3 comments about Beginner's Guide To Kendo And Iaido vol.2.

1. A really good training dvd ..it has given me lots of great kendo moves and defences that I can practice ... a very worthwhile investment..



2. This dvd was much better than Vol. 1 which suffered from audio difficulties. I found the demonstrations to be very well executed and explained in great detail.
   
   This dvd would be an excellent aid to augment regular instruction and training



3. I can tell that this is junk. He's not wearing a kendo keikogi. He was not wearing one in the first volume either. His saya is flat against his stomach. How was he supposed to draw his sword? Did he draw it correctly, and then move his saya to the front? What is his left hand doing? Is he going to catch the opponent's sword before it slices through his head? What's he supposed to do with all his weight on his rear foot? Why is his grip on the sword so square? What is he going to strike. Is he going to push the back of the sword with his left forearm? I never saw a corduroy hakama in Japan. Must be really old. I never heard any real kendo sensei call himself a master. I have seen sensei give really cursory instruction to foreigners. I have seen foreigners pass tests that they had no business taking. So, just because a foreigner claims that they were taught by Japanese sensei, that means absolutely nothing to me. It sounds like he doesn't speak Japanese or else he would use the correct term instead of "take away". There are no secret waza in kendo. I have known Japanese sensei teaching foreigners kamae from a manga as a joke. Maybe that's what happened here.
   
   Anyway, this looks like junk kendo. If you want to learn, go to a non-profit dojo. It's cheap, and you'll meet nice people. For the price of this DVD, your whole family can just about get a month's worth of instruction.

1 comments about Throw down.

1. Throw Down is a real crowd-pleaser despite being more interested in the quirky characters than the judo bouts in the film. Johnnie To's tribute to Kurosawa and filled with references to Sugata Sanshiro (far more than the one that To admits to), it actually feels more like a Hong Kong version of Britcom Black Books, with Luis Koo's drunken former judo prodigy staggering his way from scam to scam with his two employees between mismanaging his nightclub with about as much grasp of conventional reality as Bernard Black.
   
   It's a redemption story, of course, with the cocky young challenger Aaron Kwok and the death of a friend eventually spurring him to clean up his act. Although it's filled with great moments of pure filmmaking, from the slow-motion bar-room judo brawl that spills out into the street to Cherrie Ying running joyfully through the streets with her hands full of stolen cash while her pursuers sporadically stop to pick up the stray notes that fall from her arms, it's not really an action movie: even the final fight between Koo and Tony Leung Ka-Fei is almost thrown away. It's the disparate characters and the sheer enjoyment To takes in them that makes this work. Even one of the villains of the piece, Siu-Fai Cheung's Brother Savage, who lives to humiliate children and customers by beating them at the games in his arcade, is impossible to really hate, while Leung's character is never turned into a monster who must be destroyed but simply an adversary who must be beaten fair and square. Great fun.

1 comments about Sword Stained with Royal Blood: Complete TV Series.

1. When this release was first listed on Amazon, it was declared to be widescreen anamorphic (16:9). Now it is declared to be fullscreen (4:3) - Well, it's neither... It's 16:9 letterboxed into 4:3. And since the subtitles are aligned so that they extend partly into the lower black border, you can't "zoom" to fill the screen without making some of the subtitles unreadable.
   
   Picture quality is above average for a Chinese TV release on dvd, and subtitles are WAY above the usual quality. The subs are nearly proper English, proper names are mostly capitalised, and some punctuation is even provided!
   
   The show itself is entertaining... Chock full of wirework and swordplay. For the price it is a good deal, but it's about time that Chinese releases made for the U.S. market were released in widescreen, isn't it?

5 comments about Drunken Master (Dub).

1. this is one of the best movies but its rated pg 13 not r i own this movie and
   it says pg 13



2. Jackie Chan plays a talented young kung-fu artist whose overconfidence and disrespect results in his tutelage under the sadistic master of drunken kung-fu. He improves his style, becomes a better person, and defeats a villainous assassin who has been sent to kill his father. There is really nothing to recommend in this ultra low-budget film other than the excellent work of the kung-fu fighters and Jackie Chan's charisma, but that's plenty. You'll have to endure the creaky, clichéd plot at time, but never fear--there's always another fight coming.



3. A high school student recommended I check out this dvd to learn a little bit more about Kung Fu. I'm glad I did.
   As a dance teacher, I enjoyed Jackie Chan's and the other performers' technical skill, strength, style, humor, beauty of motion, and the similarity between this martial art form and dance.



4. I won't sit here, lie and say that Drunken Master is one of my favorite fu flicks or the best ever just to please the masses. I see several that I find alot better. But it is a very entertaining watch and I encourage anyone who considers themselves fans of Jackie to check this out. Drunken Master combines a nice blend of action and comedy.
   
   The film is blessed with some pretty good, well choreographed fights. And the writing is alot better than people give it credit for. This isn't just a mindless action fest. The fights happen for a reason and everything lead to something. Jackie gave a very good performace but what brings me back to this film is his opponent Thunderfoot. This guy works his legs like a magician. The very few fights he's in are spectacular.
   
   The thing I like about this film the most is the final battle. Even though Jackie learned a very dangerous style. The final battle wasn't one sided at all. This could have easily ruined the whole film for me.
   
   The biggest problem that I have with this film is that Jackie never matures. He stays the same hothead that doesn't take much seriously. A little character development never hurt anything. Still this is a pretty good fu flick that I'm glad to keep around.



