Review - "Improvised Weapons"

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Sierra912

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Dec 9, 2001
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Vladimir Vasiliev - "The Russian System" was kind enough to provide the Forum with a copy of his video informational program "Improvised Weapons".

Vasiliev is a former Russian special operations commando whose individual speciality is the study and practice of the Russian Martial Art as taught to SPETZNAZ forces. He now resides in Canada (Ontario) where he founded "The Russian System" School.

When Vladimir first began teaching I was pleased to present a positive review of his knife fighting video program while editing Fighting Knives and Full Contact. I'm please to do the same regarding "Improvised Weapons".

The program is certainly informational and quite appropriate for the times we face today. Quality self defense includes exposure to improvised weapons thought processes and Vlad's video accomplishes this quite nicely. What I particularly enjoyed was Vasiliev's very relaxed and open manner of presenting his material. This approach allows the viewer to think creatively on his own when it comes to the subject at hand.

General in nature "Improvised" nonetheless demonstates how the everyday items we carry or have at arm's length can be quickly utilized for an effective self defense. My favorite section had to do with using the pants belt w/ buckle as a flexible weapon / tie. With practice it is quite impressive what one can do with a belt. I also liked the instruction on how to throw everyday items properly. The offensive / defensive use of a baseball cap is likewise very cool.

Vladimir presents sound techniques and encourages experimentation and study. This is a good beginner's tape on the subject, and a good refresher for "old dogs".

You can contact Vladimir at www.russianmartialart.com for further information and product purchases. Tell him Da Forum sent ya:D
 
Sounds interesting. Having studied Russian and traveled to Russia, I have a great fondness for material having to do with Russia or based from Russian material. With great interest I went to check out the video. Sounds like it would be cool, but seems really expensive. I am especially interested in learning how to throw improvised items and the other techniques sound unique. However, I just cannot justify that price.
 
The price of video instructional programs has risen dramatically since they became popular, and then a trendy rage. I have to agree with you on this aspect of not only "Improvised Weapons" but on many other video programs currently on the market.

Everyone involved with such a product will point to this, that, or the other thing regarding why the pricing has gone up so much in so short a time. The discussion doesn't change the fact. $$, especially these days, is very, very tight.

However, you offer a very good formula when making a purchasing decision.

How much is the product worth to you or to me? I thought you qualified your interest + need + dedication of working funds very nicely. Someone else may offer their purchase of the program was the best investment they could have made. Truly to each his own in this respect.

I found the material in "Improvised" interesting, promoting of constructive thought, and presented in a professional, relaxed, personable manner. It is also the only such program on the subject I am presently aware of. I did inquire of Vladimir if he was planning to release a second, perhaps more advanced tape on Improvised Weapons. Nothing back on that subject just yet.

I have learned this. Those like Vlad and Kelly Worden and Jim Keating and those others whose expertise and work is how they make their living are worthy investments IF you have the available funding. The best analogy I've heard to date had to do with music CDs. The comment made was that one doesn't pay $17.95 (for example) for the CD. That little item only cost about $ .35 per unit. One pays $17.95 for the music ON the CD, which is the creative effort of the artist and how he or she makes their living with all the additional costs that go into "making music" these days.

The arts have always been funny in this respect.

Men and women who dedicate their lives to becoming Masters of an art, or many arts, and teachers / intructors in these arts for the benefit of you and I are all too often - for some odd reason - expected to give their skills and talent away for near minimum wage. If today they are charging what they believe is a fair price for their work, I suppose we should allow them that privilege and respect their desire to earn a decent living doing what they do to raise their families, pay their bills, and have a little left over to see a movie now and then.

And we all know what movies cost to get into these days:eek:

Good post, sir. If you come upon any other improvised weapons videos worthy of note please share them with us

:)
 
I agree, I believe in a free market system and people are free to charge whatever the market will bear. I rarely buy CDs any more either unless it is something I truly love. My spending habits have changed significantly since I have been at school. I also know that it takes a lot of effort put into making a quality video and that costs money. However, I think that pricing it as such hurts their profits overall. Its an economic fact that the lower the price the higher demand will be. I think , especially in the martial arts community, lower price is better. Here's why: Those of us interested in this sort of thing are generally interested in various aspects and techniques. When all cost $50 maybe an individual has to pick just one because that is all they can afford. Lower price to $17 and you can afford 3 videos. This increases the odds that your video will be one of the three. It is a lot more likely to be one of three than to be the one to beat out all your competitors. Hope I am making sense. I would bet the increase in sales for a quality video would be greater than 66%, which is the decrease in price to $17. These are just arbitrary numbers to try to illustrate my point. Also, lower cost videos make long term profits better IMO. When more people buy the films and enjoy them more people will want to train furthur in someone's system. This means training sessions, seminars, more videos, training materials, products. Sorry this turned into a bit of a rant. I would like to hear from those who are involved in this industry to see their take on it. It is just hard for me to spend $50 for a VHS tape when you can buy a DVD movie for $15. Smaller circulation, to be sure, but also lower overall costs.
 
I've worked in the video retail industry for several years now...

"Sell-through" products (those offered initially for less than $20 retail on the day it is released. Training Day, for a recent example) are mostly those which the movie studios believe will be purchased in droves by the public. Other titles (most of them) are priced much higher, hence you only find them for rent initially.

DVDs cost much less because they REALLY want you to buy a DVD player, then tons of DVDs.

Now, I don't know how much of this is applicable to the much smaller market of martial arts instructional tapes, but... I would hazard the guess that it just isn't a big enough market to support sub-$20 products, even in spite of its sharp upswing in the last years.

videos...:barf: :)) )
 
The merits of the video industry might be another interesting thread.

Let's not overwhelm the eval of Vladimir's self defense video on Improvised Weapons - the subject of this thread - with a discussion on the film industry. Is mighty unfair to both Vlad and those who are interested in discussing the pros and cons of both his teachings and improvised weapons and training.

Thanks, all.
 
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