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Product Reviews
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Most of these reviews have appeared in our monthly newsletter. If you wish to add your opinion or submit a review for a product you feel strongly about, please contact Stephen via the e-mail address.
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GYMBOSS ROUND TIMER
At around £15 this unit gives a range of options for timing and signalling your rounds. Easy to set up and use, the signals are loud and it is a very good replacement for my old Timex Ironman timer. Very useful if you are working by yourself or with a friend and need to keep up the correct level of intensity. Check Amazon or GymBoss direct for the best price.
01/12/2009
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER SERIES (DVD)
I saw the first series last year and though I enjoyed it I didn't take much notice of the series after that. However I noticed an advert for the DVD set of series 4 and decided to catch up on those I've missed.
At around £13.50 each for 5 Disc sets these were a bit of a bargain and though the 2nd series did not produce many big names it is still a very enjoyable program. Lots of training sequences, insights into the mentality and motivation of the fighters and some good match ups. Not as exciting as the first series now that we are familiar with the format but still worth a look. There is also plenty of drama due to fighters quiting, getting injured and falling out with each other. I've now viewed Series 3 and can confirm that it is the best one so far. Series 4 - The Comeback hasn't as many quality fights but does benefit from a lot of old footage of the contestants previous UFC appearences. With series 5 there is a bit more stupid behaviour (playing up to the cameras?) but the fighters are of a high standard and produce some excellent matches. With the added bonus of the rematch between the coaches, B J Penn and Jens Pulver this is one of the best sets available. Series 6 see Matt Serra and Matt Hughes coach the teams. Not a real depth of talent in this one though the winner is obvious from the start for anyone who follows the non UFC promotions. A very good finale show again. Series 7 & 8 are overall quite disapointing with the "pranks" of the chilish contestants reaching new lows. How is this show supposed to promote the sport? Series 9 is a return to form. The British elimination bouts are all very entertaining and the USA fighters also put on an above average display. Nice to see the British fighters showing a higher level of maturity than we have been used to and they can actually get through a sentence without effing and blinding! A real boost for the image of British MMA. At the price you can get these box sets for now I would recommend all of them (Series 1 is available for less than £10, and all the others cost less than £15). Note that though these sets are advertised as Region 1 (USA) on Amazon they are in fact region free!
04/01/2010
PAIN & GLORY (DVD)
A selection of fights from the last few years covering all four fighting arts showcased at Pain & Glory. Not a bad fight on the disc including the Full Contact bouts which usually leave me cold.
Lots of good fighters in the K1 and Muay Thai fights including Jordan Watson (a rare loss), Craig Jose, Reece Crooke, Peter Crooke and Albert Kraus.
The MMA bouts are mainly short and sweet without a great deal of rolling around on the floor.
At almost four hours of content for less than £8 from Amazon this is a good buy. Sensible commentary from Malcolm Martin and guests add to the enjoyment. Well worth a look.
10/09/2009
TRAINING FOR WARRIORS (Book)
The "Fighters Body" by Christensen and DeMeer recieved a poor review from me on it's release last year. I would expect that book to be useful to anyone new to serious traing especially if they are looking to get into fighting condition and need to manage their weight but it lacks enough detail to be useful for more experienced trainers.
Fortunately the new book by Matin Rooney "Training for Warriors" covers this area in much more detail giving you a mass of information to help you design your own training program. It covers Warm Ups, Conditioning for all parts of the body, Stretching, plus Diet and Making Weight. Also it is very cheap given the size and quality of information it contains.
20/10/2008
IFL KNOCKOUTS & EXTREME ACTION (DVD)
This covers the first season of the International Fight League from 2006/2007 and features a lot of well known fighters. This league is based on the success of teams (5 fighters at different weights) and also features Superfights between the coaches. Names include Jens Pulver, Alan Goes, Matt Lindland, Renzo Gracie, Carlos Newton etc. Good editing and commentary throughout.
The IFL has recently been taken over by the UFC so hopefully they have a future. A very entertaining disc.
19/08/2008
RUMBLE ON THE ROCK (DVD)
Another bargain for those with a multi-region player, this 5 event set of BJ Penn's promotion from Hawai features many familiar names from the worlds top promotions. BJ features in two fights plus Anderson Silva, Frank Trigg, Jake Shields, Ricco Rodriquez, Tank Abbott, Cabbage, Butterbean, Antoni Hardonk, Matt Lindland etc. Good match making, lots of stoppages, lots of blood (knees and elbows to the head on the floor), good commentary. At less than £6 for over 10 hours of top class entertainment this is certainly the bargain of the year so far.
25/07/2008
PRIDE BUSHIDIO No.9 - The Tournament
I was attracted to this DVD by an extra feature on the Shockwave 2005 DVD set. This was the elimination tournament for the Lightweight and Welterweight World title fights held on the Shockwave show.
At the lighter weights the action tends to flow more and in my opinion produces more interesting bouts than the better known Heavyweights.
Fighters include Gomi (The Fireball Kid), Henderson, Bustamante, Hansen and a host of other world class fighters. Lots of striking as well as a fast complex ground game makes this a more palatable spectacle than some MMA releases. Only available in this country as part of a Bushido 5 disc box-set my copy is a Region 1 import from the USA but given the cost of multi-region players it is cheaper to buy another player and pay less for the imports.
01/05/2008
CAGE RAGE KNOCKOUTS (DVD)
Cage Rage Knockouts features 25 fights all ending in a KO or TKO. Fighters with a strong Thai background such as Anderson Silver, Curtis Stout and Melvin Manhoef are showcased and most of the fights are finished through punches, knees and even elbows. The extras are a bit thin and you won't want to watch the clip "When things go wrong" more than once, but overall a very entertaining show.
25/06/2007
MUAY THAI - A Living Legacy (Book)
This book by Prayukong and Junlakan has been hailed as the best book on Muay Thai EVER. Better than the Kraitus Textbook? I don't think so!
Despite the excellent graphics and an extensive section on Thai traditions and history the book does not live up to the hype.
The main problem is that this is volume one of a proposed three volume series and only covers very basic techniques and combinations. I hope the other volumes appear soon but historically publications from Thailand are not too reliable. This is a nice coffee table book and would make a nice present for an enthusiast.
However if you just want solid information on the sport the same money would buy both "Muay Thai Unleashed" by Kraus and "Fighting Strategies of Muay Thai" by Villalobos. For a few pounds extra you could get the Kraitus Textbook, which should still be your first choice.
03/05/2007
KI HEROS 2005 - The Beginning (DVD)
I bought this mainly to see the comeback fight of Ramon Dekkers though the show also features a couple of K1 Heavyweights such as Jerome LeBanner, Sam Greco and Bob Sapp. Overall this is a disappointing release. There are a few miss-matches, with Kick boxers who can’t grapple and Grapplers who can’t strike. On the plus side there are a few good knock outs and one of the best MMA fights I’ve seen for a while featuring Caol Uno and Joachim Hansen. Priced between £13 and £19 depending on where you shop it is difficult to recommend this disc when there are so many better releases on the market for less money.
01/05/07
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