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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A possible History of Martial arts, January 16, 2004
This review is from: Modern Warriors (DVD)
Im not going to list the martial artist since others have already done so. Instead, I'll describe the DVDs contents. It starts by tracing asian martial arts back to China from which it spread and changed as it entered different parts of asia. From their, it spread to America and Europe. As people became aware of the different styles of combat, a desire to find out which is the best naturally developed. Mixed martial arts events (MMA) were held and quickly techniques that worked and those that didn't revealed themselves. Today, do to contests like Pride FC and UFC, the modern martial artist is a mixture of styles using any technique from any style to win. Although I liked this DVD and recomend it, I disagree that tournaments are the testing grounds for real street fighting techniques. Even the "No holds barred" fights (NHB) have rules that prevent eye gouging, fish hooking, single-finger locks. Think about the above three, aren't they the most effective way to attack someone? Specially if his stronger than you?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"It's not about what the art used to be", September 6, 2011
This review is from: Modern Warriors (DVD)
"Modern Warriors" is a 55-minute documentary billing itself as a behind-the-scenes look at famous contemporary martial arts practitioners, but comes off more as a forum through which these guys debate the superiority of two styles of systems: the idealized "traditional" manner of martial arts combining mind, body and spirit and an overall quest for nonviolence, and the more contemporary street fighting mentality priding itself on total physical efficiency. It's a pretty balanced presentation and an interesting examination of the opinions of the people who know this stuff better than anyone. Proponents of either school of thought should find this interesting. The one real disappointment this documentary offers is that it examines martial arts almost purely in their application to combat: with the possible exceptions of Bong Soo Han and Alan Lamb, no one addresses the martial arts in a non-fighting context for their tremendous potential as a means of self-discipline and social betterment. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course, since the forms vs. freestyle and art vs. sport debates - conducted via separate interviews - are illuminating and entertaining. The list of genuine superstars featured is truly impressive: you've got almost everyone from Jhoon Rhee to Jet Li venerating technique and the limitless application of internal training, and stars as diverse as Rorian Gracie and Richard Norton promoting mixed martial arts and the practical benefit of open fighting competitions. Seagal and Van Damme are conspicuous by their absence. (There are only two interviewees who I really wish weren't included in here, based on what they have to say: Pancrase icon Bas Rutten, who spends all his screentime talking about himself but hardly mentions any kind of technique, and Louis Mandylor ["Martial Law"], who sourly downplays any kind of family atmosphere in teaching youngsters the martial arts. Sure, Louis - let's keep kids from developing a love for this early in life, just to abide by your he-man ideal) A variety of subjects are explored, eliciting surprising sentiments from some folks (e.g. old-schoolers Howard Jackson and Sammo Hung claim never to have used their traditional training in real street fights), but most of the discussion centers around a few core topics: the state of full-contact karate/kickboxing following the outdating of traditional point-fighting, a specific technique's effectiveness in the event of a mugging, the influx of grappling into the martial arts world, and the 'focused mind vs. strong body' debate. The stars do a good job of matching eachother tit-for-tat on both sides, but despite how polarizing the debate can be by default, there are no right or wrong answers here as I'm concerned. It's difficult to disregard what most of these guys have to say, since they are all speaking from experience and as masters of the style they practice, be it Babatu Vita Casel on the potential combat applications of wushu or Mark "The Smashing Machine" Kerr claiming "not one art is gonna stand alone" when comparing the different styles for practicality. "Modern Warriors" doesn't really stand out: it's not very flashy, so you'd have to be a fan of someone involved with the film to make the effort of finding it worthwhile. I kinda wish it was longer and more inclusive of other perspectives, but because the filmmakers did a good job of condensing the opinions they were presented, longer runtime would likely only consist of more of the same, so this is forgivable. It's by no means a must-have article, given the availability of similar debates covering the same ground in any number of online sites and forums, but if you're looking for a mostly-intelligent volley on this given topic with the bonus of seeing some of your favorite action performers spout off, it ought to be worth a buy.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Obscure MA Doco. Offers Unique Realism, October 11, 2009
This review is from: Modern Warriors (DVD)
After the first twenty minutes, which sets the scene and is indistinguishable from any other martial arts doco, the real tone of this film begins to emerge. The film makers have been wise enough to go to the fighters who have actually gotten results in the fighting/martial arts world, that is, those who have actually been a part of real life fighting action. And what a selection. The Gracies, Benny Urquidez, Richard Norton, Dan Inosanto and many, many others all speak candidly about what they believe the true essence of fighting/martial arts is. You feel like you are sitting on the gym floor with them as they share advice and anecdotes. They mostly say one thing: real fighting is damn ugly and if you can't hit hard, and take a hard hit, you have a lot of work to do before you can consider yourself ready for the world out there. That's not to say they don't expound good technique. Quite the contrary. What I find refreshing about this doco is that it focuses on the ugly, nitty gritty side of fighting/martial arts instead of showing the other-worldly, visually spectacular aspect of martial arts which has been done ad infinitum. I gave it four stars because in terms of classic cinema it does not stand out, but frankly, the content is so good I don't care personally. For me its a five star. Sports/motivation fans should get something out of this too. It is entertaining for non-martial artists but they may find it less absorbing. There is only one real extra on the DVD but it is worth the cost of another DVD, as it is over an hour of outtakes from the interviews, clipped together on various subjects. This is just what I liked as the film left me wanting more. I'm glad I bought this DVD and I will be watching it many times over. I recommend that any serious martial artist/security worker watch this doco. at least once. If you don't find it informative (and I'd be very surprised) you'll find it entertaining.
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