1 comments about King of the Cage: Rampage - Birth of a Champion.

1. This is a one hour DVD of some (6, in fact) of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's early fights in the King of the Cage organization. The fights included are against the following opponents:
   
   - Marvin Eastman
   - Rob Smith
   - Charlie West
   - Dave Taylor
   - Rocko Henderson
   - Sean Grey
   
   The fights are good and show Rampage's slams, strikes, and even a submission, as well as his resiliency in tough matches. Though the quality isn't as high as in Pride or UFC DVDs, especially the production values, at this price this DVD is a great deal for Rampage fans.
   
   There aren't any extra features included; the DVD has a short introduction and conclusion by an announcer from KOTC and that's it. The time between rounds has even been cut.
   
   So in the end, although the excitement of these fights doesn't equal Rampage's match-ending slam on Ricardo Arona or his KO of Chuck Liddell, this DVD is still worth checking out with some solid bouts.

4 comments about Pride FC 7 - From the Yokohama Arena.

1. I would say the DVD is worth getting for the Vovchanchyn VS Kerr match. This was the beginning of Kerr's fall from grace, before this everyone thought him untouchable.



2. Pride 7 was held on September 12, 1999 at the Yokohama Arena

   The first match is between Pride veteran Daijiro Matsui against Cage Fight tournament veteran Bob Schrijber. Good match with an ending that may leave you mad.

   The second match is between Pride veteran Carl Malenko and in his Pride debut International Vale Tudo and UFC veteran Vanderlei Silva. Another good match.

   The third fight is between UFC 13, Shooto and Japan Vale Tudo veteran Enson Inoue and in his MMA debut Tuli Kulihaapai. One sided match but it is good.

   The fourth match is between former Extreme Fighting and UFC heavyweight champion Maurice Smith against Pride and K1 veteran Branco Citivic. This was one strange match.

   The fifth match is between Lumax Cup and Pride veteran Akira Shoji and Extreme Challenge, Super Brawl and Bas Rutten Invitational veteran Larry Parker. A really good fight.

   The sixth match is between UFC Japan tournament winner and Pride veteran Kazushi Sakuraba against UFC and IFC veteran Anthony Macias. Another good fight.

   The Nobuhiko Takada vs. Alexander Otsuka match is not on the DVD.

   The main event is between WVC 3 tournament winner, UFC 14 & 15 heavyweight tournament winner and Pride veteran Mark Kerr and IFC Kiev tournament winner, WVC 5 tournament winner, AFC 3 tournament winner and Pride veteran Igor Vovchanchyn. This was a great fight, but with a controversial ending.

   I recommend this for any people who like Pride and Mixed Martial Arts.




3. Overall this was a good tournament. Pride FC is a mixed martial arts tournament held in Japan. It is held in a ring with ropes, and there are some rules such as no grabbing the ropes, no kicking a downed fighter on all fours, no eye gouging, and no groin punching. Besides that, pretty much anything goes. You will see some great submission, grappling and striking in the tournament.
   1) Matsui vs. Schrijver - This is Matsui's 4th Pride appearance coming in with a record of 1-0-2. This was a good fight, but you'll see why they call Schrijver, "Dirty Bob".
   2) Malenko vs. Silva - Surprisingly, Silva took this fight to the ground and looked a bit tired. He is known for his striking ability, but remained in the mounted position for most of the fight.
   3) Inoue vs Kulihaapai - This was an interesting fight to see Inoue fight with his gui, but this was a total mismatch.
   4) Cikatic vs. Smith - Smith was coming off some impressive wins, one over Mark Coleman in UFC. This started out with plenty of action, but ended on a low point. One of the fighers submitted to an easily defendable move.
   5) Shoji vs. Parker - This started out good with both fighers excahnging punches and wrestling on the ground, but by the end of the fight, it became routine for Parker to just lie on his back and wait for Shoji to jump in. The last round, there was a lot of action and exchanges of strikes.
   6) Sakuraba vs. Macias - As always, Sakuraba is fun to watch. Macias also made quite a show of it. This was my favorite fight just to watch what techniques Sak would come up with. He is truly a master of submissions.
   7) Kerr vs. Vovchanchyn - Very dissapointing ending. This started out great with fighters exchanging strikes, but ended on a low note. One of the fighters was clearly breaking the rules and did not get called for it. Kind of a bummer because he won by breaking the rules.



