Chris Crudelli, star of ‘Mind Body and Kick Ass Moves’ and friend of Martial Edge has brought out his latest DVD entitled ‘Crudelli on Crime’, subtitled, ‘London.’ Whilst at the MAF festival in Leicester in April, I managed to sneak a peek at his latest martial arts documentary which strangely enough is about using martial arts techniques to defend yourself against crime on the street.

From the beginning of this documentary we can see that it has a similar feel to the Mind Body and Kick Ass Moves with its funky graphics and soundtrack with a strong beat. Although it has the appearance of a music clip, there is a serious message to the programme and the viewer is warned from the beginning to go to a qualified instructor to train, which will hopefully defer those couch commandos into thinking they are street survival action heroes after watching this. This is in essence an instructional DVD and not a how to guide that applies various simple yet effective martial arts techniques to a variety of common street crimes situations that plague British cities today.

Crudelli on Crime is located in and around London and it is this twist, with its examination of the increasing statistics of casual crime that makes the documentary so appealing. Chris travels around the capital talking to a selection of people and makes a pertinent point when he says that with a lot of stabbing or shootings, “it’s more about respect and getting stuff.” Another interesting encounter is with the group of young people he meets in Greenwich and challenges them about their attitudes to self defence, which again supports his theory about image. If the situation allows and rather than facing a confrontation head on, simply running away is one of the best forms of self defence apart from not being there in the first place. This sensible and utterly practical piece of advice seems to be the obvious answer to most level headed adults but Chris had to argue his point to the youngsters in order to convince them that running away wasn’t an act of cowardice.

There are lots of martial arts moves that are demonstrated by Chris that appear both easy to do and work. One of the dangers is that being an experience martial artist, he can make the moves look simple yet to a beginner will need a lot of practise. However, Chris is at pains to emphasise that these should only be used as a last resort and that going to a martial arts class with a qualified instructor is your best bet. Some of the most useful tips were those that didn’t need any physical confrontation such as the false wallet trick given to the German tourists. Simply by having a cheap second wallet containing paper and fake credit cards to throw at a mugger to enable one to get away was a real good idea.

There is quite a lot of humour in this, which makes a welcome relief and it is Chris’s down to earth approach that makes the message about self defence easier to digest. It is the section at the end though that provides the most danger and laughs as he attempts to engage in a real life mugging. Unfortunately, even though he has his Argos catalogue to defend himself, you will have to watch the DVD to see what he does with it, the poor man cannot get mugged! He does encounter some ne’er-do-wells though, and the results are most interesting.

Crudelli on Crime is well worth buying and is both an entertaining guide to the crime spots of London as well as offering some useful tips if you should find yourself at the business end of a knife or gun. Not suitable for young children though as there is some swearing.

Author Profile: Lesley Jackson

View Full Profile

Lesley Jackson, black belt and Taekwondo teacher is deputy Editor of Martial Edge.

Also by Lesley Jackson:

• Gary Hall Taekwondo Performance Director for the British Olympic Team
• Jamie Clubb the Ealy Years
• TVP – Comprehensive Boxing Techniques