Company: Goldstar Video
Tape Name: How to Protect Yourself/Against Weapons
Tape Cost: as low as $2.99 per rental!
Length of Tape/Time: varies, see "written summary"
Number of Moves/Techniques: Varies
Return Policy: Rental
Experiences in dealing with this company: Great with Goldstar!
The Instructor: John Tsai
Company's Address: 413 Briarwood Ridge, Carl Junction, MO 64834
Company's Phone Number: 888-884-7482
Web Page: http://www.goldstarvideo.com
E-Mail: customerservice@goldstarvideo.com
Primary Grading Criteria:
1. Production/Tape Quality: 60
2. Instructors demonstrated skill level: 60
3. Comprehension Score/Immediate Understanding: 60
4. Degree to which this will make someone a better Martial Artist: 60
5. Score on delivery vs hype: 60
6. Degree to which we would recommend this product: 60
7. Wasted Time ( The higher the number,the less " fluff" /repetition ): 60
8. Playback Score/Watching it over-and-over again: 60
9. Would I purchase more of this company's products: 60
10. Overall grade based on cost vs. value: 60
Grand Total: 60% (Good = 3.0 Stars)
Secondary Grading Criteria:
1. Beginners benefit: Fair
2. Intermediate benefit: Good
3. Advanced benefit: Good
4. Time to benefit: Immediate
5. The need to buy additional tapes to understand this one: No
Written Summary:
This is the 2nd and final tape in John Tsai's "How to Protect Yourself" set, and this one is subtitled "Against Weapons".
Like the first tape, Tsai emphasized he wanted to provide you the fewest choices (techniques) you'd need to remember, to get the job done! For weapons disarms, he specifically said there are "3 Main Ones". Initially when I heard that I thought: "This is great for this type of target audience, only 3 Main techniques for all disarms". Yet often throughout the tape he kept showing tons of techniques where he's more or less saying "You can do it like this, or like that" and he kept doing that so often and so much, I felt he lost his own initial vision (3 techniques to disarm). Heck, I'm still wondering what the "Main 3" disarms/techniques are! I watched this video twice, and never heard him say "OK, here are the Main 3 that will work for any weapon". Like I say, he started the tape saying that's what he was going to do and show, yet I don't think he did that.
I felt like he forgot he said that, and sort of throws an encyclopedia of disarms at the viewer. I kept thinking to myself all throughout the tape: "Mr. Tsai, do you remember what you said at the first of the tape? Where are those 3 Main disarm techniques. You said one thing, but you're doing something else!" Thus, I think for the likely targeted audience, those with no martial arts training, this 2nd tape is a bit too much, regarding the number of choices the viewer needs to remember. Good material, nothing technically wrong with it, but a little overwhelming, which could lead to confusion. Tsai even said on this tape: "I don't want you confused trying to remember too much and freezing in the street, that will get you killed". Bottomline, I felt like he said one thing, but provides the viewer something much different that's confusing and overwhelming!
There were a couple of decent techniques, such as:
1. Trap/Eye Gouge
2. Spearhand to Throat
3. Kick into the Knees
4. Eagle Claw - grab certain areas shown and squeeze
5. Double Dragon
These are just the ones I liked. There were lots of techniques/disarms shown I'm not listing. In fact, there were (2) other disarms that weren't named that I liked.
But I think Mr. Tsai didn't deliver on the promise of his tape, which seemed to be a couple of techniques, that would allow you to handle all situations. Due to Mr. Tsai saying one thing, yet delivering something else, and in my opinion that likely confusing-the-hell out of many viewers, regarding which disarms they are suppose to use, I'm going to rate this tape lower than the first one. Good material, nothing really terribly wrong with it, but I feel Mr. Tsai failed to deliver the same level of quality he did with his first tape in this set.
EM