4. This was the first Pride event I saw. I feel that the Mark Kerr vs. Igor Vovchanchyn fight is worth the purchase of this dvd. Kerr looked like a monster next to Vovchanchyn (Kerr 6'3" 265lbs Vovchanchyn 5'9" 235). I had not heard of Vovchanchyn before I saw this fight, but after watching him fight Kerr I won't forget that name. I could not believe the striking power this guy had at his disposal. The win was controversial because of the old Pride rules, which were a disadvantage to the striking type fighter, the rules have since been changed to allow the type of strikes that Vovchanchyn used to finish off Kerr.

5 comments about Shaolin Challenges Ninja.

1. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite Gordon Liu films, as well as one of my favorite kung fu films of all time. Like another reviewer, I have watched his movie several times without tiring of it in the least.

   The beginning is full of the comedy of differences and humorous rivalry between a young Chinese man (Liu), who is proficient in Chinese boxing, and his new Japanese bride, who is proficient in Japanese fighting; along with the misdeeds of a meddlesome servant who manages to incite even more difficulty between the spouses.

   The rivalry turns into a formal challenge, as a cadre of Japanese fighters: experts in--among other things--Bushido, Karate, Ju-Jitsu and Ninjitsu, visit the character portrayed by Liu, to defend the wounded pride of his wife, which translates to their own pride in the (alledged superiority of) Japanese martial arts.

   Liu then faces off against each of seven Japanese fighters in a series of very entertaining matches. Liu carefully chooses the appropriate Chinese weaponry and/or fighting style prior to meeting each of the challenges (the ju-jitsu match has its own surprises, though!), then engages. Good, clean (and informative) fun! No blind revenge, no death matches or victims coughing up blood, just a wholly enjoyable look at two competing styles within the context of 7 challenges, each of which affording the contestants new insight, appreciation and respect for each other: the elegant, diverse repertoire of Chinese martial arts styles pitted against the powerful, efficient styles of the Japanese.

   And in the meantime, the marriage relations get better!

   Top-shelf, top-of-the-list entertainment for every devotee of "old-school" kung fu films.




2. Hey, now this is the Gordon Liu I'm talking about!
   
   This is a great kung fu flick. Gordon has to lay down the law to his wife when she tries (in so many ways) to convince him that the Japanese style is better than the Chinese style in fighting. After Gordon made her look like a fool, she leaves and goes back to Japan until she feels she can become a match for him. Gordon then sends a letter challenging her to face him (a ploy to get her to come home), but it was intercepted by one of the greatest fighters in Japan (his wife's childhood friend). The letter was later showed to other top fighters of Japan who viewed it as a personal threat/challenge. They later challenge Gordon to a duel to settle the matter of which style is the best. Now the fight is on. Gordon must now defend his honor by fighting each one of these Japenese fighters.
   
   The fighting scenes were great and you will see the moves that Gordon is famous for. Man, he is no joke! This is a must see for all old-school kung fu fans. Surely one of my top 5%.



3. If you have not heard of red sun and do not have an all-region dvd player, then red sun is the best company going for classic kung fu. If you look up red sun under the amazon search engine, you will see I have plenty of reviews for this distribitor, that's because I have bought most of these and have managed to find some of the best movies in the history of cinema. And the LETTERBOXED widesceening job is so perfect I would be ahppy if this was the only dvd I had, ever.
   
   First off, you will be sure that this is not a shaw's movie right away by the music. It sounds like authentic japanese, and overall provides an awesome score. It is really nice to get away from that stock music. And with origianl language, this goes both ways. The japanese are well worth hearing their voices, and there are a lot of japanese.
   
   The movie has an odd start, no fancy MA display for the credits. it goes right to the story. Gordon Liu's family have set up a marriage for him long ago. But he doesn't really like this. So his friend(who you will certainly recogzine if you have seen any fu) comes in and tells him that the japanese girl has arrived. He goes on to describe her top and her bottom. Gordon gets all excited and runs out to meet her. But she comes in and lives in gordon's family's house and has absolutely no respect. Now gordon doesn't handle this the best way and since he is obviouusly better at the MA's, he beats her at everything. So this leads her to keep on breaking things and starting fights with him, to the point that she just completely leaves and goes home to japan. But when gordon sends a letter saying how far superior chinese is to japanese martial arts, her masters get pretty mad.
   
