The Moment of Truth: How to Physically, Mentally, and Legally Survive a Street Fight with Luciano Silveira
Video Review by Alain Burrese
Available
from Paladin Press, Gunbarrel Tech Center, 7077 Winchester Circle, Boulder, CO
80301; (303)443-7250; Fax (303)442-8741; to order call (800) 466-6868 or online
at http://www.paladin-press.com. ($5.00
P&H charge added to orders)
This
video is loaded with practical advice and sound tips dealing with violence and
self-defense. Luciano Silveira, a
martial art instructor put together a cast including Peyton Quinn, founder of
RMCAT and noted self-defense author; Brian Dolan, police officer; Michael
Hulsizer, a Human Aggression Expert; Steve Banks, a gang and violence expert;
and Neil Bruntrager, a former prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney.
Switching from one expert to another keeps the video fast paced, and
provides perspectives and advice concerning boundaries, boundary invasions,
boundary setting, de-escalation, adrenal stress effects and training, basic
combat concepts and techniques, and the legal aftermath of a violent encounter.
The
video includes mock scenes illustrating points, interviews, live home or news
video footage, and instructional setting filming. Silveira starts out by saying, “Nobody wins a streetfight.”
This is probably the most useful message in the film, and illustrations
by him and the others show why one should use the de-escalation tips in the
video and avoid physical violence whenever possible.
One should note that some of the language and scenes would warrant an R
rating, and parents may wish to view the tape with their children to point out
why you want to avoid violence and not go to prison or the morgue.
The language and scenes are nothing compared to what you may face in the
street, so if the video opens some peoples eyes to the violent possibilities out
there and gets people to be aware and avoid such incidents Silveira will have
accomplished one of his goals with the tape, to assist the viewer in remaining
safe and out of prison.
The
Combat Concepts and Techniques section was more of an overview of a couple basic
concepts and skills you should consider to be included in your self defense
training. Silveira mentions and
shows an example of combat mindset, preemptive striking and continuous attack.
He then briefly goes over some of the tools you can develop and
recommends certain martial arts that train in those skills.
I do have to disagree with him that Combat Hapkido is the better art to
train in than a traditional Hapkido program for control and restraining
techniques, but that is my personal bias from living and training in Hapkido in
South Korea and knowing many traditional Hapkido instructors teaching very
complete programs.
I
watched the legal portion closely, having a law degree myself, and found the
information to be the basic information a person should understand about this
topic in order to protect oneself legally if ever forced to defend oneself from
an attacker or bully, especially in an area with witnesses such as many bars
where violence occurs.
For
the novice, who thinks that joining a martial art class turns people into
Kung-Fu Killers that are invincible and by joining is ready to take on anyone,
this is a good wake up call. For
others, it is some good basics to include into your overall self-defense plan.
And for instructors, it shows us some different ways to get the message
to our students. Definitely a
recommended tape, especially for those who have not dealt with violence or the
legal system after a violent encounter.
Reviewed by Alain Burrese, August 2001