I just got confirmation from my publisher, the date is set for my next video shoot. We’re on for July of next year. I won’t go into too much detail but there are some things I can share with you so here goes.
There are two projects:
- Combat Sanshou Strategies and Tactics. This is a working title and it’s likely to change of course. In this video I’ll go into the strategies and tactics of the Combat Sanshou system. The basic idea is to teach you how it can work for big, strong, burly guys but also for lighter, smaller practitioners. This information wasn’t in the original series because we already had so much ground to cover (At the time, my Combat Sanshou video shoot was the longest one Paladin Press ever did.) So now it’ll all be there in a brand new video.
- Conditioning and Power Training. At first, these were two separate projects but we decided to make them into one video. As the title explains, it’s about the conditioning exercises I personally like to do be stronger, faster and have explosive movement. The second part of that video is about how to use that strength to generate power in your techniques. Again, I’ll show the drills and exercises I do in my own training.
No idea when they’ll be available for sale, as that’s something the publisher decides and I have no influence over that part. But I look forward to the shoot. It’ll be fun. At least, for me that is. My demo partners are in for a rough ride…
Looking back on some of my videos, I feel the emphasis was sometimes too much on instruction and demonstration and not enough on doing it “for real”. You might argue that this is the goal of an instructional video and I’ll agree with you. But in this day and age, you have to show your stuff too. Today’s youth says “Youtube or it didn’t happen.” Meaning they want to see proof on video of whatever you claim.
It’s a bit silly to view the world like that but it’s the reality we live in. If you don’t show your stuff on video, people nowadays think you don’t know what you’re doing/saying. Especially the most under-trained and misinformed people have seen everything before on Youtube, so they feel qualified to criticize your work. You should see some of the comments I get on my Youtube channel. Sometimes it’s hard to respond with a minimum of respect.
That said, some things, you can’t argue about:
- If you kick somebody so hard they are blown off their feet, it’s hard to argue there’s no power in the kick.
- If you dump somebody on the floor before he has a chance to launch a second punch, you can’t argue the throw didn’t work.
Of course, there will always be critics who’ll nitpick on something else. And that’s OK, I can live with that. But the times have changed since I did my first video. So I’m changing with them. Which means interesting things for my demo partners. They’re in for a rough ride as I’m not planning on holding back during certain demos…
Josh Skinner (donjitsu2) says
Awesome news. I really enjoyed the Combat Sanshou series (especially the takedowns section) and the Heavybag training book (don’t have the DVD yet).
Can’t wait to put the new in my Amazon Store. :)
I wouldn’t worry too much about the “Youtube Warriors” BTW, no one really cares what the trolls think.
Reminds me of a video I saw posted on College Humor that makes fun of the idiotic crap people post in the comments section:
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1907543 (NSFW)
Wim says
Thanks Josh, it’s great to hear you enjoyed my videos and book. There’s more to come on all those fronts but I can’t talk about those projects just yet. Stay tuned.. :-)
That’s a funny video. And sadly, too true.
I don’t really care about trolls or silly comments, that’s not the issue. The thing is, look at instructional videos from 20-30 years ago. The way things are presented there just doesn’t cut it today. There’s a lot more information available now and viewers automatically compare things. If you don’t do at least a little bit of full speed, full power stuff, They think you’re full of it. That’s just the way it is these days.
They’re wrong, but most of them don’t relaize it. Some of the very best martial artists I know don’t look like much and really don’t do anything flashy when they teach. But when you try to pull a fast one on them or surprise them, they blur and suddenly you’re on the ground, in excruciating pain… They know they can hit hard, they just don’t feel the need to prove it anymore.
I think that’s a given, that at a certain stage you should know if you have enough juice in your techniques or not. Once you do, you start looking for other things to improve. Playing hard and rough when you teach just loses its appeal to you then. But the average yellow belt doesn’t know that yet. Nor can he distinguish between a teacher who is at that stage, or one who acts that way because he doesn’t have real skill and pretends to be at that stage.
On video, you have a chance to show both: teach slowly and show detail but also go all fast and hard to show what it looks like. I’ve realized people nowadays want to see more of that. Fine by me. I’m happy to indulge them… :-)