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July 29, 2008

Punching DVD?

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My recent colums on punching prompted Peter Gow to ask about a
project that Stadion considered some time ago--a DVD on punching.
(You can read those columns at http://www.stadion.com/column.html.)
Below is his question followed by my answer.

> Mr. Kurz,
>
> Any chance of you rethinking that punching DVD? Possibly you could
> combine it with some of the essential Kettlebell exercises. I'd be
> very interested. As I mentioned once before, if you do not have
> proper footwork, balance and solid punching skills, even some one
> with "nice kicks", will be unable to deliver them. Might I suggest
> targeting a DVD as "essential punching skill for knockout kicks".
>
> Thanks,
>
> Peter Gow

Answer:

Both you and I understand the need for having good punching skills
and all that one learns while building those skills. But only a
small minority of people in martial arts understands this and I'm
afraid that those who could appreciate such instruction already
know most of it. Those who don't know it, would not appreciate it
and, paradoxically, that is why they have all the problems arising
from lack of those skills.

There is another drawback to this project: The whole instruction
could be reduced to three or four exercises. While most martial
arts students don't do these exercises (or don't do them properly),
if we'd release such DVD, there would be complains: "What? Only
four exercises?" or "But I already know these exercises." and so
on...

Who would want to pay good money for only four exercises? Only very
insightful instructors and fighters who are ready to "empty their
cup" and do those exercises until they master them. For such people
those exercises would pay off in fighting.

So you see why I think it is better not to do such a DVD.

Fluffing up the instruction with exercises other than those
essential ones would run against my taste. I like my instruction to
be to the point and not belabor the obvious.

Going back to the "Those who don't know it, would not appreciate
it" rule: This is similar to customers' reaction to the DVD Basic
Instincts of Self-Defense. I have observed that it is most
appreciated by people with real-life fighting experience. Actually,
the more experience they have the more value they see in this DVD
(read opinions at http://www.stadion.com/testimonialbisd.html and
at http://www.stadion.com/basic_instincts_self-defense.html).

Some day I might write on know-how and its value....

Sincerely,

Thomas Kurz

P.S.

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