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Red Zone Reviews |
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HERE'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE RED ZONE EMPTY HAND KNIFE DEFENSE VIDEO:"Way cool tape!
Material is presented in a nice progression, always against resistance. I really appreciate the concept of teaching positional control first, than strikes and jump spinning back heel kick disarms.
I dig the honest approach. It seems Jerry is saying, here is where we were, and here is where we are as a result of training induced evolution and hopefully we will continue to pare away the unessential things. Jerry shows some of the things that he has trained in the past as well as some beliefs he held regarding elements like, defanging the snake, and then he shows and talks about situations that caused him to critically evaluate these elements of his training program. Nothing is discarded or absorbed without clear reason. I really appreciate his honesty in debunking the myth that you need to fight with a knife in order to survive a knife fight. Jerry stresses that you do need to understand how common attacks occur but that doesn't mean you need to be the worlds greatest knife fighter in order to counter a criminal/psycho with a knife.
Jerry also covers scenario training and worst case situations. Something everyone should work on at some point, at least so they have a clue.
Making sure you can get to your incredibly tactical folder is worked as well. I posted on here about 2 years ago about the problems we ran into, sometimes you can't get it out and actually reaching for it takes a hand out of the fight. One of my guy's favorite moves was to throw a long looping left when the other guy reached with his right hand for a knife. It always connected because the right hand was down. As Jerry points out, this is something you need to work against resistance so you won't be surprised when it steps off.
I'll post some more later, when I have some more time. All in all, this is the type of knife material everyone should study. I'm not being insulting when I say, this is definitely not a martial arts type knife tape. This is self-protection material that anyone can use from day one.
btw- I've been working the backwards 2-on-1 a little and we have been hitting arm/shoulder throws constantly. That Judo knee-wheel thing works pretty well from here also."
-Paul Sharp
TO PURCHASE THIS TAPE CLICK HERE!
"I just finished viewing Jerry Wetzel's "Red Zone", self defense versus a blade tape. Here is a review.
First off I have to say what a pleasure it is now to sit down and watch a videos where the training and demonstrations are fully Alive throughout.
There is now a large community of truth seeking Martial Arts and self defense Instructors who have zero tolerance from bullsh*t pre-patterned techniques, drills, or fluff. This group is training fully Alive, and learning and evolving based on their OWN first hand EXPERIENCE. That's beautiful to see! What a refreshing change from the videos of old with there 47 variations of a flow drill, wives tales, superstition, and quick release disarms.
Jerry begins the video by wisely demonstrating exactly why, and how, the typical techniques taken from 'Kali', 'Escrima', Karate, and various other traditional Martial Arts can be more harmful to the user then the attacker. The results are sometimes comical, and obvious in the format in which they are presented.
From their Jerry shows various drills designed to allow one to evade and survive, and then goes into disarms using the very common sense approach of position first. Jerry's training in the clinch is evident here, and it's nice to see it's application applied in these circumstances. Jerry shows the regular 2 on 1, which was perfected to a large degree against a blade by Karl Tanswell with his STAB program. Jerry also shows the inside 2 on 1, baseball bat grip (a favorite of Burton and others), and the interlocked, or 'russian' 2 on 1, which is a staple for most SBG Coaches.
All positions are taught and then drilled completely ALIVE, and the information is solid.
From there the tape follows naturally into blunt trauma, and return to sender disarms. A great explanation of what constitutes actual medical shock. Some of the fallacies of the "defanging the snake" theory. And some interesting discussions on actual self defense experiences. This is followed by a great talk with Jerry's very cool wife and Medical Doctor Gigi. All good information that I have yet to see on any other knife defense tapes.
Jerry continues with some scenario training. Again, all ALIVE, and all solid stuff. My only constructive criticism would be that I would have encouraged the scenario defenders to take more advantage of the furniture. Always trying to place something between the blade wielding attacker and themselves. This at least ensures the guy will have to run around, or jump over it to reach you, and makes it harder for him to lunge and stick you. But you know what. . .given a few more trials they would have figured that out even without Jerry's assistance. Do you know why? Because it was fully Alive training. So the athletes will evolve to survive and overcome the circumstances they are faced with. That's the beautiful thing about Alive training. What needs to be done becomes self evident to all involved in a very short period of time, as does what will not work, or what will get you killed. You gotta love it.
The tapes concludes with some very neat defensive techniques on the ground. These are demonstrated by Jerry, and SBGI Coach and BJJ black belt Chris Haueter. It takes some balls to get on the mat with a BJJ black belt, hand him a knife, and try and defend yourself. Jerry does that, and what he and Chris come up with is very interesting to see.
In conclusion I would say that this tape is a great compliment to Karl Tanswell's S.T.A.B program, and between the two of them I believe you would have all the tools you need to begin Alive training in your own knife defense curriculum.
Great tape.
