I know this was originally just a "I liked the sanshin video" thread, but while we're on the subject of sanshin and training in general, I wanted to comment on a couple things - for reinforcement value.
Tengu6: "...funny thing is, once I get comfortable with one movement or a group of movements, it always seem the next ones make me feel like a beginner all over..."
Sanshin no Kata do that to me every time. I must have practiced them thousands upon thousands upon thousands of times, but always find ways to improve them every time I try them.
Shrek (oops, I mean Don 
): "Compare this with a conversation I had with a guy named Tim here in Japan just after Hatsumi praised him in class. He said, " I wish he had just pointed out something I needed work on instead of making me look good in front of others."
I feel that way a lot too in training. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist at times, and I'm always wondering how I could do something better. It feels good to receive praise - positive reinforcement is very useful - but sometimes I really expect to be corrected on something because it just doesn't feel quite right, but instead I'm told that I'm doing fine.
That's why I like to find the biggest, strongest, meanest, most-experienced person in the dojo to partner up with. I know that they won't let me get away with any half-hearted technique, and if there is any mistake or thing to improve, they'll let me know right away. I don't always like being their uke though. :btg: <--- [hey look it's Ku no Kata!]
"My suggestion woudl be to only work on the tapes to the point where you kind of understand what is going on and then not practice much further. When you get to a teacher, you will probably find that you missed something. If you have not practiced it very much you will not develop strong habits to break later. But by seeing the information before you walk into class, you will have an advantage and be able to pick up on the lessons faster."
DWeidman: "most likely your teacher ... will change a good deal of what you think you know. DVDs and Videos are "ok" reference material - and can help you get a step in the right direction... Just be EXTREMELY casual with your use of videos as a primary teaching aid."
The two gentlemen above (though not often gentle at times) gave probably the clearest admonitions on the use of video resources I've seen in a long time.
The main points are to not use them as a primary source, use them more for casual reference than a direct teaching tool, and don't replicate what you see too many times to avoid developing bad habits.
A couple years before I started training in a dojo (I still can't believe I didn't know that there was one just 30 mins. drive from where I used to live - gah! if only I knew sooner!) I got the whole RVD BB HSC (enough acronyms for ya?). I thought they were fine - maybe a little over-priced given the production quality - they showed a lot of techniques and touched on a lot of areas.
I never had the intention of trying to rank through video testing, or to actually train from video. I did use some of what I saw to practice taiso, ukemi and sanshin kata, but didn't attempt to try anything else (ok, maybe a couple gyaku's on my friend - and some shuriken throwing ideas, and some bo spinning).
When I did start training in a dojo, I found out that there was a lot of key principles that I was missing. For example, in the staff-twirling form, my angle of rotation was too wide and I was leaving big gaps in my defense. This doesn't necessarily mean that it was shown incorrectly on the video, just that when I tried it, no one was there to say "hey, tighten up the angle a little bit to protect your centerline more."
Nimravus: "I saw Van Donk perform a sakki test in Japan...his comments on it afterwards made me want to puke."
Nim, I'm getting a little irritated by all your posts that hint at something, but don't have enough information to clarify what you mean. Obviously what happened is you saw a thread in which sensei Van Donk was mentioned - you have a negative opinion about him - and you wanted to express your displeasure with your experience of him.
First of all, this thread is not about RVD specifically, but rather about a video he produced, so if you believe that what you feel about him reflects on that particular video, then say so, and give examples as to why you feel that way.
Secondly, discussing someone's sakkijutsu test is irrelevent to the conversation, and just saying that his comments made you feel nauseous is not enough to support your opinion.
Maybe if you were to share what those comments were (paraphrased is fine), the rest of us would understand why you feel the way you do. - I would recommend a new thread for that though, or find an existing thread that is about RVD specifically.
NB: I am not trying to defend Mr. Van Donk. In fact, I also feel a little nauseous hearing him speak as well, but only because I think he talks too much (I come from a school where the motto is "less yacking, more smacking"), and he uses a lot of malapropisms.
