ANACONDA DVD REVIEW - Not what you think...

Sep 1, 2007
1,241
1
Hey guys, got my Anaconda dvd in the mail today, watched it, so I thought I'd write up a little review. I'm going to get a lot of flack from this, but I don't think I've ever been so dissapointed with a flourishing dvd. Atleast I laughed my ass off at Showoff 3.

First of all, I knew I wasn't going to get revolutionary/new techniques on this dvd. I knew the material is kind of old, but I did see that Bones Anaconda did look pretty slick and the bonus moves looked pretty tight in the preview. I also thought the teaching would be second to none. I was wrong on most of these things.

The teaching section for the Anaconda clocks in at an insane 4 and a half minutes. Are you freaking kidding me? I spent 30 bucks on 4 and a half minutes?! They discuss NO tips or extra things to help get your dribble longer. There is NO new technique. NOTHING NEW. Unless they claim catching it in a straddle grip to be new...

All he teaches is the very basic technique. How to dribble the cards from a centimeter away from your other hand. Nothing is said on how to control the cards when you hands are 2 feet away from each other. Anyone whose tried this move knows its pretty tough to get huge and land clean. This isn't even discussed either. They have a SINGLE caption which is somewhat helpful, and its about catching the cards. A SINGLE caption. This is not enough to make any signifcant difference whatsoever.

Another thing that pissed me off is no where on the dvd can you find a performance of the dribble that isn't in slow motion. This is supposed to be a real laymen friendly flourish. Last time I checked you can't slow yourself down when performing.

The bonus moves are cute at best. Hindu Tornado is cool, we've all learned Hot Stones, the one handed T display is kind of cool, the one handed cut is kind of meh and the shot, Butterfly, is one of those things that anyone whose been handling cards for a while has done. I kind of look back and wonder why I got this dvd. Fail on my part.

Honestly, I have gained close to nothing from this dvd. Only thing I liked was Hindu Tornado, and I don't even know if its an original move(I'm pretty sure Jerry does it in one of the companion discs to EPoCF.) Seriously, you can learn the Anaconda from the old tutorial, its the same exact thing as this. The one thing that reeeally pissed me off was they never went over height at all. Its just...I don't know. the guy in the preview said its broken down so a laymen can learn it. I will quit flourishingthe day I see a layperson do an Anaconda as big as Bones from watching this dvd. Lemme tell you something...I ain't quitting flourishing anytime soon.


Couple an over-hyped dvd with ****ty customer service, and you get an angry flourisher. I DEEPLY regret buying this dvd.
 

b+w

Dec 10, 2008
89
2
York, United Kingdom
How else would you teach the dribble? He taught you the technique for the dribble, how to recieve the dribble, and how to extend the dribble. You paid for more than 4 and a half minutes. I felt that the beginning of the DVD with Bone is rather intriuging.
You seem very determined not to like this DVD- what exactly is wrong with the bonus material? It's more than just "meh".

-Ben
 
Jun 10, 2008
1,277
0
You little stalker!
How else would you teach the dribble? He taught you the technique for the dribble, how to recieve the dribble, and how to extend the dribble. You paid for more than 4 and a half minutes. I felt that the beginning of the DVD with Bone is rather intriuging.
You seem very determined not to like this DVD- what exactly is wrong with the bonus material? It's more than just "meh".

-Ben

He's saying that it was way too overhyped. They promised us the best teaching ever, which is not what we got. There were no extra tips or anything on it either.

The Anaconda can be learned for free on the Handlordz forums and this video was pretty much just duplicating that.
 

Ola

Jul 10, 2009
177
0
36
Lillestrøm, Oslo, Norway
I agree with you on all accounts.
The DVD looks awesome, and is visually great, but I didn't learn that much from it.
Hell, I thought it'd be at least an hour on the Anaconda alone, not four minutes..
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,241
1
b+w- Like I said, anyone whose tried the flourish knows the hard part isn't the actual technique of dribbling the cards, the hard part is making it massive and still keeping control over the cards.
 

b+w

Dec 10, 2008
89
2
York, United Kingdom
b+w- Like I said, anyone whose tried the flourish knows the hard part isn't the actual technique of dribbling the cards, the hard part is making it massive and still keeping control over the cards.

Yeah, I get what you're saying there, but I imagine it's hard to actually teach a huge dribble like that. They should have slowed an anaconda down and talked you through it, rather than showing the hands separating with no dribble. I think it's one of those thing that you need to experiment with and have the confidence to extending your hands from each other in the style and the length that Bone explains. They never said you'd be able to do it right away, it will require practice.