You can purchase the video through Jerry's website: www.centerlinegym.com
-Matt Thornton
www.straightblastgym.com"
TO PURCHASE THIS TAPE CLICK HERE!
"I FINALLY got my Red Zone tape yesterday (Jerry just sent it on 23 April, but the anticipation was killing me) and have already watched it through twice. By the way, thanks Jerry for estimating the tape's value at $10 on the customs form. That no doubt kept me from coming to grief with those cash-grabbing cretins at the Canadian boarder.
First of all, I would like to congratulate Jerry on his excellent first video production effort. The info was top-notch, camera angles were good, explanations were concise, and the sound quality (for the most part) was good. I won't re-hash too much of what the tape presents, because Matt's original post did that quite well, but I wanted to add a few of points.
It was amusing to see some of the old school PFS/ Kali defenses and disarms that many of us are so familiar with. They sure looked nice when there was no resistance, but when a paint blade and a committed attacker were thrown into the equation, it all fell apart. I have always had such serious doubts about the efficacy such techniques that I have never taught them to anyone, nor bothered to learn them very well. My problem has been that I haven't had any decent substitute, until now. :-)
The techniques demonstrated on the tape seemed very simple and practical (although I have not yet had time to train them seriously). It was a joy to see them being pulled off in an athletic manner between uncooperative training partners. As I have gotten older (and progressively more feeble-minded!), I have become a real fan of simplicity (one of the reasons why I like Blauer's SPEAR). I too can't help but roll my eyes when presented with the "47 variations of a flow drill".
I also enjoyed hearing the stories of people's actual experience with "defanging the snake". I still feel that this can be a useful concept (particularly with blunt weapons and occasionally with empty hands), but don't like it's frequent presentation as a fool-proof method. With blades, you're playing for keeps.
The fallacy of "finding an equalizer" was also dealt with. I have heard this buzz phrase for a long time and have never been entirely convinced. I always figured that if I had a knife (and reason to attack) and my opponent had a stick, there is no way a couple of welts would keep me from inflicting serious damage. Seeing this scenario played out in an alive manner with gear, was quite refreshing.
The issue of "systemic shock" was also discussed and debunked. Knives aren't magic death wands. I have also heard many people talk about "systemic shock" with regards to biting...whatever.
Also, nice to see a lot of protective gear used in the sparring scenarios. I have to get myself a set of those FIST thigh pads. Those are cool.
Anyway, I've babbled enough. Great tape Jerry, I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. Perhaps something on this mystical "Third Arm Technique"?
David"
TO PURCHASE THIS TAPE CLICK HERE!
Jerry,
Finally had a chance to look through your work at length.
It pleases me to see that truth in all things runs like an underground stream that rises randomly throughout the world to be revealed through those who would drink of it. Your work is true to function and along with STAB, it is the source everyone should go to for a solid grasp of the blade, what it can do, and what a person may do.
I am one of those that does not believe much in knife defense (too many stories and ugly truths when a knife comes out) and consider 99.9% of the material out there hype at best and a very dangerous proposition at worst. That said, I work plenty with LE and correctional officers so completely understand the need to have a living and dynamic structure to call on if and when sharp tools come into play. My opinion is that you have a small miniscule window to act and within that eye of a needle you also have even a smaller shot of applying any control over the blade. In other words, do what you have to do with complete and utter determination and yes, use that which you have so brilliantly outlined and shown as it is the best shot you got. If the "bad guy" is even slightly more determined.....bad things will happen; unfortunately more so than we would like to believe.
Over the years, Paul Sharp and I came to similar conclusions on the fundamental level and realized all tactics should be designed to get elsewhere (out a door, down the street, to your gun, etc.). Training in short has now become about formatting a living or dynamic associative memory of sorts that through consistency, frequency, and anchoring, triggers specific fundamental responses and delivery systems. In other words, what your concepts, training methods and results seek to improve upon consistently.
When it comes to the blade and sharp tools, intercept, stabilize, and control takes on an entirely heightened meaning!
Rest assured that for tactics against the blade I will point all comers to you and Tanswell. It is the material I have trained and would call on if fate would have me in that horrible situation. Ultimately, I believe it would be God & fate that determines that outcome more so than any tactic.
Thanks for doing this work. It's an immense task and you have more than stepped up to meet it, you have excelled.
-Luis Gutierrez One Dragon Martial Arts/ Straightblast Gym Florida
Jerry:
Tape works fine. SOLID material, excellent presentation, good production. What more can you ask for? I've been burned so many times with crappy material that when a tape like this comes out, it makes up for the 10 crappy ones I bought before.
Keep on doing what you're doing and I hope that the Centerline Gym continues to cover other topics. My favorite part was going into the scenarios and the emphasis on making things as environmentally realistic as possible.
This tape validated a lot of what I've been doing the past few years and that alone was worth the price of the tape. All the best and continued success in future projects.
Joe Silva
TO PURCHASE THIS TAPE CLICK HERE!
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