There is another person mentioned in Ronson's book named Guy Savelli, who actually laid claim to the "death stare" ability that the title of the film is derived from. He is a martial arts instructor in Ohio, who claims to have been trained by an Indonesian master.
As a prospective student once long ago, Savelli showed me video of Special Forces soldiers using his techniques and documentation carried out by a UNC researcher of the effects of his "death stare" on the goats who were used by SF medics for training. All I seem to remember is that Savelli was proud in the changes of the heart rates in the goats (as documented) and he never claimed to have brought one down.
There was also quite a bit of documentation showing Savelli's relationship with Colonel Nick Rowe, former POW and founder of the SF's SERE school. (Rowe was murdered in the Philippines in 1989). According to Savelli, Rowe somehow found him and was so impressed with Savelli's brand of martial arts (according to Savelli, his martial arts techniques were the closest thing that Rowe had seen to what his Vietnamese captors had practiced) that he brought him down to Fort Bragg to train SF personnel.
There were several members of the local Ohio Special Forces Association (Chapter 45 The Smoking Gun, if I recall) who used to take classes with Savelli. There were plenty of photos around his studio of Savelli at Ft. Bragg showing SF people his technique....and video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zKGx-HWIvU
A SF Vietnam vet once told me that Savelli had inflated his claims about his connections with the SF Community and the SERE school. The Special Forces eventually gave Savelli a "request" to cease and desist promoting himself in that manner.
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