Wednesday, September 05, 2007

***REVIEW*** Hellbows by MAA Keating

Hellbows by Master at Arms James A. Keating
A Review by Terry Trahan
As most of you who know me are aware of, I have been a fan of MAA Keatings for years. In a lot of my teaching,
full credit goes to him as I share a concept, or explore the depths of a technique.
While mostly known for his work with edged weapons, he is equally skilled at multiple areas of martial arts/self defense.
In this DVD, he touches on integrating knifework, but this video is all elbows, all the time.
Coming in at about 48 minutes, it harkens back to the Comtech Specificity series that were made for specific weapons.
My favorite was the push dagger tape. Well, taking that same idea, Mr. Keating has done an elbow specific instructional.
I can hear it now, "Elbow specific, how many ways can you use an elbow?" and other such comments. Suffice to say that whether
you are a beginner, or a veteran martial artist, there will be plenty to learn, and plenty that you probably have not thought of before.
MAA Keating is the prime example of teaching conceptual chains for martial movement, and he applies this conceptual process
to developing use of elbows into a high form of extreme close quarters defense.
Starting with an introduction, covering what material he will teach, he takes the drill Hubud-Lubud as his base for introducing
the use of this tool. After working the regular Hubud, he then transitions it to an elbow developmental tool.
I am tempted to write everything contained on this video, but you will have to buy it to really grok the material.
From "simple" destructions, to basic dumog, this is by far the most educational DVD I have had the luck of seeing recently.
The 5 Elbow Shields alone are worth the price and more. These were shown in Modern Knives video magazine issue 2,
but they are expanded upon in this DVD, and branched out conceptually.
As stated earlier, he touches on knifework in this one, specifically on reverse grip work, using the framework developed
through all the elbow drills. It is a natural progression, and if this is the only knifework you learn, it will serve you well in a
self defense situation.
It is hard to go into more detail without giving away the henhouse, but I have to rate this one very highly. It seems that
MAA Keating is forging ahead in this world of mega production, and doing his own thing as he is so good at, and is regularly
putting out good material. Keep an eye out for the DeQuerdas DVD, and, if you haven't taken a look recently, check out some
of his newer stuff, such as Panantukan Knife-Boxing.
Also, if you haven't, consider subscribing to Modern Knives Video Magazine, it is quarterly, and full of great information.
For further information, please goto, www.jamesakeating.com or www.modernknives.com
Thanks for reading.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Outstanding review! I returned from the Riddle of Steel with this DVD in hand. It is simple, direct, and easy to learn. Another great DVD from Mr. Keating!

1:57 AM  

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