Instructional

[SensibleManiac]

What's the best Martial arts instructional DVD or book you own and why?

My personal favorite is Functional JKD by Matt Thornton for the applicability of the material.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

What's the best Martial arts instructional DVD or book you own and why?

My personal favorite is Functional JKD by Matt Thornton for the applicability of the material.

Wow that is really hard as I have an extensive library. The functional JKD book you mention is a nice one. Brazilian Jiujitsu Theory and Technique by Renzo and Royler plus The Master Text by Helio Gracie are also nice for BJJ basics. (there is a million of them now) Hatsumi Sensei's old Stick Fighting book is a classic. Dan Anderson's Modern Arnis books are also very, very good. Michael Janich's books are nice particularly the one on Home Made Equipment and who could forget about Bob Orlando's books as they are all first rate but Indonesian Fighting Fundamentals and Martial Arts America are must reads for any martial practitioner.

Those are just a few to mull over.

 

[Drac]

Difficult question...I own the complete Combat Hapkido Instructional program which are excellent...Plus additional DVD's dealing with weapon disarms, balance disruption, ground fighting..

 

[tshadowchaser]

Mine would not be a DVD but a 30 some odd year old casset made by my instructor showing the breakdown of some of our forms

 

[Hyper_Shadow]

Time to be an advertising board; and say Bushi Jutsu: The Science of The Warrior by Darren Westwood. And the DVD (a bit low budget but was a laugh to film) is pretty good as well. Has some nice info for karateka and those interested in effective bunkai.
In case you hadn't guessed I'm a student of Darrens...:boing2:

Other than that pretty much anything written by Geoff Thompson is a good read.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Di Guoyong Xingyiquan but then I do not have that many Xingyiquan DVDs but of the few I have I like his the best. Also books for training Xingyiquan again Di Guoyong and I do have a lot of books on Xingyiquan and many are good but he goes into great detail on positioning and proper alignment and stances that many do not.

Taijiquan, it depends on what style you want. As to Yang style to be honest I don’t like any of them much as far a DVDs go but as far as books go it depends on what you are after. I like Tung Ying Chieh’s Red book but the English translation is bad and if you are looking for a beginner book I do not recommend it. Probably Yang Jwing Ming would be the best bet here. As for Chen I am partial to Chen Zhenglei videos and books and there is one book by Chen Xiaowang that is pretty good as well.

Wing Chun I like the books by Ip Chun and there is a DVD that I like as well but it is a different lineage than Ip and a different version than what I learned. I liked it because it was easy for me to follow but it did not help me much to remember the Sil Lum Tao I learned originally.

Sanda – there is nothing I would recommend

But with all this I feel I must add that books and DVDs are best supplements to training and that to truly understand any art you really need a qualified teacher.

 

[Hyper_Shadow]

But with all this I feel I must add that books and DVDs are best supplements to training and that to truly understand any art you really need a qualified teacher.

Completely agree, very wise words:asian:

 

[Drac]

Completely agree, very wise words:asian:

Yep....

 

[bowser666]

In my opinion there is no such thing as a good instructional video. You MUST have a teacher.

 

[arnisador]

Wow that is really hard as I have an extensive library.[...] Brazilian Jiujitsu Theory and Technique by Renzo and Royler [...] Hatsumi Sensei's old Stick Fighting book is a classic. Dan Anderson's Modern Arnis books are also very, very good.

I too have a large library. I like the ones above and am also fond of the Gracies' Mastering Jujitsu. (Somehow, BJJ has inspired a number of above-average instructional books! They merge technique with applicable theory very well.) But as indicated below, one can't really learn technique from a book. My favorites, like the BJJ books and a number of JKD books I own, spend a lot of time on text explaining strategy and history etc. and are not all picture books.

 

[Phoenix44]

I like the Gracie Submission Grappling book. The descriptions are very good, and the photos are excellent. The Gracie BJJ book is also good, but the pictures aren't as helpful as those in the submission grappling book...in a clinch, it's hard to tell which body part belongs to which player because they're both wearing identical gi.

I agree that it's difficult to "learn" from a book, but if you already have some experience, the book can clarify and "remind."

 

[stickarts]

Its hard for me to pick. i must have in the area of 200 videos and also there are different things I appreciate about them. Some are not really clear to follow but have lots of great stuff in them if you take the time to pick them apart while some are more step by step and easy to follow.
I reached a point where it became too much material to try and watch and get good at so many of them are gathering dust now.
I thought Joe Lewis's tapes were good step by step and easy to follow. GM Presas early tapes were harder to follow but had lots of stuff in there if you carefully watch and are patient and pick it apart.
I like Larry Tatums Videos. Lots of info with a different slant on things.
While I agree that videos can't take the place of good teacher, I do think videos can be a tremendous supplement to your training.
I have some of the old Green Dragon Studios videos. I like some of the isometric exercises on those.

 

[SensibleManiac]

In my opinion there is no such thing as a good instructional video. You MUST have a teacher.

Although I agree you must have a teacher, I wouldn't go as far as saying there are no good instructionals.
In all my years training I must say I've seen some great instructional material that taught me alot, and also have seen some terrible teachers.
That's not to say you can learn MA without a teacher, because I definetely don't believe you can, but you can learn from a variety of sources.

 

[shihansmurf]

I just got done pimping the first two on the list but here are a few that have been usefull to me over the years:

The Straight Lead by Terri Thom

Sabaki Method

Tao of Jeet Kune Do, although the book Jeet Kune Do Commentaries on the martial way is far superior.

The infinite Insight in to Kenpo series as well as the Encyclopedia of Kenpo by Ed Parker.

Karate Do Kyohan-Funikoshi

Jerry Beasley put out a good series on JKD

If you edit out the ego and bad hair any of Bill Shaw's tapes a decent.

The entire DVD set of Kenneth Funakoshi's Shotokan material is outstanding as are the ones produced by Joe Ertl.

The KArate Connection Videos by Chuck Sulivan and Vic LeRoux are worth every penny althought I don't like the video testing part.

Still the best bet is a good instructor but all of the above are soldi supplimental training aids.

Mark

 

[Deaf Smith]

"Gorgious", with Jackie Chan and Bradley James Allan (skip the girl and the movie, just go to the two fight scenes.)

The footwork and shear skill is impressive. The power of the techniques was not that evident, but the 'combined arms' of the hand and foot techniques just impress me.

Sure I have some training DVDS, but I just wish I was as good as Allan.

Deaf