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Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.
Senshido in Print and on Video
A Product Review by Phil Elmore
Rich Dimitri of Senshido
has contributed several articles to The Martialist. He’s also
been interviewed in this issue of our publication.
Given that, it seemed only fair to give readers a brief look at the materials
Rich produces for sale to the public. At the request of The
Martialist‘s
publisher, Rich sent a total of three videos and a textbook. The videos
are Submission Termination (Tape 9), Outnumbered But Not Outgunned
(Tape 13), and Functional Combative Drill Training (Tape 18). The
text is a spiral-bound, self-published reference titled In Total Defense of
the Self: Enhancing Survivability and Gaining the Tactical Edge. The
tapes feature Rich and several training partners who are well-known to those
familiar with Senshido’s instructors and organization. The text is
copyrighted 2001 to Rich.
IN TOTAL DEFENSE OF THE SELF
I have always preferred books to videos. While it is
true that one can glean more from a video when attempting to learn movement
mechanics or other material involving motion, a book can be carried
anywhere, absorbed in a non-linear fashion, and annotated for reference.
With that in mind, I’d have to say that any collection of videos by Rich
should be viewed in conjunction with a reading of the text.
In Total Defense of the Self is a relatively thorough
write-up of the philosophy behind Senshido. It’s just under a hundred
pages of single-sided, 8-1/2 x 11 inch paper with a spiral binding (which
means it can be folded back on itself for convenient reading). While no
single book can serve as an inclusive “bible” to one man’s fighting
knowledge, you could think of this as the Spark
Notes to Senshido.
From the dedication to “Street Soldiers” to the
introduction through the body of the text, it’s clear that Rich’s sympathies
lie with the defender, not the world’s criminals. He makes no apologies
for telling you precisely the principles and concepts you will need to deliver
force to an opponent, preemptively when necessary, in order to succeed against
violent aggressors. The book covers a wide array of concepts that range
from physiological and psychological effects of stress and violence to the
importance of awareness, recognition of pre-contact indicators, psychological
techniques used against assailants, and the physical tools of force.
Rich’s 20 Commandments of Hand to Hand Combat
includes exhortations to be aware at all times, to “survive at all
costs,” to “lead with speed,” and to keep one’s ego under
control. “Never,” Rich tells the reader, “let your
emotions control your cognitive intuition.”
Entire chapters are devoted to awareness and intuition
(including Senshido’s version of the usual color code danger ratings most
systems employ), stances and postures (such as the “passive stance”
Senshido students use to defuse conflict while protecting their bodies,
similar to the “fence” and CFA‘s
“de-escalation stance“), emotions
(particularly fear), surviving violent confrontations, reflexive responses (as
well as the mind, body, and spirit), physical retaliation and combat ranges,
weapons, and drill training. Significant attention is paid to the mindset and psychology
of force and violence. The book concludes with a section on philosophy
and a note from Rich, as well as a list of terminology, suggested reading
list, and bibliography.
Rich takes a holistic approach to fighting and
survival, refusing to segregate various theories, concepts, techniques, and
body postures into neat little isolated categories of application. He
views fighting as a continuum, a living body of ideas and practices that must
be approached in whole to be understood.
Senshido’s Five Principles of Physical Retaliation,
for example, are these:
- Economy of Motion
- Non-Telegraphic Movement
- Opportunity Striking and Defending
- Primary Targets
- Tactile Sensitivity
These principles are explained in detail and comprise a very
sound fighting system.
The book is primarily text, with a couple of photocopied
pictures in just one of the sections. While Rich is not a professional
writer, he gets his point across and imparts some very useful information
while doing so.
SENSHIDO ON VIDEO
Judging from the three tapes Rich sent me, Senshido
instructional videotapes are very informal. Production quality is
consistent with something made and edited entirely on home video equipment,
with the graphic disruptions and copy problems one would expect from such an
arrangement. All three tapes start with the same introductory montage of
training footage, accompanied by hollow background music. The bodies of
the tapes, however, consist of Rich and his training partners at the Senshido
facility.
Most of each tape is adequately bright and audible.
Rich comes across as remarkably friendly and accessible, with a good sense of
humor (he and his partners frequently joke and even clown around a bit on
camera). It is obvious that each tape was filmed with only a general
idea of the material to be covered, an approach that speaks to the fact that
Rich is very knowledgeable in what he does. He simply starts talking
with a topic in mind, going off on tangents as would anyone engaged in a
discussion of a subject he knows well.
While this leads to what seems, at times, as a disorganized
presentation, it also enhances the good-natured atmosphere of each
tapes. These are not strutting urban commandos imparting dire hard-won
lessons of blood in the streets (though there certainly is plenty of hard-won
information on violent realities communicated). These are friendly
people giving you the benefit of their experience in a casual setting
dominated by serious goals. I imagine a seminar with Rich and the
Senshido staff would feel exactly like watching these tapes. Each
one left me feeling as if I’d learned quite a bit, even if the
“instructional design” of each video could be enhanced with more
methodical planning.