   So all the japanese masters come over to challenge gordon. He sees his wife and rejoices but then sees like 8 dudes and one of them is like a giant. Now the second half of this thing begins. I still can't decide if I like the first or second half better. It is truly one of the best in the genre first half, but then the second half rivals any fu movie ever and manages to top most of them. The woman playing gordon's wife plays it perfectly. The first battle is superb, japanese against chinese sword, and more importantly, 2 techniques against eachother. The second the director comes up with an excuse to show that he is also a true drunken master, not just the yuen's and jackie. He plays the same drunk as most, and gordon has to learn his technique. This happens in too short amount of time, but works for the movie. And norman chu as another one of gordon's friend is great. No martial arts from him though. The weapons scenes are wonderful as they always match up chi and jap weapons. There is a spear scene, a 3 section staff against a 2 section and a sword, sai's against knives, and a match against a monster of a man, which I still think gordon cheated no matter what way they explain it. And the final one is prbably the best, true ninja scene(movie wise at least). So simon yuen has a good appearence hear as gordon's teacher and he keeps figuring out ways to beat all the japanese master that have come to challenge him.
   
   But the main drawing point this movie is the real japanese actors. I am sure they are not real actors, but they worked just fine. The guy with the sai's may have no been japanese. And the master of all these master doesn's appear japanese but he doesn't fight, so that's cool. And Kuratu gets the well deserving lead role among them.
   
   SO THIS RED SUN VERSION HAS 2 LANGUAGE TRACKS!!!!!! LETTERBOXED, CRYSTAL CLEAR PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!! AND 5.1 BOOMING SOUND.
   
   Now, what more could you ask for.



4. i watched the movie - it was what i remembered - interracial marriage - Japanese woman to Chinese man, marital strife, battle of the fighters -
   it was dubbed english, but an actual translation was also displaying along the bottom of the screen - which was neat - Asian languages seldom can be translated into the same video space of Western languages
   writing/story was weak, but was expected - it came from era of Asian fighting movies like the westerns of america -
   some of the translations were strange - something keeps getting translated as a 'flying guillotine', but it seems to be different things in different movies -
   i do not even think it was originally called 'Shaolin vs Ninja' - 'Heroes of the West' displayed at the beginning - at least that was what the translation displayed - credits looked unusual as if asian movies do not display director, producer and all like the west -



5. Simple and plain: This movie is what quality Kung-Fu movies are all about. Well done action, well done choreography, wicked fights and awesome weaponry. Gordon-Liu was one of the best, and this is him in his prime. The Shaw Brothers by far were the best Kung-Fu movie production team. (Just ask Quentin Tarantino! He based the Kill Bill series on Shaw Brothers movies.)
   If you like kung-fu movies and quality ninja-action (where ninja are more than just face-less fighter drones)...GET THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!

No comments about Bujinkan Dojo Taijitsy vol.2.

2 comments about Pride FC 5 - From the Nagoya Rainbow Hall.

1. Pride 5 was held on April 28, 1999 at Nagoya Rainbow Hall.

   The first fight was between Lumax Cup and Shooto veteran Egan Inoue and Pancrase veteran Minoru Toyonaga. Good fight with a good ending.

   The second fight IVC veteran Francisco Bueno and Pride veteran Satoshi Honma. Good fight with good ending.

   The third fight is between IFC Kiev tournament and WVC 5 tournament winner Igor Vovchanchyn and Pride veteran Akira Shoji. Nice fight.

   The fourth fight is between Shooto, Japan Vale Tudo and UFC veteran Enson Inoue and Rookie fighter Soichi Nishida. Nice short fight

   The fifth fight is between UFC Japan tournament and Pride veteran Kazushi Sakuraba and UFC 12 heavyweight tournament winner Vitor Belfort. Match of the night.

   The main event is between Pride veteran Nobuhiko Takada and UFC 10 & 11 tournament winner and former UFC Heavyweight champion Mark Coleman. This is one of the most controversial fights of all time.

