Originally posted by Kenpo Wolf
I did'nt mean a bootleg copy if it came across that way. Sorry for the misunderstanding. What I meant is I would like to buy a original copy, what a oxymoron(spl), from the EPJ's site. I will definitely buy the journals as soon as I finish paying off my truck in a few months. Thanks a lot for the excellent advice.
I didn't interpret your question as a request for a bootleg copy. I did however feel it necessary to point out to the group as a whole that
the bootleg industry in our art is way out of hand.
I get requests all the time from folks (some of them even post in this forum) asking if I would make them a copy of this tape or that manual, in a barter, for a reduced fee, or, more often then not, for free.
It bothers me to see it happen because the consumer base for anyone who is marketing a product as specific as a tech manual or video for Kenpo is actually pretty small to begin with, never mind the amount of folks who actually would buy those items in that particular niche market. It would really surprise me if the actual number of kenpo video sales topped 2,000 units in a year for all of them across the entire Kenpo genre, yet it is very rare that I go somewhere and not see bootlegs of videos and manuals in peoples collections.
I once took Ed Jr. to a seminar that he was instructing and there, right before our eyes, was an entire school filled with bootleg copies of the tech manuals. Only difference was the cover had the name of a certain selfproclaimed '*cough* SGM *cough*' on it and the copyright info conveniently missing from the pages. Other than that they were exactly(word for word and page number for page number and format) the same. Of course, that person denied actually pirating the work and insisted they were his original works. So, the sad reality of it is that the manuals are even being pirated by school owners who sell them and keep the monies to themselves. I don't think we'll be back there anytime soon...
My point, after all this ranting... is... We need to be very open and honest about the issue and actively discourage the practice. It is STEALING whether or not folks want to own up to the facts. They become thieves by participating in the bootlegging process.
When folks purchase these items they support the folks who do a lot of hard work to put them in our hands and maybe continue to give them the incentive to continue thier efforts. If we don't and turn a blind eye then, eventually the lesson in futility is driven home and there will not be any new products put to this particular market.
Peace,
Sandor
