Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6988 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-10-23
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 280 minutes

Synopsis
Chris Crudelli travels through the Far East to gain further knowledge about martial arts. He learns about kung fu, ninjas, tai chi, dim mak and various other martial arts.

Customer Reviews

5 stars at £4.99
I'd seen a few episodes on the TV and enjoyed them a lot. Didn't know the DVD was even available until two weeks ago when I found it by accident.
At the price this is fantastic value for money. You get two discs amounting to 4 and a half hours of watching.
Crudelli is clearly a talented martial artist and demonstrates his abilities to amazed on-lookers in a style reminisent of David Blaine's original street magic. Perhaps more interesting is when he gets to meet some of the oriental (Chinese/Japanese/etc) masters of some very obscure martial arts. Some of these guys can do amazing things.
I was interested to see that some of the martial arts skills demonstrated are actually trickery (to some degree), but as the narrator points out, to even to perform these 'tricks' you have to be a very skillful martial artist indeed.

Whilst this isn't an instructional DVD there are bits and pieces the amateur (very amateur in my case) martial artist can pick up from this DVD (such self-defence techniques).
I've watched the first five episodes so far and have found it to be a very entertaining DVD, and contrary to a previous reviewer I can confirm this is a widescreen DVD.

Chris Crudelli - most definitely a 'proper' martial artist
'apache1' seems to base most of his criticism on Crudelli not being a proper martial artist. I find that bizarre, given that one of the reasons it was so enjoyable for me, is that he clearly is an expert and 'true' martial artist. This is backed up by the fact that he has trained in the arts for over twenty years and is considered one of the foremost martial artists in the world at present.

His attitude toward the subject matter is just right, there is no direction toward the viewer that he should judge the more extreme elements as truth, they are presented as is, and the viewer is left to make up their own mind as to the truth or otherwise.

Crudelli also appears humble, respectful and willing to learn from the masters he encounters, something that again indicates his training and upbringing, but also that puts the viewer on a 'learning' foot when they watch.

Overall, I found him an excellent presenter, of an excellent series, and one who takes you on a journey, rather than talks at you.

If you have an interest in martial arts and the more wide ranging aspects of them, it's an essential purchase. The only criticism is the lack of widescreen. But that's a minor niggle.

Intelligent martial arts program
A series of intelligent martial arts documentaries that takes a welcome look at some of the world's lesser known martial arts. No ego, pseudo-warrior ethos and other nonsense. Definitely not for wannabe macho idiots or "UFC" fanatics. Nor is it an instructional DVD.

See some of the best practitioners of some of the deadliest fighting styles in the world and hear them talk about their respective arts. Indeed, many of the fighting styles are "killing" arts - not for sport or exhibition - but practised by people in parts of the world where their skills are necessary for daily survival.

Oh, and look out for the man who can throw chopsticks into a plank of wood as though they were knives. You wouldn't want to mess...