San Da instructional DVD gets great reviews

[LKFMDC]

San Da Training Systems (www.SanDaTrainingSystems.com) presents to first instructional San Da DVD "punching and clinching. It's gotten some great reviews after only one month in circulation

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"Coach Ross presented a lot of great info. This might have been the best spent $40 in my entire MA training. I especially recommend Coach Ross and STS for anyone who is interested in the sanshou/sanda format or those who are looking for practical ability in all ranges."

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"Great stuff! Really good production, too--I especially liked how you reversed everything so it could be seen from both sides on video. The concepts are good stuff"


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"I gotta say, I really like the way you use CMA examples when you are talking about different techniques, like when you reference the Hsing-I shoulder drills comparing them to wrestling clinch countering drills, the use of fajing and short power to open up the clinch, etc... Good stuff. Definitely worth the money."


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"It is a great dvd. It makes coming to the next seminar essential".


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"Let me first state that this is my very first DVD that I own from Sanda Training Systems (STS). Before I only knew of David Ross and the school that he runs. I know a little bit about his history and whom he has learned from. This is a review written from the perspective of a martial artist. STS has in no way paid for me to write this interview. With that being said, here’s the review.

As soon as David Ross said his very first Sanda DVD was coming out, I had to pick it up. I heard about this him and read a lot of his statements online. I wanted to see if he was the real deal. I get my copy “San Da punching and clinching” in and I pop it in the DVD player. There is a brief introduction that warns you about training to cover their butt. And then it comes to the menu. The menu is broken up into two categories. It is broken up into the scene selection that most people are used to see on DVD’s, and it’s also broken up into technique selection. I like this feature a lot. Instead of skimming through the chapters with my finger on the fast forward button, I can choose the technique right from the menu. There about nineteen techniques covered in this DVD.

The very first part of the DVD is an introduction to Sifu Ross. He explains about who he is, whom he has trained, and a little history of San Da. He talks about the four skills of San Da and how STS is broken down. He also goes over what is going to be taught in this DVD. The DVD was filmed from a seminar that he held in his school. The audio isn’t too good on the DVD. I had to turn my television up a little bit more then normal to hear. Sifu David Ross is a very soft-spoken man at first (almost nervous) and it is hard to hear him. The audio gets better as the DVD goes along. It seems he gets more into the seminar that he is holding.

At first he explains a little bit about the clinch. I have never really studied the clinch with my Sifu. I learned about trapping and blocking, but I never really spent too much time on the clinch. He starts the seminar by explaining some of the basics and what they are going to study. Sifu Ross goes over some of the basic ways of blocking with STS and how they do it in STS. Sifu David Ross explains each technique so you understand it.

He doesn’t over explain things, but sometimes it seems he talks a little bit too much. When he does talk though it shows his knowledge and experience. Everything he says is a good tip or is an interesting bit from another style. It had me thinking about new techniques within ten minutes of watching the DVD.

As the DVD went on, there was some background noise of what sounded like musical instruments and it drowned out Sifu Ross’s voice during that period. But it was only for a short period. He covers blocking, guarding, and countering for the high, middle, and lower part of the upper body. Are these things different from the way I was taught and do things? Some of the blocks are, I’m not used to using gloves, but they can be modified to work without gloves. They are all very good techniques and will get any martial artist thinking.

After a half hour of the punching and blocking, they move on to clinching. He does a little background on the clinch. He talks about the body and neck clinch. Sifu Ross explains how to set up a clinch, what body and neck clinches are used for, and their different scenarios. Also given are some good tips on how not to clinch and what are some of the biggest mistakes when going in for a clinch.

What do you do when you are in the clinch? Easy, Sifu Ross will go over some of the basic things to do in a clinch. Sifu Ross covers inside punching, the different techniques for using the knee, and how to toss someone to the ground. Even some of his senior students are shown practicing these techniques and helping out some of the less experienced students. Some anti clinching techniques are taught too.

There are a ton of drills and exercises on this DVD that will make you a rethink the way you fight. Are you going to like everything on this DVD? I can’t guarantee it. But I can tell you Sifu Ross’s knowledge of San Da is plentiful and excellent. When he shows the students at a fuller speed how to execute something it shows he knows what he is talking about. During the clinch section he shows a counter. He tells his student to do the knee faster and better. So he does and Sifu Ross does the technique and is standing there like nothing happened, showing the technique perfectly how it should be used and that it does work, simple and effective.

Sifu Ross shows another anti headlock technique against a bigger stronger student and it worked well too, showing that it can be used when you know what you are doing.

What I liked a lot about Sifu Ross was his referral to Traditional Chinese Martial arts (TCMA). He kept on using terms and principles from TCMA. I do think a lot of modern martial artists don’t understand traditional martial arts and this might help them understand TCMA better. He refers to a technique and shows that it’s a mantis technique that can work in San Da and applies to “modern fighting”. He also refers to tai chi and alignment in one part of the seminar. The seminar was pretty well organized and the people there looked like they all got the hang of the techniques well. Will I recommend this DVD to my kung fu friends to watch? Of course I will, I will also recommend it to Tae Kwan Do, Karate, and Mixed Martial Arts people. Not too many people really know what San Da is about in the United States and this can give them a first hand look of what it’s about. Even the seasoned Martial artist can learn something new about San Da from this DVD."

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US residents, you can use PAY PAL (www.paypal.com)
just send $39.95 to lkfmdc@att.net


International orders, send $44.95

Also available on line at www.MarkNegron.com