2 comments about Advanced Knife Defense.

1. I have trained in the martial arts for 18 years. I have the rank of 4th Dan black belt. This video is good it has many joint locks,throws and take-downs used on a knife welding opponent. Many of the attacks are front stabs. There are other angles someone can strike you. Toward the end of the video you will learn how to get out of positions that would be someone's worst nightmare. Like someone who has you on the ground standing over you with a knife to your through. The list could go on there are so many techniques. I don't see this as a end all video, but I did skip the first one in the series. I do recommend this video, and it does live up to the it's name Advanced Knife Defense.



2. The martial art that I teach is Hapkido. I am always looking for new DVD's that instruct in certain self defense methods. As usually with most of the DVD's on the market, some of the techniques are applicable to the street and some simply will not work. This is the case with this DVD. This is not a DVD for the beginner, but for the more advanced student. If you know the art then you will be able to pick and choose the techniques that work. As for the instruction - it is excellent. The technique is rerun several times and then in slow motion and explained. Would I recommend it for the advanced martial art student - yes.

No comments about Bas Rutten Big DVD of Combat.

1 comments about World Extreme Fighting - Road to Glory, Vol. 1.

1. This is an edited version of WEF: Going Platinum. Several of the fights from that event are missing as is most of the between round analysis. Also, my copy appeared to be a DVD-r with an ink-jet printed label on the disc. I highly recommend WEF: Going Platinum (especially if you are an MFS fan - you get Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Jeremy Horn, Laverne Clarke, and even Pat Miletich himself) but would recommend you pass on this version which only shows about 2/3 of the event.

5 comments about Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

1. Crouching Tiger is not really a Kung Fu movie. The fight sequences are stylized and interjected with gravity-defying feats, flying, fantastical jumping, and flips. The fight scenes become almost a 3D ballet. I liked it, but don't come into this movie expecting Bruce Lee action sequences. The fight scenes are more of a dance. The fights are mainly sword fights, although there are a few hand-to-hand battles as well. The acting is superb. The story line is more of a fairy tale than straight fiction, but the movie works superbly well. Michelle Yeoh's physical acting are displayed as well as her emotional range. Chow is great as the swordsman and Zhang Ziyi is very good as well.
   
   The movie tells the story of several stories of love, of revenge, of loyalties, and of duty. It concerns duty to one's family, to society and to one's self. A fairy tale is used to tie the plot lines together. The movie has a great medieval setting. The scenery switches from deserts, to Peking, to bamboo forests, and to mountains. In every case, the views are breathtaking. The bamboo forest fight is very strange, but it works.
   
   My wife didn't like the movie because if its fantastical elements, but it is one of the best movies I have seen for a long time. I don't know much about the superbit technology, but my DVD looks great and the sound is good too.



2. How do you sum up Crouching?
   Brilliant, touching, amazing!!!
   Incredible acrobatics, incredible scenery, an awesome script and great actors and martial artists.
   What's not to like about this movie?
   Not my favorite, I liked Hero and Curse of the Golden Flower better but for different reasons.
   Still, a must see if your new to the recent wave of martial arts flicks.
   A word of advice, watch it with the subtitles on and not the English voiceovers as they are terribly done.



3. This movie was good until the ending which made no sense and sucked. Also all the people just "flying" around seemed kinda silly... And I like kung fun movies, but this one was a little over the top unbelievable...



4. I was expecting so much out of this movie because of all the hype following it. I am an avid reader and do not normally mind subtitled movies (ie.. Pan's Labyrinth and Kung-Fu Hustle.. BTW, Kung-Fu Hustle is LOTS OF FUN!) but there were PARAGRAPH AFTER PARAGRAPH, NOT SENTENCES, OF DIALOG.. FAR TOO MANY SUBTITLES GOING ON AND ON FOREVER, AND GOING BY QUICKLY, that I could not figure out who was who or what was what in this movie. I lost the plot in the first half hour. I was so busy trying to read that my contacts kept drying out and I could not enjoy anything else going on in the film. If you're a martial arts purist, maybe you would enjoy it more than myself. Also, maybe I could have enjoyed it more dubbed in English.



5. Now, I know a lot of people don't love this movie. But hear me out before you disagree.
   I acknowledge that this film was made with a western audience in mind. That means that as a typical wuxia film it is watered-down by comparison. It was also apparent that they tried to do a lot with the script, probably too much, so as to please the arthouse crowd.
   
