Every now and then any discussion, whatever the
topic may be at the moment, might easily slip into some kind of lament over how
“the Internet has ruined human life” and everything now is make-believe etc.
Well, it is true that when people did not have as much access to information
available they used to spend more time in training and less surfing the ‘Net.
However, it is also true that back then you were more or less “sentenced” to
training only the things you were aware of. The Internet helped put people in
contact much more easily, and open our possibilities when it comes to choosing
the right place and instructor.
I somehow ran across Nelson Pinto via Facebook, and
he immediately struck a chord with me, due to being extremely enthusiastic
about martial arts, both as an instructor and as a student-for-life. It would
be insincere to say that I did not see a bit of myself in his attitude, hence
the positive predisposition. Pinto’s resume is diverse and can be seen on his website, which is also where
you can order the DVD’s reviewed here.
Now, you know how all instructional videos start
with a disclaimer of liability and state something along the lines of “not
instructional, but for informational purposes only?” Well, the Pinto Blade and Impact Tactics
Empty Hand curriculum, with Level 1 being presented here, is actually the
closes I have ever seen to such description. And that is not necessarily a bad
thing. You see, Pinto’s material shown is obviously aimed at members of his
organization and/or advanced practitioners and instructors looking to introduce
new or different stuff in their training sessions.
That said, he runs through the material fairly
quickly, without going into much detail (again, see the disclaimer notice), but
it enables him to cover a lot of ground within the confines of two DVDs. On top
of that, Pinto is a very lively and energetic presenter, and it makes the whole
watching experience more interesting. I especially liked that he opens the
presentation with a subject that is often neglected, i.e. creating
opportunities for attack. That is a conceptual subject that can be put to use
via several approaches, such as stops, fakes, traps, distractions (VERY good
treatise on some aspects here, i.e. how to throw the distracting objects for
optimum effect), and footwork, as particularly noteworthy.
Next, the presentation covers 30 basic strikes of
BIT curriculum, followed by how to work them on focus-mitts, again with some
great insights here. From there, Pinto goes into kicks, partner drills and
combinations, with more relevant pointers along the way.
The second DVD moves to the segment about the
counters to opponent’s attacks, and later includes more kicks, basic joint
manipulations and overall tactical concepts applicable across different
physical tools.
It bears mentioning here that one of the high points
of these videos is seeing the instructor demonstrates the curriculum against a
much larger partner, thus giving more credibility to the material offered.
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| Nelson Pinto |
With all of the above positive features in mind, the
possible downsides might be the “home-made” vibe to the production, although both
picture and sound quality are just fine, but it is not the professional studio
and lighting setting. Personally, I like that the democratization of video
instruction has provided the insight into so many people’s ways of work, but
some may object, depending on their expectations. The same goes for another
trait – Pinto often talks without facing the camera, but he is clearly heard
and easy to understand nonetheless.
