Customer Reviews

The Official Kubotan

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After reading a lot of criticism here and there about the kubotan, I have come to believe that most peoples' idea of self defense is the complete incapacitation of someone attacking you. That's a risky mindset. In contrast, most practical self defense involves simply disrupting and stunning the opponent, then running away to get help. This video contains techniques that do just that. However, the instructor does not mention the necessity of running away following each technique, which is vital to the practicality of the defense. If you just stand there after the strike is complete, you're asking for the assailant to come at you harder. True, hitting someone with your keys will never stop him dead, but many of the techniques that the instructor shows will certainly disrupt him and allow you to get free of his grip and run. Using the kubotan to strike bony targets like the knuckles, wrists, nose, or to strike pressure points is very effective, as is simply gripping it to keep your fist tight for a punch. But it's more or less an enhancement to already existing martial arts or self defense skill, not a replacement for it.

One problem that I think arises is that the techniques and applications may not be clear to someone who has no martial arts experience. If the video dealt more with the basics such as gripping the weapon and using the hips, it might make more sense to someone who has perhaps never encountered those concepts in a martial arts context before. Simply flailing the keys won't do anything. The same goes for things like joint locks. The kubotan is an excellent tool for enhancing locks, but grappling of any kind requires a lot of practice to get that touch.

The best self defense, of course, is never having to fight in the first place. But if you are placed in a situation where you have no choice, the techniques shown here can definitely help you disrupt your attacker and run to safety. However, it is not a quick fix for self defense. Carrying a kubotan does not mean you're necessarily safe from any encounter. It is an enhancement to your defense, to be sure, but I think you really need at least some grounding in martial arts or self defense in general to make it a truly efficient defensive tool.

Takayuki 'Tak' Kubota is the founder Gosoku Ryu Karate-do, and one of the most outstanding figures in martial arts today. He has earned black belt degrees in karate, judo, aikido and kendo and is presently one of the highest-rated black belts in the United States. Tak Kubota is a consultant in police defensive tactics, an expert on crowd control and street fighting techniques; and the developer of the Kubotan.

In this DVD Tak Kubota demonstrates the basic uses of the Kubotan, beginning with basic strikes (using keys attached to the Kubotan as a flail), then how to use the Kubotan to attack pressure points and escape from holds, and finally how to use the Kubotan to apply wrist-locks and take-downs / throws.

Each techniques is demonstrated in slow motion, then in slow motion against an attacker and then at full-speed against an attacker, showing the effectiveness of the technique. Tak Kubota's martial skill is highly evident and impressive, yet the simple and straight forward techniques he demonstrates in this DVD can be learned by anyone.

The instruction presented by Tak Kubota in this DVD is of the highest quality and is much like having an hour long private lesson with the developer and master of the Kubotan.

If you study and practice the basic techniques taught on the DVD you will quickly develop a very effective self-defense skill that you can use on the street.

Highly Recommended!

This program was designed and presented by none other than the man who invented the Kubotan in the first place, Tak Kubota. The program is far from boring and Master Kubota keeps the pace moving along quickly. He shows us various applications of the kubotan in self-defense situations. And what a man like him can do with this little stick of dynamite will amaze you!

I have not had to use my kubotan for self-defense. I have practiced the techniques on a heavy punching bag though. My first kubotan was made out of hardened aluminum, with a point. Needless to say, even light pressure put a hole on the heavy duty punching bag. I have since switched to a flat-ended aluminum baton. I would think that if you had to use one that had a pointed end, you may have trouble claiming self-defense. Actually, even the flat-ended one will easily punch a whole through 1/4" plywood! Can you imagine jabbing an attacker in the chest with your baton?

I am not yet confident that I would be able to use the wrist locks and pressure holds. I feel like you have to have live practice with a trained instructor in order to pull off those moves. However, you need very little skill, just the will, to be able to use your baton as a flail. Add enough keys to the ring, face the keys in different directions so that you will always have a sharp edge whichever direction you swing, and you have yourself a flail. I have spoken with a couple of people who sharpen a couple of their keys. These keys are not meant to be useful, except for adding damage to the attacker's face, hands, and arms. I have not gone as far as that though. From what the damage that the keys have done to my punching bag and practice boards, I would think that sharpened keys would be overkill.

I am not trained in martial arts. I am just one of those people who would like to be able to defend myself if the situation where to ever call for it. I would prefer to join a martial arts class and train under an instructor. However, I live in a rural area and no such instruction can be found. Given that situation, it would always be best to avoid a confrontation. Without the proper training, basically, your kubotan should be a last resort.

The kubotan is a useful, versatile device. It can be used effectively by the average person with only a little training. But unfortunately I cannot recommend this DVD. The narrator is Mr. Kubota, who invented the kubotan. But his English is not very good at all. This is not meant as any sign of disrespect to Mr. Kubota. He speaks a second language much better than I do. But it would have been much better had Mr.Kubota demonstrated the techniques but left the actual narration to someone else.