   Because of those things I can't review it as a traditional HK film. Also, this movie was the final part in a three-part process that was absolutely critical to American cinema.
   
   Part 1: The introduction of Jet, Jackie, Michelle, John, Chow, Tsui and Ringo to American audiences. It got them used to seeing the kung fu, the wires, and stylistic, kinetic bullet ballet.
   
   Part 2: "The Matrix". "The Matrix" took HK choreography, wires and all, and made it mainstream acceptable. Sure, a lot of our directors tried it and failed, but at least the audience was ready for it (and even now anticipating it).
   
   Part 3: "Crouching Tiger". A full Asian film, starring Asian actors, loaded with HK choreography and stylish wirework. A film that 5 years prior would have been an arthouse flick, at best, was now a mainstream, widely accepted, critically acclaimed, award winning film. This film finally made it acceptable to import more and more of HK to our shores.
   
   Look at what has happened since this film came out. Look how many more Asian action films find their way to our theaters...and not just the little theaters. We've been given Dragon Dynasty so we can get great picture quality, no editing to our movies, subtitles that actually mean something, and extras that have translation to them. Asian re-makes are all the rage in the US. And on and on. . .
   
   As an up and coming filmmaker who grew up watching all the great classic asian action films, it is now acceptable for me to incorporate a true HK style into my work. When I tell the studio I want to hang 2 of my actors from wires and have them fly around fighting one another, there's no fights or strange looks. Hellboy 2 was loaded with wire work. And we owe it all to CTHD.
   
   Besides that I do enjoy the film immensely. I got a little choked-up during the first fight between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi when people in the theater were cheering, watching something I'd known existed for decades. Better late than never.
   
   Wo Ping is a true artist, and CTHD gave him the talent and the leeway to create- talent and leeway that the Matrix was lacking. The visuals are spectacular. The performances are incredible. I always liken Chow to Morgan Freeman. No matter what role they play, they always bring a certain degree of respect and sophistication, with just a hint of the regal, to it.
   
   It is a fantastic movie. And more than that, it is an important movie. No, it is not pure HK. It is watered-down and it does have its flaws. But I love it and I will always be grateful to it for the doors it opened.

4 comments about Beyond the Ring.

1. was invited to pre-screening. In short, falls well below my already low expectations for an action/ martial arts film. In my opinion this was like watching Kickboxer if it were a made for T.V. movie for the womens entertainment channel. you have to sit through seventy minutes of soap opera story and laughably horrible "acting" thorugh emotions of a man who can't act. Lets just say Gary Busy is the most SERIOUS actor in this film. that should say enough. Until finally, in minutes 110-115 there is a really badly corriographed fight scene. Think if your students tried to stage a fight for film. You can obviously see in this film there is no contact in punches/ kicks, and the jui jitsu is really planned out looking and un-natural. I warned you not to watch this! Dont waste your time. I recommend sitting in front of your favourite Bruce Lee film you havent seen for 14 months instead, or atleast something in the B category like Bloodsport. But if that is the case, I rate Beyond the ring a letter C or D, and will honestly say it is Beyond the worst film I have seen in 2007. May be great as a Mystery science theatre 3OOO flick?



2. Sorry..... this film lacks everything that it claims! The acting is sooooooo bad and the lead can't even speak english correctly!!! He should go back to Brazil! Maybe he can get some parts down there in portugese. Anyways, the only thing that saves it from a no star is the action scene at the end. If you want a real good martial arts movie, go buy Bruce Lee's collection that includes Enter the Dragon. This is a true Martial Artist in action. Master Bruce Lee will always be the best Martial Arts film director, choreographer, actor, and stunt man!



3. This movie is "OK" to watch. The theme and storyline are alright and pretty realistic; however, the acting wasn't the best i've seen. There wasn't as many fight scenes as I wanted. If I could do it all over agian. I'd rather rent the movie instead of buying it.



4. It feels good to say that I actually enjoyed watching this after I purchased the DVD which turned out to be a decent enough investment. The acting is what is expected in a B-Grade movie...not that crash hot but the fight scenes are cool and some demonstrations performed by Lima make up for the lack of serious acting. Martin Kove and Gary Busy were the two best actors in the film.
   
   What I liked most about Beyond The Ring is the storyline and the realism involved. Not so much realistic fight scenes but you can see that our hero (the main character) is only human and not a one man army who can bash up 10 people at a time.
   
