Company: Senkai Productions
Tape Name: Wheelchair Workout
Tape Cost: ?
Length of Tape/Time: 15 Minutes
Number of Moves/Techniques: 20
Return Policy:
Experiences in dealing with this company: Excellent
The Instructor: Gregory Aldred & Patrick Horgan
Company's Address:
Company's Phone Number:
Web Page:
E-Mail:

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Primary Grading Criteria:

1. Production/Tape Quality: 9
2. Instructors demonstrated skill level: 8
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'd recommend this product: 8
7. Wasted Time (The higher the number, the less "fluff"/repetition): 10
8. Playback Score/Watching it 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: 83 %

1. 80%-100% = 83
2. Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent = Poor
3. 0-5 stars = .75 stars

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Secondary Grading Criteria:

1. Beginners benefit: Poor
2. Intermediate benefit: Poor
3. Advanced benefit: Poor
4. Time to benefit: The more you practice, the better you get
5. The need to buy additional tapes to understand this one: none

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Written Summary:

This tape is a short 12 minute introduction to karate, done in a format that's targeted towards those that are handicapped, paralyzed, or for some other reason, are bound to a wheelchair. Thus we have the very specific title "Wheelchair Workout". Missing in a video such as this, as expected, are all the various stances and kicks common to most karate styles. Emphasis is placed entirely on hand techniques.

The video starts out with and covers:

1. Finger warm up
2. Wrist warm up
3. Elbow warm up
4. Shoulder warm up
5. Neck circles
6. "Load the Bow" (a focus/coordination drill)
7. Wrist strike warm up
8. Various punches
9. Various combination punches
10. Blocks (27)
11. Wheelchair Kata # 1

One of the things I felt this video lacked was a physically challenging workout. I saw little opportunity for many handicapped individuals to "break out in a sweat" via the workout shown. The pace shown for the workout was unbelievably slow, as in punch, wait several seconds, punch again. This was the pace shown pretty much throughout this entire video. So now you're probably asking, as I would be, who am I to judge what a good workout is for a handicapped person, and why do I feel I can say this? Unlike most people, I personally helped and worked with a paralyzed individual, years ago, that wanted to take martial arts. This courageous young man wanted to be physically challenged, and didn't want to be treated special or differently from anyone else. He literally worked out harder and faster than many of us who weren't handicapped, and from day one, was the epitomy of dedication. He was truly an inspiration to us all. In a very short time his blocks and punches became very fast and powerful, and looked better than some of our intermediate "slackers".

Now I know that each person, especially those that are handicapped, can have different physical limitations that effect how quickly they can flourish, and I'm not criticizing that. What I am criticizing is the workout itself, and the way the instruction was done. For many handicapped, or paralyzed individuals, who might be looking for something challenging, I think they might quickly become bored with what Mr. Aldred shows. Watching this video was like watching someone practice karate VERY slowly and in VERY bad form. Nowhere did Mr. Aldred place any emphasis on, or suggest anything about power, speed, correct body mechanics, or form. He just lets his student, Patrick Horgan (shown as a white belt on the videos cover), go through each command/exercise with what appeared to be no focus on "control", and no suggestions for improvement AT ALL. The more I watched, the more I became disturbed with Mr. Aldred's instruction, as Patrick threw punches haphazardly in almost every direction imaginable! Afterwards, Mr. Aldred said nothing to Patrick, or the viewing audience, about focus, aiming at ones target, concentrating on keeping ones wrist straight (which Patrick didn't do), etc. Based on Mr. Aldred's tight lipped approach, how in the world does a person know if they did the techniques right or not? And if they don't know this, what is their basis for improvement?

If a handicapped person were to purchase this video, and use it for in-home martial arts training, not only might they pick up some very bad habits technically, but I believe most would have no idea, based on the instruction shown, how to constantly challenge themself for technical improvement.

And if the criticisms mentioned above weren't enough, then let's look at a couple more.

But let's do so in the form of a note to Mr. Aldred:

Dear Mr. Aldred - If you're going to sell a video, for $20 or $30, and it's to teach karate to beginners, at least provide suggestions and explanations about the right and wrong way to do techniques. There was absolutely no explanation about either on this video! You produced the video so that it went from one technique to the next, virtually non-stop, with Patrick doing some moves, that I couldn't even figure out what they were! And why Mr. Aldred was this video only 15 minutes long, beginning-to-end? Can't $20 or $30 buy more time and explanation on a tape? I think you could've easily spent an hour, going over the finer details of each technique shown! Why not start the video out by showing the proper way to do each punch and block, then common mistakes, followed then by how one can constantly challenge themselves to improve each, and then go into the workout portion of the tape? That would be alot better than a "Lets just start doing whatever you think a punch and block might be". At the very minimum take 10 seconds on each technique and explain the finer points. Mr. Aldred, I think a person could VERY EASILY pick up some bad habits with the approach you used in this video!

This video is a prime example of an instructor, whose heart was probably in the right place, but fell way short of providing a valuable in-depth training aid, to the market he was targeting.

To sum it all up, in closing, let me say it like this. Knowing the heart of some handicapped people, how some truly want to be challenged, and combine the lack of that challenge (for many) in this tape, along with a complete lack of technical explanation, and I can't think of any audience I'd feel comfortable recommending this tape too.