There is a second problem with this DVD. Except at the very beginning, the instruction does not illustrate a key element: a person who uses the kubotan must flee immediately after using it. Maybe run towards people, maybe run towards a store, but get away from your attacker! At the end of every technique, Mr. Kubota just stands over his attacker. This is a very dangerous thing to show a beginner.

The average criminal may submit to a police officer using a kubotan. But the average criminal will not submit to a citizen armed with only a kubotan! Maybe the attacker will reach in his pocket for a gun or a knife, or maybe he will just twist away from your lock and then come at you. And now you are up against an enraged, alert street criminal, a criminal who will not fall for the same trick twice.

This DVD overlooks this fact. It does not highlight the key concept of immediate escape. So even though the kobotan is a very useful device, I cannot recommend this DVD, especially to a beginner.

When I first found this DVD, I thought a demonstration from the inventor himself was great. The techniques shown I felt were very useful. The instructor is a well known and well respected part of the martial arts community and it was great to see him in action. The production value I found was less than stellar. I found it was more instructive to turn the sound off during the demos, the poor sound quality was distracting me from the lessons shown. Despite the low production value, I found this video is a must have for anyone who has the Kubotan.

Recently obtained a copy to brush up on my skills. Production is B rate but the information is great! Would recommend. Will have you laughing during the "slow mo" parts~

I found the dvd to not be particualry helpful. It was hard to understand the instructor at times (strong Japanese accent). He did not teach basic strikes to the body, only showed what to do when someone attacks you and many of the moves were from an opponent who uses karate on you. I did not find it to be useful for quick combative moves in situations of quick attacks or chaos. Was very redundant as well. Moves were not explained as they were preformed, instructor just did them (repeated the move 2-3 x then moves were shown in slow motion). For someone proficient with a kubaton it probably would be helpful but for novices such as myself I did not like the production or teaching.

In the beginning, I watched this video once and shelved it. That was in 2007.

When I took the dvd out of its case in January 2010, the disc was unreadable by Dell and Mac alike. I gave this disc nothing but the love and respect that one would bestow upon the esteemed sensai Kubota-san himself: no extreme temperatures, no man handling. I left it on my shelf. And like that great man himself, the disc shows no scratches.

But in contrast to our esteemed master and commander, the dvd was burned onto low quality media that erases itself over time.

I emailed Rising Sun Productions several times. I asked if this was a common issue, and if they could offer a replacement, either physical or via download. But they did not reply and now it appears that Rising Sun Productions is a Fly By Night enterprise.

May the sun set on your empire, Rising Sun Productions.

The bad:

- very low production value (poor lighting, sound, resolution)
- Kubota-san barely speaks English; in fact, he uses a lot of Japanese phrases (ichi, ni, san)
- very poorly organized -- everything is one long sequence, no logical chapters, no intro, minimal explanations
- everything happens in a karate salon, and does not look street-realistic
- overly staged and static karate style encounters - unlikely for the average person to master as defense, or to encounter as an attack (do you expect a street bum to deliver a flying high kick?)
- no explanation how to carry or wear the kubotan - this can be important since you won't have it in your hand all the time
- video can get really tedious and monotonous to watch

The good:

- if you pay attention, you will learn some easy and memorable tricks which can be useful in self defense
- there are many slow-motion scenes which are super funny (sound is also slowed down and distorted, so Master Kubota sounds like Godzilla)
- if you are studying karate or something similar, you will find the video useful; in fact, this may be the ideal target audience

The verdict:

I can't recommend this video. A much shorter video with clear introductions and fewer but more realistic self-defense scenes (outdoors?) would be much better than this. Unfortunately, this may be the best video about the kubotan.

We need to remember that what Kubota shows are sterile model techniques conducted as a sample or demonstration. In a street situation, anything goes. The Kubotan only serves as an aid to your hand, a tool to enhance your fighting style. It is ultimately up to the bearer to make it as effective as possible. Nevertheless, the Kubotan like it's predecessor the Yawara or other hand sticks like the koppo are incredibly effective when used properly.
That being said, I have carried the AUTHENTIC version of the Kubotan for over 20 years with satisfaction and have used it twice. In one incident I hammered the screw eye end of the stick into the temple and ribs of the attacker, severely shaking him up. In the second incident, I actually used a flailing technique and double whipped the the bunch of keys right into the eye and mouth of the attacker and blinded him. He also suffered a split bloody lip. I didn't swing the keys, I whipped it, Escrima style. I really don't understand the argument about the attacker getting mad at you for flailing keys at him. Does it really matter whether or not the attacker gets mad or not? No matter what you do, he's certainly not going to be happy that's for sure.