   I recommand this to MMA fans.




2. Pride FCs are great, but this one is a bit lacking. It has only 6 fights and is much shorter than the other Pride FCs I've seen. Most of the fights were mismatches and overall there was very little excitement. The biggest reason I bought this disc was because I love both Sakuraba and Belfort as fighters and I wanted to see them fight each other. Huge disappointment. I won't say who won, but one of the fighters refuses to fight and just sits down the whole match. This can actually be an effective defense as Allen Goes proved. However, in this case is was absolutely disasterous for the fans and for anyone watching. The fighter was even warned, but went right back down to the ground. I had heard later it was because he had a broken hand before the fight started. Regardless, it made for a bad match and poor viewing. Also included on the disc was an "exhibition" with Royler and Rickson Gracie where they displayed some of their techniques. I was not very interested in this and would much rather have seen either of them fight someone in the tournament. If you want your Pride fix, go for Pride 8 or Pride GP Finals.

5 comments about Pride FC - Battle of the Rising Sun.

1. Not quite as great as some of the first Pride DVD releases, but when you compare it to the opposition (UFC, IFC, ROTC, etc.) its still miles ahead. This i believe still ranks better the the GP Finals so, if you have that (feel free to check out some of the reviews of that for contrast), make up your own mind

   You will enjoy this that is for sure, some of the 8 fights in this DVD are a little one sided though, e.g. The Sakuraba vs. Ritch fight. But sometimes one sided arrangement can work out to be the most entertaining (and that was defiately the case in this instance. Other showcase fights are the Erikson vs. Herring fight (bit of a surprising conclusion), as well as the controversial Vanderdlei de silva vs. (the one kick destroyer of Gary Goodidge) Gilbert Yvel. Awesome fights all worth your investment. The list of the fights shown is below.

   Heath Herring vs. Tom Erikson Gilbert Yvel vs. Vanderlei Silva Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Gary Goodridge Alexander Otsuka vs. Mike Bourke Akira Shoji vs. Herman Renting Igar Vovchnchyn vs. Nobuyuki Takeda Masaaki Satake vs. Naoya Ogawa Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch Hope this helps




2. This ranks right up there as one of the best PRIDE events... The lack of vale tudo type rules can sometimes lead to a few very boring GROUND and POUND matches in Pride but thankfully here aren't too many boring moments in this gem. There's a good old fashioned upset a biiiiig asswhoopin and a couple of superb finishing moves. There are a couple of matches that look a little one sided but thankfully the winners won in style so that makes it all the more interesting....but I'm not sure if I can watch Katsu vs Goodridge again. The Judo vs Karate match with Ogawa and Sataakeis one of my favourites..the crowd is so excited that it adds to the whole thing. Since PRIDE NEW BLOOD is one of the most boring MMA shows I've ever seen it was nice to have my faith restored by this.



3. This ranks right up there as one of the best PRIDE events... The lack of vale tudo type rules can sometimes lead to a few very boring GROUND and POUND matches in Pride but thankfully here aren't too many boring moments in this gem. There's a good old fashioned upset a biiiiig buttwhoopin and a couple of superb finishing moves. There are a couple of matches that look a little one sided but thankfully the winners won in style so that makes it all the more interesting....but I'm not sure if I can watch Katsu vs Goodridge again. The Judo vs Karate match with Ogawa and Sataakeis one of my favourites..the crowd is so excited that it adds to the whole thing. Since PRIDE NEW BLOOD is one of the most boring MMA shows I've ever seen it was nice to have my faith restored by this.



4. Pride is probably the best MMA tourney and this is one of the best groups of matches they put together. If you have watched any MMA tournaments, you owe it to yourself to see pride and this is a good starting point.
   My only negative point is that the bonus material (DVD) is slim and the documentary!! tells you the results of fights you may not have seen.



