Customer Reviews

Rickson Gracie: Choke [VHS]

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Rickson Gracie "Choke" is more than just a fight video - it captures the anxiety, preparation, and visceral intensity behind the competitors as they prepare for competition. View at the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a much deeper background.

The video captures the preparation for, and competition in Vale Tudo Japan 1995, a mixed martial arts competition where almost anything goes. ("Vale Tudo" is Portuguese for "Anything Goes", but the rules are not quite that extreme.)

The video takes an in depth look at 3 of the participants.
1 - Todd Hays is an all around gifted athlete, with a background in kickboxing. His mixture and fear are apparent as he attempts to use this event to pay for his Olympic bobsleading dreams.
2 - Koichiro Kimura is a Japanese amateur shootfighting champion, who wants nothing more than to test himself against the best. You get to meet his parents, who are affraid he'll die in the ring.
3 - Rickson Gracie is the defending champion, as well as the best of the famous Gracie family. It's no suprise that he gets the lion's share of the publicity.

In addition to the gritty reality of the fighting, you're introduced to some humorous back scene footage: Rickson's desire for a belt in addition to a trophy brings some chuckles, as does his last minute desire to hit the restroom. A near blind Yuki Nakai is both valiant and funny when he screams, "Rickson, I'm coming for you!"

If you're looking for a technique video, this is not it. If you're looking for 2 hours of fighting from the best guys out there today, again this is not the video. If you're looking to understand the mind of the fighter, in the context of the ring, this is the only DVD out there. I was rivited from start to finish.

This documentary is about a man who is by far the classiest, humbliest human being in the NHB fighting business. Rickson Gracie is a true artist as he states in this video. He is not about hurting anyone, which he makes clear in the championship fight at the end. He is about artistic combatism and he is the greatest of them all.

This video is a must see for anyone who is a student of life and enjoys participating in sports and wants to better him or herself.

As a student of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (Torrance Academy) I recommend this video to all.

This movie has become a classic in the mixed martial arts. It covers Rickson Gracie's training for for the Vale Tudo Japan tournament of 1995. This tournament paved the way for tounaments such as Pride in Japan, just as the UFC improved the sport's popularity in the US.

Rickson's presence at the tournament was important as the Brazilians had developed single combat to a fine art. The Gracies were (and are) the epitome of development of the style and Rickson was the family champion.

The outcome of the tournament is not hard to predict. What is useful to see, here, is the training for the tournament. The training his hard but precise and the story shows that Gracie is a family man and all-round good guy outside the ring.

Rickson is analytical and understands that what he does isn't violence as his intent is to win in competition, not necessarily to injure his opponent. That is the take home lesson of competitive martial arts.

This is a must see.

This superb documentary shows the why Rickson Gracie is such a
successful and impressive martial artist. An examination of the
lifestyle - including diet, stretching and breathing exercises, meditation,
fight strategy, workouts, and family commentaries - which allow one
to view the day to day preparation of this legendary fighter.
Similarly, we see up close and personal accounts of his opponents
in this particular Pride event. Very revealing and noteworthy the
differences in habits and lifestyle leading to the later results.
Some good fights, some less than hoped for. Yet Master Gracie
never disappoints and displays the true manners as well as talent
that any martial artist should strive for.
A perfect video to have in any martial arts collection.
Enjoy, Laurence

If you're curious about "ultimate fighting", this is a high-quality documentary to learn what it's all about, and follow the story of one of the best MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters of all time, Rickson Gracie.

However, MMA has changed hugely since the UFC started (showcasing Rickson's brother Royce Gracie) in 1993. "Choke"'s Japanese tournament in 1995 was still early days. While Rickson was (and is) one of the best MMA fighters ever, his opponents weren't as competent as the top fighters are today. The Pride tournaments in Japan and the UFC in the USA showcase the world's top MMA talent fighting today.

You shouldn't watch Choke looking for insight into strategies the very best fighters use in unarmed combat, because aside from Rickson most of the competitors in Choke were relatively new to the sport. That said, Choke is a much higher quality documentary than almost anything else you'll find, and it is much more accessible and entertaining to the casual MMA fan. (It's also a must-see for any fan of Rickson Gracie.)

(For more about Rickson, check "http://rickson.com/". For more about Rickson's martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, check my site "http://bjj.org/".)

This movie is exactly what the american public needs to see!They don't respect our sport, its sometimes dubbed as being "so brutal its nauseating".The movie shows it not just dumb weight lifters who jump in a cage and beat the hell out of each other.Men who have trained most of their lives, dedicated to their disipline need somewhere to show their skill. They turn to the world of NHB combat.This movie depicts the best fighters(although i share the same feelings with others reviwers about Todd Hayes and Koichiro Kimura not being as great as they are showed to be)talking about training, their feelings about fighting, their art, even dying in the ring.If your a fan of NHB combat or Rickson Gracie this video is a must see!

First off, I am NOT a Rickson Gracie fan. However, I am a Mixed Martial Arts fan, and I found this documentary well put together and interesting. The only real complaint I have is that it would have been nice to see Rickson's techniques used against more experienced fighters. The beginning of the disc is about Rickson's training and his lifestyle. The last half is about the Vale Tudo Tournament of '95 held in Tokyo, Japan. Eight fighters including Rickson enter the single elimination tournament and fight matches until one fighter is remaining. There is not a lot of fighting, but it is great to see behind the scenes what goes on in the locker room while the fighters are waiting for their next match and what their opinions are before and after the fights.

This video is by far the most exciting documentary I have seen. It follows Rickson Gracie, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend, on a trip to Japan, where he will fight in a full contact tournament(Japan Vale Tudo 95). It does talk about two other fighters, but Rickson is the focus of the program. The documentary begins a few weeks before the tournament while Rickson is training, and the finale is Rickson fighting in the tournament. It is a very interesting and exciting look into the life of one of the toughtest men alive. The footage of him training is intriguing and the fights are great. I think that any martial artist would enjoy this, as a DVD or a Video.

Definitely a must movie to have in your library. Sure, Rickson challenges relatively unknown opponents; however, the movie is not so much about the other fighters as it is about Rickson, his family and his training/personal lifestyle. Certainly an enjoyable film and interesting from the public's point of view and runs about 90+ minutes. If you can spare the $..., then go ahead and purchase this DVD.

while this doesn't have many fight scenes and is kind of a light documentary, it maybe gives rickson gracie's perspective on what jujitsu is and his approach & philosophy. i study gracie jujitsu and find i agree with his reason why i enjoy the art. its very interesting to see some of the behind the scenes behind a big competition! its interesting to see a little of a gracie family member's family life. its interesting to see some background on some of the fighers he's met at the tudo/vale. i really enjoyed it.