The Charge

Where true fitness and real self defense meet!

The Case

The line between aerobic workouts and self defense training has blurred in the last few years. Step aerobics is out, while kickboxing is red hot—you're going to be on the mats anyway, so why not pick up a fighting technique or two while you're burning calories? S.A.V.E. Level 1 takes that trend up a notch. Under the guidance of workout instructor and highly decorated martial arts champion Philip Ross, S.A.V.E. Level 1 gives you a workout while teaching you basic self defense combos in the process.

Though I've never had the discipline to stick with it for more than a year at a time, I've sampled several martial arts over the years such as Tae Kwon Do, Ju Jitsu, and Judo. The techniques presented in this 50-minute video jibe with my understanding of martial arts basics. The first thing they teach you in Tae Kwon Do is how to block. Ju Jitsu teaches you how to get out of the way. Judo teaches you how to fall, transferring your energy to the ground while protecting your head. These techniques are all on this DVD, albeit briefly, along with some basic offensive moves. In fact, S.A.V.E. Level 1 is broken into several distinct sections:
• Warm-Up
• Strikes
• Kicks
• Blocks
• Grappling
• Footwork
• Workout
• Self-Defense

Philip Ross will be the first to tell you that this workout is not going to turn you into an experienced martial artist. Instead, S.A.V.E. Level 1 is a gateway to further training. Ross has distilled the basics of many martial arts into a workout-sized chunk; your familiarity with that workout will give you a head start on almost any martial art you chose to pursue afterward.

Each segment is presented with a brief introduction by Ross, and then demonstrated by him and a bevy of his students. If you've seen a workout video before, this formula will be familiar to you. The pseudo-sensual vibe of tight spandex and lithe bodies is here too, although I kept thinking about how thoroughly any one of these women could kick my ass. The full-frame presentation doesn't suffer major blights, though it has the telltale jaggies of digital video. The soundtrack gets the job done without fanfare. One side effect of the efficient presentation is that you'll need to pause and rewind frequently the first few times through to figure out what each segment is trying to teach you.

The most interesting part is when Ross puts it all together into an array of defensive combinations. From the bear hugger to the double wrist grabber, Phil instructs you how to thwart aggressors and keep safe. The official website states that the muscle memory and instinctive techniques instilled by correctly following this video will help you ward off almost any attack you'll encounter in the real world. The key word is correctly. There's no one in your living room to ensure that you are following the techniques properly. In fact, there are subtle shifts in weight and posture that make the difference between a defended attack and a broken arm, so I highly recommend verification of your technique by someone knowledgeable. In any case, it probably won't hurt you to practice these techniques. Who knows…it might help you to Survive A Violent Environment some day.

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