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Martial Arts DVD Review - Joint Locking Essentials, Vol. 2 Arm Bars & Elbow Locks by Alain Burrese

Author: Shawn Kovacich
Date Posted: May 06, 2007

One of the first things that jumped out at me from the onset when I started watching Alain’s “Lock On” series of DVD’s was the simple yet effective approach that he took in the production and presentation of this series of DVD’s. My initial impression was one of being in an actual seminar environment while Alain was teaching instead of merely watching an instructional DVD. You won’t find any pointless or ineffective “bells and whistles” with this series; instead what you will find is good quality instruction covering a wide array of joint locking techniques. This particular DVD focuses on arm bars and elbow locking techniques.

One of the many great things that I really enjoy about Alain’s teaching style is his, what I like to refer to as, “nuggets of wisdom” that he injects throughout his instruction process. I too use this in my own personal style of teaching and have found that it is very effective teaching technique.

Alain takes a very realistic approach to the use of arm bars and elbow locks and attempts to cover several influencing factors that may or may not come into play while attempting to apply them in a real life situation. I myself watched this DVD on three separate occasions and found something that I had previously missed each time. I have no doubt that were I to watch this DVD again after writing this review that I would find something else that I had previously missed.

I’m going to take a brief moment here to jump ahead to the end of this DVD where Alain explains the three (3) key elements that need to be present in order for these techniques to be effective. Although each one of these key elements is vitally important in their own right, none of them is exclusive in importance to the others when it comes to applying these arm bars and elbow locks effectively in a combat or self-defense situation. What you have to remember is that these three (3) key elements have to be combined in order to form a symbiotic entity that is only effective when utilized together in an efficient manner.

These three (3) key elements are as follows:

1. Surprise: If your opponent doesn’t know what to expect, he is going to have a more difficult time defending against it. However, if your opponent knows what is coming, he is going to be more readily able to counter it, or avoid it all together.

2. Speed: Executing the techniques shown on this DVD has to be done as fast as possible while still retaining the third key element, which is proper technique. If the technique is executed too slowly, then your opponent will have the opportunity to figure out what you are doing and, as in the case of surprise, be able to counter it or avoid the technique all together.

3. Proper Technique: This should literally be a “no-brainer,” but unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case. I don’t know how many times I have personally seen or heard of someone trying to apply a particular technique in a given self-defense type situation when they weren’t even executing the technique correctly to begin with. Alain goes to extreme lengths in this series to implore you to practice, practice, and practice, until the techniques he demonstrates become second nature to you where you can execute them correctly without thought or hesitation.

Alain’s ability to instruct you on these simple, yet effective arm bars and elbow locking techniques is the hallmark of a good instructor and it certainly shows in this series. Alain’s approach is straightforward and easy to follow as he takes you through each arm bar and elbow lock numerous times in order to teach you how to execute each technique correctly. Alain takes great care in his teachings to explain to you how some of these techniques, although they may appear to be ineffective, can actually be quite effective if applied under the right set of circumstances.

Alain follows the same instructional format for each one of the various arm bars and elbow locks shown in this DVD. He starts out by explaining some of the finer points of executing each technique followed by various follow up techniques that can be used on your opponent, if it is needed, after the arm bar or elbow lock has been applied. He then shows several variations of each arm bar or elbow lock that all are based on the primary techniques that were first shown.

I have a rather large collection of instructional videos that I have accumulate over the years and I can say without reservation that Alain’s “Lock On” series is one of the best I have seen so far on the subject of joint techniques. If I were to have only one comment to make on this series, it would be this, “Hurry up and make the rest of them!”

About The Author

Shawn Kovacich has been practicing the martial arts for over 25 years and currently holds the rank of 4th degree (Yodan) black belt in both Karate and Tae Kwon Do. Shawn has also competed in such prestigious full-contact bare knuckle karate competitions as the Shidokan Open and the Sabaki Challenge, among others. In addition to his many accomplishments, Shawn is also a two time world record holder for endurance high kicking as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. Shawn is the author of the highly acclaimed Achieving Kicking Excellence™ series. of martial arts books, and is currently working on several additional marital arts and self-defense books. Which are due to be released in 2007.

To learn more about Alain and his Lock On series of DVD's, click on the following link: Lock On Joint Locking Essentials, Vol. 2: Arm Bars and Elbow Locks by Alain Burrese

Article Source: JKD Street Combat - online collection of DVD Review articles.

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