# Is this a good beginners DVD?



## Old Iowa Man (Nov 6, 2013)

Is this a good beginners DVD?  "Street Self Defense 101 by Shihan Michael Pace & Sensei Chris Manzione" ?I found it on Amazon for $20.00 - Feel free to offer any reasonably priced alternatives - I'm 61 and have SERIOUS health problems and am looking for good basics even if it's just slow and easy for exercise - Tai Chi has been suggested but money is tight as I'm on disability and have NO idea who these instructors are and can't spend a lot of money for one DVD - Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated - Thanks in advance!


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## MJS (Nov 7, 2013)

Old Iowa Man said:


> Is this a good beginners DVD?  "Street Self Defense 101 by Shihan Michael Pace & Sensei Chris Manzione" ?I found it on Amazon for $20.00 - Feel free to offer any reasonably priced alternatives - I'm 61 and have SERIOUS health problems and am looking for good basics even if it's just slow and easy for exercise - Tai Chi has been suggested but money is tight as I'm on disability and have NO idea who these instructors are and can't spend a lot of money for one DVD - Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated - Thanks in advance!



Welcome to the forum! 

As for your question: unfortunately, I am not familiar with the dvd in question and the gentlemen that you mention, don't ring a bell with me, so I'm probably not going to be able to offer too much advice for you.  Out of curiosity, have you had any prior martial arts training?  As for the dvd...well, personally, I've never been a fan of using dvd's as the sole learning tool, but given what you've said about your medical issues, this may be the best route for you.  

I say that dvd learning is hard, mainly because if the person is new to the arts in general, it could be hard to figure things out and perform them correctly.  As far as good SD dvd's go....Kelly McCann has quite a few, and I've heard good things about him, though they may be a bit costly.  There were some fairly inexpensive Kajukenbo dvds on Amazon that may be worth checking out.  Are you looking for anything in particular?  Larry Tatum (Parker Kenpo) has dvd's that he sells on his site.  Looks like they're about $35 each.  

Good luck in your search!


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## Old Iowa Man (Nov 7, 2013)

MJS - Thanks for your comments and I'll check them out - Unfortunately I cannot legally drive due to the many drugs I'm on so for me a DVD is better than nothing - Being a custom knife maker, designer for companies and "special" individuals and engraver of knives and guns professionally for 20+ years I have lots of weapons experience but no hand to hand - Thanks very much for your advice - Best regards - OIM


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## MJS (Nov 7, 2013)

Old Iowa Man said:


> MJS - Thanks for your comments and I'll check them out - Unfortunately I cannot legally drive due to the many drugs I'm on so for me a DVD is better than nothing - Being a custom knife maker, designer for companies and "special" individuals and engraver of knives and guns professionally for 20+ years I have lots of weapons experience but no hand to hand - Thanks very much for your advice - Best regards - OIM



Glad I could offer some suggestions.   Since you have some weapons experience, especially with the blade, you might want to check out some of the various FMAs.


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## Old Iowa Man (Nov 7, 2013)

MJS said:


> Glad I could offer some suggestions.   Since you have some weapons experience, especially with the blade, you might want to check out some of the various FMAs.



OK - OIM has NO idea what "FMA" is - Terrible to be old, and trust me it gets worse :lol: - Can you give me clue? Thank you!


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## arnisador (Nov 7, 2013)

Filipino martial arts--known for knife and stick techniques.


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## Old Iowa Man (Nov 7, 2013)

arnisador said:


> Filipino martial arts--known for knife and stick techniques.



Thank you kind sir - MUCH appreciated - Any suggestions for one good DVD? And if not Thanks again!!


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## CK1980 (Nov 15, 2013)

Something else you may want to look into is cane techniques...  Not saying or even implying that you use a cane...  But a cane is one of the few tools that you can legally go anywhere with (making it versatile).  I wouldn't think twice about seeing a 61 year old man with obvious health issues walking with a cane...  And some POS's out there wouldn't think twice about trying to hurt a 61 year old man with obvious health issues walking with a cane...  Practically speaking, it would be worth looking into and the techniques are pretty easy.  Canemasters has a series dedicated to self defense with a cane and the maneuvers are broken down so they are pretty easy to learn.


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## Old Iowa Man (Nov 15, 2013)

CK1980 said:


> Something else you may want to look into is cane techniques...  Not saying or even implying that you use a cane...  But a cane is one of the few tools that you can legally go anywhere with (making it versatile).  I wouldn't think twice about seeing a 61 year old man with obvious health issues walking with a cane...  And some POS's out there wouldn't think twice about trying to hurt a 61 year old man with obvious health issues walking with a cane...  Practically speaking, it would be worth looking into and the techniques are pretty easy.  Canemasters has a series dedicated to self defense with a cane and the maneuvers are broken down so they are pretty easy to learn.



Thanks for your comments - I do have to use a cane once in a while and am moderately familiars with self defense cane techniques - Thanks for your time, it's appreciated!


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## CK1980 (Nov 15, 2013)

Sure anytime!  I am regrettably starting to feel my age more and more, especially when I try to do a workout like I used to...  I am trying to wrap my head around where to go next in my martial arts path...  Maybe yoga and Thai Chi


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## Old Iowa Man (Nov 15, 2013)

CK1980 said:


> Sure anytime!  I am regrettably starting to feel my age more and more, especially when I try to do a workout like I used to...  I am trying to wrap my head around where to go next in my martial arts path...  Maybe yoga and Thai Chi



I agree!! No matter what someone tells me one thing to try and another person says, NO, don't do that!! And then give a bunch of reasons why I shouldn't do that - I'm basically at the end of my rope - One anonymous person is sending me a DVD he produces for free, I'm going to at least reimburse him for the shipping and go from there - Also I've gotten VERY FEW specific DVD suggestions (that I could afford) - I still appreciate their intentions but unless you have some specific DVD that is "reasonably" priced, well you get the idea - Thanks to everyone for their efforts - I will continue to exercise, walk, stretch and play with my cane when my body lets me, and I mean that literally - Right now I spend about 85% of my life on my back which is better than when I was at 95% - Bless all of you!


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