5. ALOT of martial arts action a fight like every 3 minutes it has a good story line and jackie chan will always be known as the drunken master

No comments about Nakamura Ryu Japanese Swordsmanship.

1 comments about TAEKWONDO: Osamu Inque's Advanced Training.

1. Once you've mastered martial artist Osamu Inoue's basic training and intermediate courses, you're ready for this advanced tae kwon do lesson. Inoue leads students through a series of step-by-step demonstrations that build on foundational skills. Students learn how to refine their sparring, avoid common mistakes and use postures, punches, kicks and blocks in more advanced, black-belt forms of the ancient martial art.

1 comments about Kung Fu Weapon: Three-Sectional Staff.

1. Great book! Great pictures so you can learn enough to get yourself in major trouble. Use this book with alot of guidance from your SIFU! Do this on your own and the three section staff will sense your weakness and immediatley try to kill you by attacking your head, and other parts of the body! Start small and build up then maybe you will only be slightly wounded! Maybe get a knights helm and wear it when you practice! That might help! Any way, the book is great! But after trying out this weapon...well its time for my spinning class! Have fun!

No comments about Cold War.

No comments about Richard Bustillo IMB Kali Jeet Kune Do Academy DVD #3 Muay Thai Kickboxing.

5 comments about The Flying Guillotine.

1. This movie is for the true fan of the the classic Kung Fu movies. The fighting is sparse and none too impressive. The overall story is good but lacks much of the action to compete with the other classics. The premise of decapitating your foe is interesting at first but loses its luster quickly. Having to wait until the end of the movie for the big fight scene isn't worth it.



2. It's true, it doesn't have quite the action and hand-to-hand of 'other classics' like, i.e., The Kid with The Golden Arm, but you have to own this title anyways, or you're just posing.
   The movie is different from those 'other classics' in that it's hero is more of a 'real' person than the hero in those 'other classics'. He can't kick your head off, and he can't whip his ponytail through your torso (which _is_ a weak point of this movie, I'll grant you), but he loves his wife and son, he's a good, moral man who is deeply disturbed by the situation in which he finds himself.
   This movie has extremely rapid plot development, and the viewer can feel how the young protagonist is swept up by the pace of developments - fueled by the impatience of the godlike Emperor. The Emperor summons you to his palace. Of course you go, dropping everything instantly, because this man can have your whole city burned if he had a bad bowel movement that morning.
   Your new life is to live at the palace and study to master a new weapon. Should you manage to complete the ultra-demanding training, you will be the Emperor's Special Ops forces, used to kill traitors. It's a huge honor, involves major prestige to your whole family, and mondo cash.
   During the blur of the intense training, you are awakened after even less sleep than usual, with a veritable parade of courtiers who convey the will of the Emperor: it's time to put that training to the test.
   You hustle off in the middle of the night, and one of you kills the appointed target.
   Later, at an interlude in the training, it becomes clear that the victim was a 'good guy'. It must have been a mistake, right? No way the Emperor could be wrong, right? It becomes clear that even such discussion amongst the troops reaches the ear of the Emperor, and paranoia mounts. Disobedience is instant death, the walls have ears, and there are jealousies and tensions as strong undercurrents threatening to destabilize an already tenuous position stressed by a power-mad Emperor.
   Another mid-night mission, and the target is another 'good guy'. The fine, upstanding men recruited are morally at odds with the will of the Emperor, and cracks appear in their committment. The troops are divided along moral lines.
   Now, one of the evil troopers receives a clandestine mission, and his target is one of the more vocal troops in opposition to the murder.
   The pressure is intolerable, the situation explodes, and the hero breaks loose from the now hopelessly corrupt group.
   He is hunted, but survives each encounter because he was the best of the group, and because he is helped by a woman who falls in love with him.
   They mangage to avoid capture, but eventually are found, and the climactic battle ensues.

   I loved this movie, although the score occasionally makes you long for deafness.
   Watch it for the history behind the sequel (which is not really a sequel): The Master of the Flying Guillotine, which has none of the plot development, intrigue, or drama, but has the lethal ponytails and blitzkreig action.

   Two pillars of the art.




3. you have to be kiding me this movie is way to long and has very little action. a much better guillotine movie is " fatal flying guillotine" buy that one instead and enjoy.



4. Don't be fooled by the caption on the DVD box - "special wide screen edition "because it's full screen.An excellent Shaw Brothers early 70 movie,still has alot of action and is still very entertaining.However I feel conned because it's not wide screen as stated.This dvd must be the worst ever transfer from vhs.Eventhough it's a great movie,please wait for a better copy.



5. It's a shame that these classic Martial Arts films are not given a more appropriate presentation. This film is one of the best of the Shaw Brothers Classic Action flicks. It started a series with Master of the Flying Guillotine coming soon after. It's true that this Hong Kong franchise was just another shameless money-making enterprise, but it's influence on mainstream American filmmaking cannot be denied. Culturally, these films carried an impressive blend of folktale and proletarian values that are very near to the Chinese way of thinking. The bloody revenge seeking working-class heroes personified a kind of wish-fulfilment on the part of the Hong Kong movie-goer. With the British controlling the Chinese Port it became a characteristic of the populace to want to see Justice doled out aginst the odds. What better weapon to fight the Industrialisation of the European infestation but the ancient Martial Arts. A weapon from distant, traditional, near mythic times fed nostalgia and fueled the desires of a movie-going public that wanted to excorcise the bloodied changes brought about by the Hybrid British Colonisers by reflecting it in their forms of entertainment. One of those weapons is THE FLYING GUILLOTINE!!!!!!!