Modern Defendo

Defendo CQB C.O.R.E.

I will not go too deeply into the extensive background of the instructor Mr. Bill Wolfe.

To sum it all up he has the military experience, the police force experience and the close protection experience to make him a credible source to listen to and learn from.

I will be clear upfront with this DVD.

It does not resemble anything like the Fairbairn style of army combative that I expected it to.

The website is clear about it being modern Defendo, which is billed as a "cutting edge extension of William Fairbairn's original system".

The website is located at www.defendo.com.

While researching army combatives I also found out that Fairbairn called his close quarters combat style Defendu and not Defendo.

I was happy enough with the C.O.R.E. DVD that I did not take advantage of the 100% no questions asked money back guarantee. On the Defendo CORE DVD the training for a self defense situation is simple.......

Strike to close the distance, get to the clinch do some damage, control and disable the opponent and make your exit.

It was not exactly what I was expecting in terms of being a WWII based combative but I found that I did get excellent value fot the cost of $32.94.

I was somewhat taken back by the lack of artwork or simple printed sleeve insert for the plain black DVD case it came in. The DVD label itself was very simple and looks as though it is something that could have been created from a home based computer.

I'm really not that picky but I was expecting something different. I felt as though for the content on the DVD it was somewhat cheapened and looks like a pirated version that someone could be duped into buying off of e-bay.

That's enough of the aesthetics of the DVD. I'll move onto the content now.

The instruction and techniques can be broken down into the following. Striking, clinching, ground tactics, choke escapes, weapon defense, personal fitness and mental training. The Defendo striking section is obviously based in boxing fundamentals. If you have no prior boxing experience you will find it of value.

The kicking covered is very basic as well.

There is some discussion about targets for your strikes. An example of some of the targets include the balls, ankles, floating ribs and collar bone.

The targets are discussed quickly but you are not really educated in where exactly to strike.

For example a "newbie" might not know exactly where the floating ribs are and strike too high.

Wolfe also goes over parrying and blocking.

One thing discussed upfront on the DVD is the need for practice and Wolfe talks about 40 hours of good practice to become efficient.

I do think this is important and commend him for bringing it up since too many people are looking for a silver bullet which simply does not exist.

The importance of mastering the clinch and pummeling exercises is because this is what you will use on the street to prevent the opponent from reaching back in their belt line for a knife or other weapon.

The clinch will also prevent the opponent from drawing their arms back to hit you. In a law enforcement scenario it prevent the bad guy from reaching for your weapon.

There is discussion about using your head and shoulders as a battering ram or pummeling tool while in the clinch.

Overall this section for me was worth the cost of the DVD. The choke escapes covered were good.

The fact about choke escapes that I like was how he translated the escape that you learned from a standing position to be used from a position where you find yourself on your back on the ground.

The ground game covered is all the very basics that you need to survive on the ground.

I particularly like the fact that he discussed that the clinch on the ground is the same as the stand up clinch and that is why you must master it.

Advanced joint locks are on another DVD and not included here.

Wolfe discusses the fact that something like only 2% of people have any martial arts or formal fighting training, so learning Modern Defendo does give you an advantage.

Some very basic weapons defenses are covered including club/stick, knife and hand gun defenses.

What I really like about the edged weapons section is how he points out that a used syringe is a edged weapon.

Especially if someone comes at you and tells you to hand over your money or they will stick you with an AIDS infected needle.

The personal fitness section is good if you currently have no routine.

The concentration for the personal fitness section is on maintaining your fighting shape. This means you will find no heavy lifting, muscle building routine.

It is a routine that keeps your core strong and your range of motion in good shape. The mental training aspect covers very briefly controlling adrenaline and cortisol rushes. The key here is to do this through your training.


What I liked

I liked Wolfe's delivery and credibility.

I like some of the little tidbits he gives you.

I loved the review of the clinch, how to use it and why it is useful in both your stand up and on the ground.

I liked that Wolfe discussed that the effectiveness of this system all depends on how vicious you make your moves. I'm paraphrasing here but he says to get to the clinch, mess them up and take them out.


What I didn't like

I didn't like the fact that you are somewhat led to expect more of a Fairbairn WWII combative system. In all reality I believe that it is completely different. From what I can tell the closest similarities are the weapon disarms.

Obviously I think the packaging can be improved.

I think some clearer discussion and education around some moves and targeting would improve the DVD.

A different camera angle and maybe a close up of the striking areas would be good.

Maybe I'm just spoiled from my favourite training DVD's which were the Target Focus Training DVD's and the online training. I just find that the explanations, etc. are far superior which made Target Focus Training my top pick.


Conclusion

My conclusion here is that I did find value from the DVD training.

Do I think that it is something I can hand over to my wife, have her practice and be able to successfully defend herself against a larger, male opponent? No, not really.

I think having some size and strength plays into the effectiveness of this being a good overall self defense system.

I think that I would be more comfortable in calling it more of a fighting system than a self defense system.

A fighting style is what you would want in a close quarters combat type of system anyways!

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