Company: Jim Sams Karate
Tape Name: SaJiDo - Volume # 1: Fundamentals
Tape Cost: $22
Length of Tape/Time: about 30 minutes
Number of Moves/Techniques:
Return Policy: ?
Experiences in dealing with this company: Great
The Instructor: Jim Sams Company's Address: 5385 Five Forks-Trickum Rd., Stone Mountain, GA, 30087
Company's Phone Number: 770-806-8317
Web Page: http://www.sajido.com
E-Mail: spambrian@dragoncontv.com

Primary Grading Criteria:

1. Production/Tape Quality: 70
2. Instructors demonstrated skill level: 10
3. Comprehension Score/Immediate Understanding: 80
4. Degree to which this will make someone a better Martial Artist: 10
5. Score on delivery vs hype: 10
6. Degree to which we would recommend this product: 0
7. Wasted Time ( The higher the number,the less " fluff" /repetition ): 80
8. Playback Score/Watching it over-and-over again: 0
9. Would I purchase more of this company's products: 0
10. Overall grade based on cost vs. value: 0

Grand Total: 26% (Poor/Fair = )

Secondary Grading Criteria:

1. Beginners benefit: Fair
2. Intermediate benefit: Fair
3. Advanced benefit: Poor
4. Time to benefit: Immediate
5. The need to buy additional tapes to understand this one: None

Written Summary:

There were a lot of things about this one that either bothered me greatly, or that I just didn't like. Sam's teaches a style he created called "Sajido". It's suppose to be a street ready self defense system. Sam's attempts in this video to teach the viewer how to be ready in the street, and this video focuses heavily on facing boxers. He advises against using traditional martial arts stances, particularly TKD stances, he emphasizes using uppercut, hooks, low leg kicks, feinting, slipping punches, using distractions, trickery. Everything I saw on this video I've seen taught at TKD dojo's around here. I just kind of had a hard time with this one, because I felt like saying "What kind of dojo would someone have come from, or rock were they living under, that they needed this video and weren't taught this stuff already?".

I could be wrong, but while watching Sam's I got this strange feeling he was more of a boxer who picked up TKD, and never really got the kicking part of TKD down! He was pretty much all about showing front kicks. When he did show a front leg round kick (some call it spin), or side kick, I was greatly bothered by what I would call a white-belt-anywhere-else display of them. Meaning, they didn't look like kicks of any real 7th degree in TKD I've seen! And while watching the video you see the schools front window, and it says "American Taekwondo". Isn't TKD a kicking art that encompasses ALL kicks, not just front kicks? Yet I didn't see Sam's really demonstrating the full range of TKD kicks. It was more like he demonstrated basic boxing: hook, uppercut, etc, a few blue belt level front kicks, and very sloppy round kicks and sloppy side kicks that were white belt level. If you're advertising yourself as a 7th degree in TKD, I want to see some sidekicks and front leg round kicks that put the fear-of-God in people. Not sloppy and slow ones that are haphazardly flipped out at 1 MPH, without any hip rotation, speed, power, or effort! "Mr. Sam's, what's that all about?" And also to Mr. Sams: "If you think your kicks are really what they're suppose to look like for a 7th degree in TKD, you need to come to Dallas, Texas, and I'll point out a few REAL 7th degrees and up in TKD (Steen type), so you can see what those kicks are really suppose to look like at your rank!"

Questions kept popping up in my mind while watching this like "Who is this guy, and can he kick or not?" I kept yelling at the TV, wanting to give Sam's the benefit-of-the-doubt, saying "Come on Sam's, show me some speed and power on this next one". But each time it didn't happen! Sam's went through too many techniques at a snails pace. When he did try to show a little hand speed, or did a front kick, I would say what I saw was no better than TKD blue belts around here! Every minute that ticked by on this dvd, I kept looking for Sam's to show some redeeming amount of ability, all I kept seeing was lack there of! And this guy was made a 7th in TKD, by who? Watching Sams kick was the equivalent of someone saying "I'm a professional golfer", yet every ball you see them hit is a hook or slice! Now I don't claim to be the kicker I once was, but if Sam's kicks are any indication of being a real 7th degree in TKD, then I wonder what Dan rank in TKD I should be? ;-)

This video kind of dragged on-and-on for me, most of it was technically correct, Sam's heart seemed to be in the right place, and he looked serious about what he was teaching. However I just couldn't get past all the questions I had about Sam's, his 7th degree in TKD, and white belt to blue belt type kicks! I found Sam's following statement on his webpage to be interesting, regarding this Sajido system of his: "a defense system that works better than it looks". Why would someone say that? Dear God I hope it works better than it looks, or whoever he's teaching this stuff too might get seriously hurt on the street! Now if I think about that disclaimer on Sams website, compared to what I saw on this dvd, it made me kind of think he was saying "what I do on my dvds might look like it sucks, but trust me it's great". OooooK! But I submit this for your consideration, if you question the instructor, and/or his ability, how can you not question his material? Something about Sams, his pathetic kicks, his 7th degree rank he promotes himself having, and the disclaimer he places about his SaJiDo on his website, just didn't smell right to me! I'd suggest only buying this dvd for entertainment purposes (not instructional)! Unlike most videos where I want as much time as possible to soak-it-all-up, I was thankful this one ended at around 30 minutes! Next.....

EM

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