SUBMISSION TERMINATION
The subject of this tape is groundfighting. Rich makes
a distinction between groundfighting and grappling, which can take place
standing up in a clinch as well as on the ground. He outlines his
complete and total approach to fighting, including psychological issues,
before spending some time speaking about the things that can lead dedicated
grapplers into trouble when confronted with “street”
realities. Concepts such as dealing with concealed weapons, the
difficulties of unusual terrain, and the problems represented by clothing are
all discussed.
“A good fighter knows how to grapple,” Rich
states. “A great fighter knows when to grapple.” The
balance of the video consists of drills and exercises that illustrate the
principles Rich teaches to negate the enemy’s attack (by jamming it, for
example), release that attack (Aikidoka will recognize this concept), redirect
that attack, and retaliate. He spends plenty of time talking about
pre-contact cues, stances, dealing with and maximizing outcomes from your
natural flinch response, and the importance of relying only on gross motor
skills in stressful situations. Familiar Senshido principles like the
“closest weapon, closest target” guideline appear (as I imagine they
do in most of Rich’s videos) and many permutations of groundfighting scenarios
(or situations leading to groundfighting scenarios) are outlined.
When necessary, training partners wear helmets to allow for
more realistic striking. Training knives are also used. Rich
stresses that you must assume your opponent has a concealed weapon and
could use it at any time in a groundfighting situation, for any other
assumption could lead to your death.
OUTNUMBERED BUT NOT OUTGUNNED
The focus of this video, as in Sammy Franco’s Rat
Packed, is dealing with multiple attackers. As expected, there is
similarity in the material covered for truth is truth, regardless of the
teller. The most important concept to be gleaned from Rich’s
presentation is the idea that a multiple attacker situation is as much a
psychological fight as it is a physical one. By refusing to prepare your
opponents mentally for the fight, instead catching them when they are
not prepared, you give yourself the advantage you must have to face more than
one violent attacker.
The usual physical principles of dealing with multiple
assailants are covered, including positioning one of the attackers such that
his body becomes an obstacle to the others. Rich again discusses the
need for preemptive striking when necessary, never neglecting the legal
consequences of one’s actions. He also points out that, while viciously
neutralizing one attacker may have a demoralizing effect on the other assailant’s),
this will not always be the case.
The need to be as vicious as possible, to take advantage of
every opportunity and every dirty trick and technique, is described at
length. Rich cautions the viewer never to make assumptions about what
will happen, never to plan one’s reactions and therefore lose time to thinking
when direct and non-telegraphic action is required. He outlines
targets, covers the vital importance of good footwork (cautioning against
crossing the legs), and spends a great deal of time on drills that reinforce
the concepts explained.
You must train, Rich explains, for worst-case
scenarios. “If I keep preparing for drunk Average Joe, tha’s as
good as I’m going to be.” Through the course of the tape he leads
the viewer from conceptual framework to physical strikes and footwork to
dialogue and the techniques of verbal de-escalation. Fighting from
unusual positions and postures (such as sitting in chairs) is also covered.
FUNCTIONAL COMBATIVE DRILL TRAINING
While each of the previous tapes incorporates drills (with
and without protective equipment depending on specific needs), Functional
Combative Drill Training is entirely built on ways to train. Rich is a
firm believer in “alive” drills and related training. This
tape is a great way to see how such drills are performed and to learn ways to
improve the realism of your own training. Rich does caution the viewer
not to watch the tape and then wander out drafting training partners who
haven’t seen it, as watching a video and teaching the concepts it
contains are not the same thing.
Drills explained and performed at length, with permutations
involving weapons and multiple attackers, include a “mental blueprinting
drill” in which students practice processing as much quick information as
possible about an aggressive person’s posture and cues. There is a neat
“rooftop” drill in which students fight in an ever-smaller enclosure
(to “fall off” is to die), grappling drills, tool and target
development drills, and drills revolving around intercepting an assailant’s
intention to act. “There’s no end to what you can do to challenge
yourself,” Rich says eagerly. He encourages the viewer to
experiment and to keep drills as “alive” as possible.
CONCLUSION
The Senshido materials I’ve seen make me want to examine
more. This is worthwhile information that, while not presented formally,
is nonetheless too valuable to miss. While there are other Reality Based
Self Defense instructors out there whose materials are as good and still
others who present their work more “professionally,” it’s hard to
imagine too many people with Rich DImitri’s unique blend of cheerful energy
and optimistic worldliness.
Take the time to investigate this useful
resource.