Martial Arts Product Reviews

The 4-Hour Body - Tim Ferriss

2010-12-11T09:48:00.005+10:00

I've been looking forward to receiving the autographed copy of Tim Ferriss' book "The 4-Hour Body" that I pre-ordered a few weeks back. I'm keen to "compare notes" - so to speak - with Tim. Many of the topics addressed are near and dear to me. I have a lot of my own research, as well - and my MO is very similar to Tim's. Anyway, yesterday, I received an emailed PDF copy of the book. I can't

Mastering Mixed Martial Arts: The Guard - Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

2010-10-01T17:32:00.003+10:00

I've always been a great fan of the man known as Nog. His style influenced my style a lot. Although, if you've seen one of my fights, you'll know my guard is not nearly as active and effective as his. As a result, I've also come to inherit his legendary ability to take punishment. Maybe this book is just what I need. I've seen plenty of books on the guard and I've reviewed a lot here. However,

Machida-Do Karate in MMA - Lyoto Machida

2009-06-03T04:50:00.003+10:00

I'm not really a DVD guy. I much prefer books for a number of reasons I've detailed here over the last couple of years. However, I realise there are things you simply need a DVD to get across. That's why Victory Belt's idea of a Machida DVD is a great idea. Video is kind of a new area for Victory Belt. They've released one series in the past - Mastering the Rubber Guard. My review of that DVD set

Anderson Silva's Mixed Martial Arts Instruction Manual - Striking"

2009-01-12T10:30:00.007+10:00

Everyone's used to Victory Belt and have their expectations about what they'll see in the books, nowadays. As a group, VB publications are on a par with some of the higher quality books on the market. They stand out, though, in two areas.The first is the sheer prolific nature of their work. They put out product after product. They release so much that they may, in fact, be their own best

Jiu Jitsu University - Saulo Ribeiro

2008-12-16T12:28:00.009+10:00

In my last review, I mentioned I'd received an early christmas gift from Victory Belt Publications. Well, it wasn't just the Fedor book I received. I also received Saulo Ribeiro's "Jiu Jitsu University". I didn't review this first since it's already received bulk kudos from just about everyone on the web, but I thought I might add my $1 worth (I'm Australian - that probably amounts to US20c at

The Fighting System of the Undisputed King of MMA - Fedor Emelianenko

2008-12-09T12:53:00.007+10:00

This book entered the market a couple of months ago with surprisingly little fanfare. Fedor is pretty much at the top of the game and a look at his game is something most people would really like to see. With the Aussie dollar suffering, I figured it was going to be a while before I got hold of this, but in a wonderful surprise - I received an early Christmas present fom Victory Belt and here I

Eartbound - Ari Bolden

2008-10-24T10:28:00.004+10:00

Like most people who know of him, I was introduced to Ari Bolden's work through the Submissions 101 website. Having seen some of the discussion his site has generated - both positive and negative - I was interested to see the 'Earthbound' DVD when one of my students turned up to class with it.As is the custom here, I'll run through the DVD's contents and production first. The DVD seems to be

Black Ice - AC-DC

2008-10-13T15:45:00.004+10:00

I heard the leaked AC-DC album today. The first thing I thought about it was that it sounds just like every other AC-DC album. Therefore I hereby declare AC-DC's new album to be....... AWESOME.I'm probably affected by the hype a little and the anticipation of them releasing a new album. I can promise you I'll buy a copy on 20 October. Just try to stop me.There's just something about AC-DC flicks

Functional Strength Coach DVD Set - Mike Boyle

2008-08-04T12:17:00.004+10:00

I've had a couple of strength and conditioning video series to review for a while, now. This one I only got very recently, though. And frankly, I'm glad I put off reviewing the others until I'd first seen this one. Why?Because I think this one sets the standard for content - though not so much for production.....Basically, this ten DVD set represents a little over twelve hours of seminar footage

The Essential Guard - Rodrigo Medeiros with Kid Peligro

2008-07-27T17:55:00.006+10:00

I've been meaning to review this book for a while. I bought it around 18 months ago from a retail outlet in Brisbane, Australia. Of course, that means I paid way too much for it, but it turned out to be worth every cent.Like many of Kid Peligro's works, the book is published by Invisible Cities Press. Previous Invisible Cities products reviewed here are 'Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: Theory and Technique'

'Judo for Mixed Martial Arts' - Karo Parisyan

2008-07-16T19:55:00.004+10:00

I’m starting to sound a bit like a broken record with Victory Belt’s great books. VB certainly has a niche in the area of martial arts publishing. They are the kings of taking an accomplished fighter, assessing their game and translating it to the printed page. Their work has been stronger and stronger with each successive book.The latest book is ‘Judo for the Mixed Martial Arts’ and is written

Startegic Guard - Ed Beneville & Joe Moreira

2008-07-07T13:13:00.002+10:00

I've been waiting a long time for this. Another book from Ed Beneville's Grappling Arts Publications. Ed is responsible for the prvious works 'Passing the Guard' (with Tim Cartmell) and 'The Guard' with Joe Moreira.For 'The Strategic Guard', he again teams with his teacher Moreira to produce a volume largely about defending your position in the guard. It also has chapters on sweeps and the

The X-Guard - Marcelo Garcia

2008-04-28T19:34:00.005+10:00

It's no secret that I really enjoy Victory Belt's books. I think they've nailed the format for describing individuals' games and their specialities. They are definitely the market leader in the arena of working with a fighter to extract the information they need and put it into print.It shouldn't surprise any readers, then, that I really liked the X-Guard by Marcelo Garcia.The book has all the

