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La Canne Volume 2-3
By Craig Gemeiner - Savate Australia
French Cane Fighting 2-For-1 Value Video
Running Time 50 Minutes Total, PAL or NTSC Available
Following hot on the heels of the excellent La Canne
volume one comes this double-volume of French cane fighting from
Craig Gemeiner of Savate
Australia.
In the first volume, Craig taught all the fundamentals of the Vigney
method of cane fighting. For a detailed look at volume one,
please
read our review of it HERE. In this new
tape, Craig is back with more of everything, including two-handed
cane fighting and tons of self defense moves!
Volume two starts off with a short techno-music
video montage of cane fighting, and then gets right down to business.
Craig starts of with a very quick review of the one handed cane
strikes and blocks from volume one before settling into the meat of
volume two which is the two handed cane. The method demonstrated is
very simple and effective for fighting, while still maintaining a
solid defensive base.
In addition, many advanced single handed applications for the cane
are shown. These include new strikes, combinations, and integration
with both the two handed method and unarmed fighting techniques.
Craig frequently starts from unusual guard positions and other
"non-classical" positions, such as with the cane at the side, or over
one shoulder. These are deceptive on the street, and can confuse even
people skilled with stick fighting from Asian martial arts. What they
don't know in this case can hurt them!
Throughout the tapes, we get to see Craig work both slowly and at
full speed and power with his partner wearing appropriate armor.
Craig's image as a soft spoken Australian (he does all the narration
himself) is immediately shattered the moment he starts to move. His
actions are crisp and powerful, full of aggression and forward
energy. Great stuff.
Closing out volume two is a series of closing maneuvers for times
when you need to fight at close distance. They integrate all the
blocks and strikes with one and two hands along with unarmed
fighting, takedowns, and disarming tricks. Preemptive striking is
encouraged again, as it is throughout this tape!
Volume three is included as a bonus on the video
and deals with situational self defense using the cane. The video
opens like volume two with a techno music montage featuring shots of
the video over some footage of vigorous full-contact staff
fighting.
In this tape, Craig liberally mixes kicks, stomps, chin jabs,
headbutts, knees and elbows in with the cane to telling effect. He
also demonstrates a simple and vicious methods using an umbrella that
is worth the price of admission alone. He shows work when you are
pinned to a wall and when sitting in a chair, as well as defense
against holds, punches, and kicks. These short fighting combinations
are an excellent starting point for self defense, as they give you a
number of vicious responses to open up an engagement with figuring
that after 3-5 moves you'll have to improvise anyhow.
Craig includes volume three as a free bonus because he
felt it was too short to stand alone, but let me say that it is still
far longer than many "one hour" videos I have seen
where they padded the running time with endless slow motion repeats
of the drills. Don't you hate that? I know I do! (Some readers will
remember a certain "Kitty-cat Productions" who did this for years. It
makes me fall asleep almost every time I put one of their tapes
in)
Craig really packs a lot of stuff into this bonus volume, including a
sneak peak at his next video on Street Savate. Craig's emphasis on
street (as opposed to ring) Savate is evident in the way he utilizes
such improvised weapons as a jacket and his emphasis on low kicks and
ankle stomps to prevent an opponent from regaining their feet!
Renato Feo and Jon Dye do a superb job in assisting Craig throughout
the video, and take all the lumps so you at home don't have
to!
Overall, this tape is a must have for anyone interested in Western stick fighting, self defense, or Savate. If you ever carry a cane (or umbrella) then you need this tape. Along with volume one it is a fast road to real self defense skill.
This tape is very well produced, featuring nice
graphics throughout letting you know which technique is being taught.
This aids in finding a specific section while fast forwarding or
rewinding and is quite useful. I only once had trouble in reading the
small print on screen (the work "Flick" looked like quite another
word entirely the first time I saw the tape)
The editing is smooth and the transitional effects are nice without
being over done. Craig's voice-over makes learning easy, and the
ambient background music is good without ever being too loud or
annoying.