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Let me start with this; there is a lot of good stuff on this DVD set. In point of fact, some of it reminds me a lot of material that I've been taught by Kru Mark Dellagrotte, who is arguably one of the top MMA striking coaches in the United States today. The footwork drills, angles, and set ups that Crafty shows are similar to some of the ones I've seen Kru Mark teach. That is, to be clear, praise, not criticism. Good ideas often look similar.
Even better (as far as I'm concerned), I have had success experimenting with some of this material in Muay Thai sparring after just a single viewing and some mental rehearsal. Now, I'll grant, I have the advantage in that a lot of the general concepts were familiar to me, so I was able to adapt some of the ideas much more quickly than someone who hadn't been exposed to some of this style of footwork and movement before. Nevertheless, with some practice, I would imagine that most fighters would be able to get some benefit out of this style of movement, and find it an effective piece to add to their toolbox.
My beef with the set comes from some of the tactics and tools that Crafty shows that are really more appropriate for the street than for the ring. Indeed, some of the tactics he shows are outright illegal in a ring context (kicks to the back of the head, knees to the spine, grabbing the groin...). Now I have nothing against training for self-defense (as witness my ongoing PDR training), but when I buy a video on training for ring combat, I expect tactics that are actually usable in a ring situation. There are moments in the DVD where I feel like Crafty is drifting more into an argument about why it's important to train for things beyond ring sport, which is a interesting a valid discussion, but I don't think it belongs on this series. This series is ostensibly about ring combat--I'd rather have had more ring material and less street.
Is this set worth buying? I would give that a qualified "yes". The qualifier depends on the goal of the person watching. An active combat sport coach or athlete will find some valuable and interesting material on here that is definitely worth exploring. The dedicated self-defense instructor may also find some valuable material here, though frankly, I think a lot of it is overly complicated to show to a beginner student. I certainly would not buy this as a "little Johnnies first self-defense" sort of DVD.
The one group I have no addressed, of course, is the practitioner of Kali or Silat themselves. The reason I haven't is because, frankly, I'm not qualified to. I have only a passing familiarity with the Filipino and Indonesian martial arts, and I have no idea how much of the material that Guro Crafty shows would be new to such a practitioner. It certainly SEEMS like it would be valuable to such a person who was interested in getting into the MMA scene, but I really don't have the knowledge base to speak authoritatively on that subject.
Finally, I'll say this: while I appreciate Guro Crafty's desire to have a strong effect on the MMA scene, I rather doubt that this DVD will do it. Most MMA coaches and fighters are interested in results, and while this DVD shows a lot of neat ideas, it does not show anyone actually applying this stuff in a sanctioned MMA bout. Until we start seeing guys in the UFC or similar organizations actively winning fights with this material, I suspect it will go ignored by the vast majority of the combat sport community. Which is unfortunate, because this material should not be ignored, but I think that's the nature of the beast.
Rating:  [4 of 5 Stars!] |
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