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Basic & Advanced Techniques - Fabio Gurgel

2008-04-28T18:07:00.004+10:00

I've seen quite a number of posts on internet message boards about Fabio Gurgel's "latest" contribution to the instructional book market. The reports seemed solid and I seriously considered buying them for myself. So, imagine my delight when I opened a surprise package from Blue Snake Books and found both volumes inside.Firstly, for those who haven't seen Gurgel's previous series in Portuguese,

Wrestling for Fighting - Randy Couture

2007-12-27T15:50:00.000+10:00

Randy Couture has been one of the poster boys for Mixed Martial Arts competition in recent years - and a good one at that. His words are well thought out, he's articulate, hard-working and talented. A lot is made of his age, as well. However, I don't think it means a great deal except to say he's an example of what hard work and good attitude can acheive.Erich Krauss and Glen Cordoza do a great

Mastering The Saddle - Scott Sonnon

2007-12-11T20:11:00.001+10:00

One thing you can’t take away from Scott Sonnon is his thoroughness and attention to detail. If Scott puts something to video, you can bet it is well researched and intricately explained. In fact, the most common complaint I hear about Scott’s work is just that. His explanations can be complex and tend to use a lot of “manufactured terminology” – Scott’s term, not mine. Ironic, too, when you

'Muay Thai Unleashed' - Erich Krauss & Glen Cordoza

2007-11-10T10:27:00.000+10:00

Like most old guys, I got interested in the martial arts when I saw the seventies and eighties action movies with the likes of Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee. Sometimes, after a few drinks, I might even admit to watching Jean Claude Van Damme's movies. It's one of the reasons I quit drinking.Those old movies conentrated very heavily on striking arts, and that's where I got my start. Throughout my

Xplosiv Fight Shorts

2007-11-10T09:18:00.000+10:00

I had been struggling with my one pair of fight shorts - the HCK ones I reviewed a while back. Trying to get them clean for my next training session was always a drama, since I train pretty much daily. Plus, with the weather getting warmer here on the bottom part of the world, I was going to be needing them a lot more. So, I was very pleased when I was sent a pair of XPlosiv fight shorts to

'One Minute Solutions to Your One Hour Problems' - JC Santana

2007-07-01T10:19:00.000+10:00

Anyone who has seen Intocombat's SAID range of DVD videos will know the basic philosophy Juan Carlos Santana uses to train fighters for competition. The DVDs are an excellent resource for fighters of all disciplines who are looking for a modern approach to conditioning for combat sports. It seems, though, that JC is dissatisfied with simply providing you a how-to. In the 'One Minute Solutions to

HCK Grappling Shorts

2007-06-16T17:38:00.001+10:00

I am a difficult person to fit when it comes to pants. I am over 6'6" tall and have thighs in excess of 30" around. I had heard on various forums that the HCK shorts had a long and baggy fit, so I gave them a go. I had been in contact with Howard Liu in the past and I had always found him to be courteous and helpful. However, this time, Budovideos.com were having a sale on my gi of choice, so I

'Mixed Martial Arts - The Book of Knowledge' with BJ Penn

2007-06-09T17:46:00.000+10:00

When I recently read Victory Belt's publication 'Mastering the Rubber Guard' with Eddie Bravo, I was impressed. It made considerable strides in improving over his last book 'Jiu-Jitsu Unleashed' and gave a detailed insight into one of the most misunderstood positions in today's Jiu-Jitsu world. Well, as far as I'm concerned, Victory Belt has done it again with BJ Penn's 'Mixed Martial Arts - The

BJJ Online Training Comparo

2007-06-04T13:31:00.000+10:00

While waiting in a doctor's surgery recently, I came upon the idea of doing a couple of 'comparos' a la Motor magazine and the like. Basically, they take a bunch of cars in the same class and flog the backside out of them. Then, they report the results. You know - how fast they go, fuel economy and which ones blew up versus the ones that didn't.Well, I'm pleased to say I've performed one such

Dogs of War Online BJJ Training

2007-05-23T05:01:00.000+10:00

Some time ago, DogsofWar.net started the first online BJJ training class with Cesar Gracie. I'm a fan of Cesar's first video series and I wanted to give it a try, but I couldn't afford the $21.95 a month. I still can't afford it, but I thought I'd drop the cash so I could be thorough in my review of the available online training classes. Plus, I might pick something up in the process.The site is

Sambo MMA Leg Attacks - Scott Sonnon

2007-05-05T10:24:00.001+10:00

Firstly, let me explain that this DVD was generously supplied to me by Coach Sonnon to review. I had wanted to review his earlier work ‘Immovable Object Unstoppable Force’ - a video set I consider to be extremely valuable. However, Scott preferred I review a newer incarnation of his work and sent me ‘Sambo MMA Leg Attacks’, a part of the RMAX Master Series.It was a bold move. Scott knew my review

Intu-Flow - Scott Sonnon / RMax

2007-03-30T13:55:00.001+10:00

I don't really know why I stopped doing Scott Sonnon's Warrior Wellness program. It was twenty some-odd minutes out of my life each morning and seemed to do the job for me. What job? You might ask.....The job of helping me wake up and get the early morning stiffness, aches and pains out of my body. As I progressed into the intermediate phase of training, I found myself able to move more freely