   I recommend Beyond The Ring to anyone who is a martial arts movie fan like myself but everyone has different taste. I hope those who don't take these kind of movies too seriously can sit down and enjoy watching this.

5 comments about Ong Bak - The Thai Warrior [UMD for PSP].

1. Tony Jaa has an interesting fighting style and on-screen charisma. That wasn't quite enough to carry this film, though. Once you get past the poor script, the poor acting, the poor camera work and the poor lighting, you've basically got something that resembles an early 80s action film instead of the slick new films being made today.
   
   Jaa is impressive with his rough and tumble style of Muay Thai fighting, much tougher than Van Damme's style with lots of knees, elbows and head slams thrown in. Unfortunately, he does more running and jumping in this movie than fighting. When he does fight, it's either against the type of skinny, scrawny extras who always got mowed down by Bruce Lee by the dozens, or it's against villians who look like the boss characters in 80s video games. They have names like Mad Dog and Big Bear, they look more weird than tough, and they only have one or two good moves.
   
   Another quirk about this film was the fact that some of the fight scenes seemed to be sped up, making them look like old black and white Keystone Cops sequences. The fact that most of the fighters appear to be about 3 feet tall on screen made these fight scenes resemble a couple of little kids slapping each other on a school playground. Maybe that's just the Thai style of film making, though...



2. If you enjoy Martial Arts then you will like this. Sure it is cheesy and subtitled but the Muay Thai fighting is so fun to watch. Tony Jaa is truly amazing.



3. Admittedly I'm not keen on the story....but talk about jaw dropping action. Its just well executed moves... one after the other from a real life martial artist. To see Tony Jaa in action is to oberserve a disciplined student of an ancient art. Simply breath taking to say the least.



4. Easily the best martial arts movie ever made. Great muy thai. I train in the art, and the movie is like watching an instructional video on thai boxing. It has everything and more that you would ever need in a MA movie. Best ever.



5. Tony Jaa, the new champion. This movie has excellent stunts ands fight scenes a must buy for martial arts lovers. you won't regret.

No comments about Shinobi.

1 comments about Crash Masters Collection - 2 Great Cavaliers.

1. The selling point to this is that it has like 7 of the biggest names in the biz. John Liu, angela Mao, Lo Lieh, Beardy, a swordsman who I should know the name of, and the baddie from jet li's iron rooster vs. centipede(this is only the second movie I have ever seen him in). So the story is ok, and other than the final fight and seeing john liu's leg go up high, this really sucked. It is like they didn't even try to make it look like any contact was made. The facial expressions sell what is going on, but I need SOME sort of realism in a serious movie like this.

1 comments about Shaolin Popey II - Messy Temple.

1. This is one of those "only in HK" type of movies, so if you like that notion, this movie is for you. The story is good enough(keeps you interested), there's plenty of humor(of the silly type), and there are some good action sequences in the last third of the film(involving 2 kung fu kids against adults). If you like the unique fantasy, comedy, type movie with some wire-fu thrown in...buy it. Otherwise, a rental should do you.
   
   Verdict: I enjoyed this movie, it's in my collection, but it's definitely an acquired taste.
   
   best feature- very offbeat
   
   worst feature- could've used more fight scenes

2 comments about Tai Chi For Back Pain.

1. I buy these DVDs for senior citizens (~75 years old) who are looking to exercise. One of my seniors has back pain, so this was a very intriguing DVD. Overall, Dr. Lam does a good job. But there is way too much talking interspersed throughout and this actually annoys the one senior citizen I got this DVD for. So at least from her, she did not like it. I personally liked his gentle techniques. Overall, I'd hope that someone else produces another DVD for people with back pain (so many of us are out there) that is a bit more movement centered rather than talking centered.



2. I've had periodic bouts with back spasms and back pain for the past 6 years. I'm very lazy when it comes to doing excercises. I'd rather play tennis instead. I've had this DVD for over a year but never really did the exercises. As soon as my back got better, I would forget about it or doing any excercise. This past episode of back pain made me watch this DVD again. The DVD is informative and has interviews with back Drs and physical therapists. They attribute back pain to muscle imbalances. The video shows a shortened version of Tai Chi designed to develop the core/stabilizing muscles of the body, along with improving the posture and increasing flexibility. The instructions were very patiently explained and easy to follow. The positions are easy to learn and did not strain my back.
   
   I don't know how long I will keep doing these exercises. However, I do enjoy it. And I think it helps.