Why is it difficult to get a simple, straight forward answer?????

Do you want a little cheese with that whine ?

Your question is clear.

The problem is that you are asking martial artists and that they are giving you a response about the whole idea of instructional videos: They're a bad idea.

The reason is martial arts is a practice. You can't really learn that way. Go to the aircraft section and ask about a series of instructional videos that will make you a pilot, or go to the medical section and ask for a series of videos that will make you a surgeon. You'll get the same kinds of answers.

If you want to learn martial arts you'll get to a school.

Forget the videos.

EDIT: Sorry about that, I hadn't seen your credentials, but honestly, you don't sound like someone who has all that experience. Why are you letting this get to you so much? Are you just having a bad day? It's an open Internet forum. A lot of the people answering are still in high school.

Here's the straight forward answer-

There are very few martial arts instructional videos that are worth anything at all; most are useless, and here's why.

A video cannot watch you to adjust your stance, can't rotate you through a kick or offer comprehensive feedback as to why you're improperly doing a technique. It also cannot praise you for your hard work and character development or teach you respect for the art or it's practitioners. A martial arts video cannot give you valuable insight into the art or it's lineage, nor can it detail the history of it as it was passed down through generations. A video cannot teach you honor, strength through struggle, or perseverance. It cannot teach you to hone your ki or fighting spirit.

If you're really looking for a forum in which to teach, then I'd suggest writing a book on the philosophical standpoints of the budo and it's history. In the end, a video will never replace your shishou's hand on your shoulder when you've completed an excellent movement, nor will it replace your shishou's hand through criticisms and posture correction, and both of these are invaluable human tools.

:) hope it was helpful - just what I've learned in my experience.

Most serious Martial Artist do not like the Idea of learning from videos, or books. They may help and can be used as a learning aid:However they can't replace an instructor or group of instructors.

The rest of your rant can be addressed as follows: A site like this draws a lot of people who are the range of the entire community from the sublime to the ridicules. Some are experts and some haven't a clue except in their imagination.

You apparently have not the life experience to sift them out yet.

You will get there be patient.

It has been my experience that not only does eveyone love the sound of their own voice (or the look of their own typing) and think they are hilarious but everyones favourite subject is themselves. Its too much of a temptation not to put someone else down to heighten themselves. Your questions are fine, keep them short, simple, and to the point... no grey area. If people just insist on being jerks, then... we know who has no better life then to bash people on the internet. Oh, good luck with the vid.!

When you ask people's opinions, you are bound to find stupid answers, it's inevitable.

IMO an instructional video to learn self-defense is just a bad idea, if you want to make money out of it, you'd have to do something that's fun, marketeable to the masses, and that could deliver good results, such as the "tae bo" videos.

good luck!

You seem quite upset.

Let me clarify this for you.

Don't bother making instructional videos. They are a waste of time and money.

Martial arts should not be about profit.

Why do so many people respond to a google question that has nothing to do with them when I not even talking to them?