partner drills become " alive " as opposed to static.
From here, we are introduced to the next layer of drills and concepts as the opponent
is now allowed to use his live ( or grabbing ) hand to impede your attack, resulting
in what Mr. Hochheim calls " even steven " or " in the clutches ".
We are then shown 10 different combat scenarios in which the fundamental chain drill
is combined with a variety of attacks, joint locks, takedowns and vicious knife counterattacks.
If you have a background in jiu jitsu, then you will be very pleased to see these
extremely practical applications of some of your moves and techniques. We are also
taught concepts over technique and training drills that are alive and dynamic. We
are given some psychological tools on how to deal with being stabbed or cut. As with
other Congress videos, the logical and progressive organization and presentation
of the material is at the very top of all the knife videos that I have seen.
I
thought this video was probably the most instructive knife fighting video I have
seen to date. Mr. Hochheim has obviously given a great deal of thought to how to
present and teach such a broad and diverse subject as fighting with a knife against
a similarly armed opponent. One of the underlying points to this video is that the
material presented can easily be applied to empty hand fighting with only a few adjustments.
While the material presented has obvious filipino influences, Mr. Hochheim has managed
to merge the filipino systems with American military knife fighting as well, resulting
in an impressive hybrid style of knife fighting. This " best of both worlds
" knife fighting system stands on it's own merit and I cannot wait to review
more of Mr. Hochheim's knife fighting videos in the future. Mr. Hochheim has compiled
an impressive body of work including two books on knife fighting, an entire video
series dedicated to knife fighting, a combat arnis system, and an entire system of
empty hand, hand to hand fighting. I have learned over the years that when individuals
who have spent time in the military and in law enforcement ( Mr Hochheim has done
both of these ), their " real time " knowledge and experience is too valuable
to be ignored. When given a choice, I will always go with the opinion of the man
who has been there " in the trenches " over the theoretical musings of
a dojo warrior. Mr. Hochheim is one of those guys who has been in the trenches. Some
of the material is very sobering as we see some of the grim possibilities that can
occur when two people fight each other with knives. Real knife fighting is a mean,
nasty, dirty business and it is good that this video does not attempt to gloss over
those realities. As in other videos, Mr. Hochheim puts a premium on reality. When
it comes to fighting with a knife, I don't want to see it any other way.
As
in the other videos from Hock Hochheim, I would highly recommend this particular
volume for anyone with even the slightest interest in knife fighting. If you are
a serious player, then you should give Mr. Hochheim's organization a serious look
as well.
CJ
