For example, do a Google search for self-defense videos, and you will see hundreds of companies trying to sell you the latest thing in self-defense. You have everything from legendary "forbidden martial arts" instructors all the way down to so-called black ops special forces top secret training videos. Now a lot of this can be confusing and difficult to choose a video for someone who doesn't know a lot about the self-defense industry. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind when buying or just looking at self-defense videos:
Guideline #1: You should stay away from anything that says anything that makes the technique sound forbidden and top secret, such as black ops, special forces, secret skill or secret training camps because it is most likely a scam. Truth be told, black ops secret ninja force skills don't really exist. True black ops and other special forces usually learn skills very similar to what's present in many martial arts. There are no secret techniques. However, there are a lot of companies out there claiming that they'll teach you the latest thing from secret training camps that the military banned for a hefty price. You should avoid people advertising this. More likely than not it's a scam. The material isn't very good, and how can you really trust someone if they're lying about their system? You are putting your life in the hands of their system.
Guideline #2: Try to avoid buying an e-book. Although this is an article on self defense videos, you will actually see a lot of e-books come up when you look for self-defense videos. However, a person can gain a lot from e-books. However, a lot of the learning is left up to you. You're not being taught, you're reading how to do things. Without many pictures, it's hard to see every part of the technique, and you'll end up missing out on the most important parts. Yeah, the book may be solid information, but if your only source of knowledge for self-defense is an e-book, how will you ever know how to do the techniques properly? Unfortunately, you can't. Don't buy any e-books. When looking for self-defense videos, use the videos, not the e-books.
Guideline #3: Self defense videos the creator actually stands by are the ones to look out for. Good self defense videos should have a good warranty and good unconditional guarantee. If you try the product for less than 30 days, you can't really judge if it's a good system. You'll see a lot of guys, and they're doing this seven day test period, that's not anything good. Seven days isn't really long enough to really examine a system. In fact, a general guideline is the more someone stands behind their system, the more it's trustworthy. Anything over 30 days is usually pretty good though. If you can find a 30 day guarantee than that is pretty great, but a 60 day or perhaps a 90 day money back guarantee is better yet. Try to find products whose creators truly stand behind them.
Guideline #4: Do some research. Before you pull the trigger and buy that product, Google the creator's name, Google his product's name, see what people are saying. A product with good reviews is usually a good product. If it has bad reviews, it's probably not something you want to be putting your money. You'll find a lot of guys out there, if you Google their name, you'll find that no one is giving their self defense videos good reviews. Their reviews are usually not very good and they're not received very well. Try to remember that there is a website called "BullShido". Personally, I don't trust anything I read there. Anything that's not MMA is completely trashed and disregard since it's written by MMA fanatics. The knowledge there is good but is highly biased. MMA forums may not be the best source...but you can locate other sources. If you Google the name and you've seen a lot of stuff, saying that's not a good product or maybe bad customer service, or anything like that may be something you want to stay away from.
If you're looking for self-defense videos, make sure you follow those guidelines when you're trying to find self defense videos and you'll find a good company that will treat you right.