Customer Reviews

Krav Maga Personal Protection: The Israeli Method of Close-Quarters Fighting Combat 6 DVD Set

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're looking for movie production quality you'll be disappointed. I on the otherhand was absolutely delighted.

That's actually one of the things that I LIKE about this production. Yes, his accent takes some getting used to but the techniques go far beyond what's covered in the Lavine series. I also think that they are better illustrated & introduce the veiwer to the more combative aspects of Krav Maga as opposed to the glorified Tai Bo that seems to have become the norm. You're not going to be shown how to throw a punch in this video. I would say that it's more of an application based set than techniques. Still... I think that the variety of content has the Levine series beat for those who are looking for something a bit "meatier". (They actualy could compliment each other to a significant degree I suppose.)

While each technique is not detailed to a nauseating level... they are demonstrated well enough that a discerning student of Krav Maga (or any other art) can pick them apart. The lighting is better than that of the Levine production... as it's much less "Hollywood". I purchased the other DVD series long ago & have also acquired some of the Kapap material as well. IMHO there's more to this type of product than the production methods. Cohens strength is in his unique knowledge based on his training of security personnel in Israel & Internationally.

If you enjoy DVD content that goes beyond the basics (giving you more than kickboxing) I think that you'll be very happy with this series. I think it makes a much better companion to student training than the other set.

$.02

This is a good series of DVDs. It does start from the very beginning, so some of it is very basic punching, kicking, and blocking. But then it moves into some much more advanced techniques, including grappling and weapons. So, it does indeed seem to cover the range of skill levels that it claims to, from yellow to black belt. The techniques seem very reasonable (I hold a black belt in Goju Ryu myself).

The production quality is fine. No bells and whistles, but everything is well lit with a nice, clean, light-colored background in the studio (which helps the visual presentation) and things are shown from a variety of angles.

A number of reviewers have commented on Mr. Cohen's accent. While it is thick, I had no trouble understanding what he was saying. So no problem there.

Mr. Cohen does often blow through some combinations very quickly (too quickly I think). The rewind button on my DVD player got a good workout from me going back several times to figure out what he just did. The DVDs would have been better if more time was taken to break the techniques down in more detail. He does explain what he's doing most of the time, but doesn't really go into the finer details of it. And there were some techniques that he threw in from time to time without ever explaining what they were.

If you have other martial arts training, you can probably follow what he's doing without much difficulty. But if you're a brand new beginner, I think you'll need more explanation of what's going on.

And definitely don't try some of these things at home without additional explanation because some of the moves are quite dangerous. There are some head cranks in there (twisting the head violently to break the neck), a number of joint locks, and some gun disarms.

On the gun disarms, I didn't hear much about gun safety on the DVDs, which concerned me a bit. (I've done some competitive pistol shooting.) Although he was obviously using a dummy gun on the DVDs, he didn't really explain that before jumping into the techniques (NEVER, NEVER do this sort of stuff with a real gun, even if you think it's unloaded). And in executing some of these techniques he didn't really explain the risks of what happens when (not if) the gun goes off in real life (you can't crank a gun around to the side with your opponent's finger on the trigger and expect that it won't go off while trying to wrench it from their hand...even if you don't get hit with the bullet, you're not likely to maintain a grip on the top of a semi-auto when the slide cycles).

I give the series three stars because on the positive side, Mr. Cohen covers a lot of ground and there's a lot of good information there. Because I have other martial arts background, I felt like the series gave me a good orientation into Krav Maga. On the negative side, the verbal explanations of the techniques could have been more thorough, particularly for that part of the audience with no prior background, and particularly for those techniques where inexperienced partners training at home could really hurt themselves or each other without further explanation.

As a side note, I have to say that as the series went on I was feeling more and more sorry for Mr. Cohen's assistant who was the recipient of much of the mayhem in the DVDs. Although Mr. Cohen was obviously pulling his punches in the demos, he was often making at least light contact, and his assistant seemed to get up off the floor a little more slowly after each time.

I'm new to Krav Maga, having taken it up as part of a personal fitness program. In looking for material to augment the instruction classes I've signed up for, I researched all the video programs I could find. After reading the reviews by experienced Krav Maga students here and at other sites, I decided that Alain Cohen's set would be the best suited to accompany my classes and give me something to practice to at home.

I have only watched the first two videos so far, yellow and orange, because I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. I have found the vids to be exactly what I was looking for. As others have said, Alain's accent is rather thick, but after you've listened to him awhile you don't notice it as much. Plus, all the moves are introduced with English titles, so you can read what he is going to demonstrate. There is nothing fancy about the videos, but Krav Maga isn't a fancy Martial Art - that's why I took it up. The videos are well produced, straight forward instruction. Each move is clearly explained, and shown from various angles. I am pleased with this set of instructional videos and would purchase them again. Well suited for beginners who plan to advance in the sport.

Instructor Cohen's 6 DVD series of Krav Maga lacks the professional expertise of format that Darren Levine's now out of production series excelled in. This presentation lacks the instructional reinforcement of material that made Levine's so easy to learn. Also,Instructor Cohen's pronounced Israeli accent takes a bit of getting used to. That said,this series has a lot to offer. Instructor Cohen definitely knows his material.

Wow, This is a great instructional series that takes you all the way to Black Belt! I have black belts in two styles of karate and have studied styles without belt ranking and nothing I have learned so far comes close to Krav Maga. Easy to learn and retain. Get it!

This is a great Krav Maga series; Cohen is an excellent instructor. I use it as a addition to my other training, but this series is a great foundation for a beginner or a supplement to experienced martial artists.

I've been taking Krav Maga for about eight months and sometimes watch these videos for a little treat on the side. Some of the techniques differ from those we do in my IKMF class, but that is not necessarily bad.

This guy knows his stuff and I enjoy listening to the Hebrew accent as he slaps around the skinny guy on the DVD cover.

Amazing product. As someone who has practiced various fighting systems (and martial arts - there is a difference) for almost 2 decades, I can say that this was a very impressive DVD. It stays focused, handles all the necessary aspects, and has enough material for even expert level exponents (while still offering something for even the most basic beginner in the first 2 DVDs). The techniques and applications get more advanced as one goes through the 6 DVDs, and I would highly recommend this DVD set to anyone. Also, and this is important, it actually has the 6 DVDs (unlike other series advertised as '5 DVD sets' that only have 2).

This DVD series is very functional if looking to add it as part of a regular self defense practice. Mr. Cohen covers the basics of striking with hands, elbows, shoulders, knees and kicks. He also shows the basics of physics and weight transfer for making them effective, although he does not go into detail as to why this is important. I like the fact that Mr. Cohen takes the time in his series to show you the direction of pressure for chokes and wrist locks. This is very helpful for a beginner considering if he did not show this the moves would be ineffective for wrist locks and time consuming for chokes. What I feel is left out of most series is the fact that if you are going to fight you are going to get hit. If you decide to take on a person with a knife plan on getting cut and if you try to disarm someone with a pistol it will fire in the process. Mr. Cohen shows very good techniques that emphasize personal safety and safety of others(besides your attacker).

The only real negative things that you can say about this series is that the film quality is not Hollywood and some of the techniques shown take way too much time to pull off in a real life situation. However it is a very nice set of DVD's to get yourself or family members introduced to self defense. and that's NO B.S.

i love these dvds. his accent is thick but i can understand him. love the techniques especially the head butts!
krav maga will be a great addition to my martial arts styles that i study. there's no classes for them in my area but i do have a teacher in kosho ryu kempo.