I think they did fine with the explaining, but they could have added plenty more.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,241
1
I've been practicing this flourish for a long time now. I learned it from the old tutorial. As I said...this dvd provided nothing new for me.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,572
2
34
Leicester, UK
www.youtube.com
Question: I always wondered what the hell the 'Psychology' was behind the Anaconda... The thought of having psychology behind something like it somewhat eluded me.

Always seemed like they just threw the word into the advertising because it sounds good.

- Sean
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,241
1
Thats not explained. All he really talks about is how he came up with the flourish. He does have some good words in the beginning about how flourishing is more than just showing off, but thats about it.
 

b+w

Dec 10, 2008
89
2
York, United Kingdom
I've been practicing this flourish for a long time now. I learned it from the old tutorial. As I said...this dvd provided nothing new for me.

Fair enough. I never got the old tutorial so I'm not comparing the DVD to anything else. I think that if you aren't comparing it to the old tutorial, they did a good job I reckon. As someone who only has the DVD, that's what I think.
 
Dec 16, 2008
115
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First of all, I like Bone's style and personality but
-One thing I always hate about Anaconda is why too many people demand that? Bone teachs its technique ALREADY, in HL website. Nothing more than a conner dribble, keep hands in middle then one up one down and PRATICE!!!! And stupid slow motion makes it look so cool on video. In real life, you get 1s for that moment no matter how damn long is it :cool:. Much faster than a spring.
-The Hindu Tonado is not original I think, Jerry does it and some more advanced aerial cuts.
-Eye-cut is a various cut from Demon Claw/ Circle cut by De'vo.

P/s: the limited DVDs are coming back soon :rolleyes:
 
May 9, 2008
603
0
Instead of saying "Not what you think..." you should edit it to saying, "Not what I thought".

It's very close to how I thought it would be.

And by God, if you already learned this from the HL tutorial, why oh why did you purchase the DVD?
 
D

Deleted member 2755

Guest
Well that's disappointing. I figured that they would have more release windows for this DVD, and I planned on picking this up. I'm disappointed. I thought they made a really awesome release. Shame. It had the potential. They just didn't use it.

-Doug
 
D

Deleted member 2755

Guest
By the way, I just took a little trip over to Bone Ho's site. There is in fact another release window in about 6 hours. Why does "limited" seem like such a lie nowadays?:rolleyes: (Also, Bone has "Products" on his navigation bar on the top of his site, but it won't work. Why do I sense that the Anaconda will be put up there in the near future? I dunno.)

-Doug
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,241
1
I bought the dvd because it DOES look better. Plus with talk of a new technique, I thought , hey, thevirts seem to put out great free stuff, cant imagine what the for sale stuff would be like. I was wrong
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,572
2
34
Leicester, UK
www.youtube.com
By the way, I just took a little trip over to Bone Ho's site. There is in fact another release window in about 6 hours. Why does "limited" seem like such a lie nowadays?:rolleyes:

-Doug

'cause adding it in makes things sell quicker. Yeesh, c'mon Doug I thought you were smart :p Seriously though, I've thought the same thing about a lot of so-called 'Limited' products.

- Sean
 
Nov 30, 2008
249
1
31
Ann Arbor, MI
There was technique. There really wasn't much more they could explain. Pay attention to which hand moves first. That alone helps extend it quite a bit. It seems like you went into this with a negative attitude.
The give you tips on how to receive the cards, how to control them, and how to extend it. What more could you want? Are you not happy because this will take a bit of practice? You get out what you put in. If you want the dribble to be longer, quite whining and go work on it.
As for the extras, they're quality moves. And pretty visually appealing.
Maybe you've learned them before, but then why the hell did you buy this DVD.
Yes, I do agree the price may have been a little high for the material. But it was quality teaching.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,241
1
AGAIN, thevirts promised a new technique making the old tutorials obsolete.

Don't talk to me about practicing....just don't.

Of course I went into with a negative attitude. Had the customer service been better, maybe I would of been more optimistic.

And no...the teaching wasn't perfect. I will be surprised if even a flourisher can get it as big and clean as Bones from this dvd.
 
Aug 19, 2009
51
1
For the people who have got the Anaconda DVD, could you please tell me where you live? I still have not got it.

P.S.: I live in the windy city
 
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