Leg Fencing with Scott Sonnon

[Phil Elmore]

When Scott Sonnon sent me a copy his three-tape Leg Fencing set and asked that I do an honest review of it, I was a little intimidated. I'll admit it: I tend towards a weakness that many in the martial arts have, and that is that I prefer striking with my hands to kicking with my feet. This is a natural bias in human beings, I think. We're used to using our legs for little else than walking around, whereas we use our hands and arms for just about everything else.

Well, growth can be both painful and unsettling -- but it is worth it. If you're looking to increase your leg flexibility, power, control, and speed, the Leg Fencing series is one you should consider.

Click Here for my review of Tape 1 in this 3-tape series.

 

[Damian Mavis]

Do you know Scott Sonnon personally or did he hear about you doing reviews?

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[Phil Elmore]

He e-mailed me one day and asked me if he could send me some tapes to review. He said he'd seen and enjoyed my other reviews online at various forums. Of course I was happy to review anything he wanted to send, and told him so.

A few days later I got a box in the mail containing the Flow Fighting tape and the three-tape Leg Fencing set.

I believe he is going to send me his "clubbell" material, too, and I'm looking forward to evaluating that. But no, I don't know him personally; I've only spoken to him through e-mail and haven't yet even talked with him on the phone.

 

[Phil Elmore]

I've finally finished the reviews of tapes 2A and 2B in the Leg Fencing trilogy. I enjoyed them quite a bit.

 

[Phil Elmore]

A follow-up, in which these tapes actually helped me personally:

One of the two martial arts in which I train is an eclectic system that owes much to judo, ju jitsu, kung fu, and a smattering of other styles. Recently my teacher tested me for my green sash, which requires that both striking with the hands and using the feet for kicks and sweeps and such be completely integrated.

I have long had a very hand-heavy bias; that is, I was weak in using my legs. My teacher knew this and knew it would be a stumbling block for me.

Numerous factors contributed to the improvement that helped bring me to "green sash" level, but when it came time to do the actual test, I had to be able to use my legs effectively against my teacher. As luck would have it, it has not been that long since I viewed Coach Scott Sonnon's Leg Fencing tapes in order to review them for my website.

The content of the tapes really helped me. I credit the information on those tapes -- what I retained of it, anyway, after doing the review -- for helping me to do well enough to pass my test. Most significant of the information on the tapes was the principle of "screwing" motion in order to impart force with the leg while maintaining balance.

Thanks, Coach Sonnon.

 

[arnisador]

I find that these tapes are usually no more than an anthropological study for me--I meet an interesting new art and go from knowing nothing about it to knowing next to nothing about it.

 

[ydma1796]

Thanks Phil,

I've been receiving Coach Sonnon's e-mails for quite some time now... and have been hesitent to order any of his stuff. Most stuff today is more hype than help. But your review has helped me see that Coach Sonnon's tapes would be an excellent addition to my library.

Thanks again.
J. Kevin

 

[Phil Elmore]

I'm sitting on a huge stack of tapes from RMAX that I will be reviewing in the future, too.