5. The reason i bought this DVD was because of the positive reviews i have written about this edition of pride. After watching this pride event i was a little bit disappointed. I have seen a lot of MMA events (for example Absolute Fighting Championships,World Vale Tudo Championship, Free Fights events from holland and of course the UFC). When i liked a NHB-fight whitin these events, it is because it has moments in witch the fighters are testing eachother's skills standing up on their feet and moments in witch these same fighters are on the ground.
   The event of PRIDE has too many fights that lasted too long on the ground. The fights are OR relatively short and ended on the ground, for example an early arm lock, OR the fights shows fighters who are constantly or for almost the whole time on the ground.
   There are however 2 fights that are an exceptions to this. First, the fight between Gary Goodridge (pay attention to the way the japanese announcer pronounce the name of 'Big Daddy' Goodridge, very funny) versus Yoshiaku Yatsu. This japanese warrior said that not he, but his fans wanted him to fight. Gary really punishes his opponent and i assume that Yoshiaku Yatsu after this fight regrets his decision to fight because of his fans. However, he did show a lot of heart, AMAZING.
   The second fight that is worth seeing is Naoya Ogawa vs. Masaaki Satake, that means JUDO vs. KARATE.
   The Sakuraba fight is actually not worth mentioning. It did not last long.
   I you like grappling or you're a fan of submission, in that case this PRIDE may be the thing you are looking for.
   If you are a fan of KO's or you are a MMA-fan that especially likes the good old days of No Hold barred contest, you may be bored with a number of fights on this DVD.

No comments about Kobudo Sai by Fumio Demura.

No comments about THE SCIENCE OF JIU-JITSU STARRING DEMIAN MAIA, 6 VOLUMES ON 6 DVD'S.

1 comments about World Extreme Fighting: Going Platinum.

1. This appears to be a decent production. They even have Steven "The Fight Professor" Quadros from Pride Fighting on commentary. In this event, we get to see some fighters who either already were or who went on to become great forces in the world of mixed martial arts. Some of the more notable moments are as follows:
   
   Matt Hughes v. Jorge Pereira:
   Matt Hughes' recors was only 14-1 at this time, giving you an idea as to where he was in his stellar career. Pereira also had an impressive record of 9-1, with his only loss being to Pele, who appears at this WEF show in the main event. In the bout, Pereira wisely pulls guard before Hughes can slam him. He gets up for a second and Hughes lands a solid punch that puts him right back on the ground. Hughes gets a great slam and dominates Pereira with his ground and pound. The towel is thrown in after only one round. It's great to see Matt Hughes fights that occur outside of the UFC, as you won't be seeing that these days.
   
   Jens Pulver v. Phil Johns:
   Johns is an accomplished wrestler. Pulver is making a name for himself at the time as a very well-rounded fighter. This is before he goes on that amazing run in the UFC. This one ends suddenly. Awesome!
   
   Brad Kohler v. Renato Sobral:
   This was before Renato was called "Babalu". This is also right after Kohler landed that highlight reel KO on Steve Judson in the UFC. Kohler's power and striking ability are apparent, but Sobral is a technician, who also happens to be able to strike. This fight is not all that exciting, mostly due to Kohler remaining too calm and reserved during the fight. Let's just say this, Sobral is not a "soccer style" kicker... Good ending.
   
   Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira v. Jeremy Horn:
   We know that Nogueira goes on to be one of the best heavyweight fighters in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships - and we all know that Horn is one of the most recognizeable fighters in all of MMA. This fight should have been a lot more exciting than it was. I mean, I certainly appreciate getting to see these two fight and it is a technical fight, but you need one fighter to take some chances somewhere along the line. That doesn't really happen in this fight. The crowd shows their impatience and the fight ultimately goes to a decision.
   
   John Lewis v. Laverne Clark:
   John Lewis, in his UFC debut, put on a great show and was highly touted for his speed and athleticism. This bout isn't the best display of that ability. The fight goes to a decision.
   
   Pat Miletich v. Jose "Pele" Landi:
   I don't know if it was just my copy of the DVD, but the DVD freezes at about 3:30 into the fight and I could not get it to play the remainder. I won't factor this into my review, as I am reviewing the EVENT, rather than the DVD. The fight looks good up until this point and I was able to look the rseult up on sherdog.com. You can do the same - but it would be great to see these two standout figured in MMA go at it.
   
   This is a great event. The DVD is bare-bones and very low-budget, but the calibur of the fighters at this event is pretty much as good as it gets. I recommend seeing this if you're interested in seeing great fighters early in their careers, rather than if you're interested in the spectacle of the more recent UFC events.

No comments about Kickboxing - 2 DVD Set.