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Hody’s MMA Product Review Part 1 of 2
by Hody, Moderator @ www.IronLife.com & Team IronLife.com Writer
For more information on Hody and the PrideCast Team,
( please click on the above banner.)
Following my interview with the living legend Bas Rutten*, I was asked to review his MMA Career DVD and MMA Workout set. In all honesty, I was hesitant at first. I’ve never done a formal review but then I remembered -I only recently started doing interviews…..so why not give it a shot.
Let’s start off with the MMA Career DVD. First off, you can tell that Bas took the time to do this DVD right. It’s professionally done and it shows. There’s over 6 hours of fight footage from his Pancrase days and 2 fights from the UFC (TK and Kevin Randleman). What impressed me the most about this DVD set, is the fact that Bas shows his fights in their entirety and includes those fights which he lost.
This 3 DVD set includes a list of names any MMA fan would recognize, even if you don’t follow Pancrase – TK, Vernon White, Frank and Ken Shamrock, Guy Mezger, Masakatsu Funaki – just to list a few, Disc 1 has 17 fights, Disc 2 has 6 fights, and Disc 3 has 9 fights. Over 6 hours of Bas footage!
I’d like to clarify that this is not an instructional DVD. It’s a compilation of Bas’ fights. If you’re interested in his instructionals, please visit his site http://www.basrutten.net/html/shop.html
What I really liked about this DVD set is that you have 2 audio options. One is normal mode and you will hear the fights as if you were watching them from ring side. The other is with Bas’ commentary. I highly recommend watching these DVD’s with Bas’ commentary. Not only is Bas telling you what he was thinking during the fights but you also get some hilarious comments and insight as well.
It’s kind of funny to watch Bas’ first couple of fights in Pancrase. As you might already know, he was known as a striker and knew little to nothing about grappling. You can see Bas making many basic mistakes during his early days and even I was yelling at the T.V. while watching these DVD’s -- “Why didn’t you simply….” or “You should…….”
Here’s the great thing about watching the DVD’s with Bas’ commentary running, you will hear him echo the same comments that you might make when you see him making some basic mistakes. Bas pokes fun of himself and even admits “What the hell was I thinking there?” You can see his progression into the world of MMA as he learns from his mistakes and quickly masters the ground game.
Here’s the direct URL to Bas’ site where you can purchase his MMA Career DVD set. http://www.basrutten.net/html/mmacareer.html As I write this, the current price is $44.95 (not including S & H), this works out to $1.40 per fight. Definitely a great deal, especially since you can hear Bas’ commentary during each fight.
On his site there’s a disclaimer: “Not guaranteed to work on anything other then a real DVD player. Computers, game consoles, etc.. might experience problems with them." I watched the DVD set on my computer,
DVD player, and PS 2 without any problems. Hopefully you guys will not have any difficulties either. In addition, this DVD set is region free.
If I were grade Bas’ Career MMA DVD set, it would pass with flying colors “A+”. I only have positive things to say. I was trying to find something negative but I couldn’t find anything. Bas really took the time to put this DVD set together. You can tell that he’s not only a great fighter but also a big fan of MMA. He understands what the fans would like to see.
The second product that I was asked to review was his MMA Workout set.
http://www.basrutten.net/html/mma_workout.html
Here’s a summary (from Bas’ site) of what this set contains and what it can do for you:
Contains 4 Audio Compact Discs or Tapes (Boxing, Thai Boxing, All-round Fighting, All-round Workout), 1 DVD** or VHS Tape, and 1 Instruction Manual
This is what the workout will do for you:
- They will improve your stamina and power.
- They will improve your speed.
- They will improve your reflexes.
- They will improve your coordination between hearing and performing.
- They will make you throw out combinations like you never did before.
As you can see from the picture, there’s a booklet that is included with this set. It gives you an overview of the workout, useful tips/pointers, example schedules and workouts, and a text of the combinations used.
Again, Bas took the time to put this together and it’s really easy to follow. It’s not necessary to be a world class athlete or pro fighter to benefit from this workout. Even a novice, once he/she gets a handle of the combinations, will benefit greatly.
Again, I’d like to clarify that this is not an instructional CD/DVD. It’s an audio workout CD/DVD set.
The DVD gives you an overview of the workout and shows you the combinations used and also variations to spice up your workout. The audio CD’s have Bas yelling out combinations, which you can also find in the booklet. I highly recommend you read the booklet and then watch the DVD. This will ensure that you are up to speed on the terminology and instructions that Bas shouts out during the workout.
The workout is fast paced and it will probably take even pro fighters a couple of times before they are up to speed. Bas also addresses this in the booklet…basically he advises that you do the best that you can and don’t worry about making mistakes. Skip some combinations if you have to….just make sure to set your own pace and complete the workout. In time, you will be more accustomed to the speed and combinations.
Overall, I was impressed with Bas’ MMA workout set. I give it an “A”. Why not an “A+”? This workout is designed for orthodox fighters, meaning those of you that stand with your left foot forward. Thus all the combinations correspond to orthodox fighters. However, with a little bit of adjustment you can reprogram yourself to either stand orthodox or simply adjust the combinations for southpaw fighters.
I fight southpaw -- so it took some time for me to make the necessary adjustments. For example: Bas might call for a “1” followed by a “2”.
For an orthodox fighter this would be a left straight (1) followed by a left straight right straight (2). However, for us southpaws it would be a right straight (1) followed by a right straight left straight (2). It seems simple enough, but when you factor in the tempo and pace, it can easily become more confusing and difficult.
Other than that, I can’t see anything else wrong with this set. Bas breaks down the workout into Boxing, Thai Boxing, All Around Fighting (MMA/NHB), and an All Around Workout. Each CD will push you to your limits. Even if you’ve dedicated yourself to Boxing, you can still benefit from the other CD’s. At the very least, they will push you past your normal cardio routine by breaking your normal breathing habits and patterns.
I highly recommend this workout set to any serious marital artist. Not only will you benefit from this workout, you will also find that it is really fun to do, once you get the hang of it. Sometimes we need to take a break from our training or need something to spice up our normal routines – this will do that. In addition, this workout is great for those times that you are injured and cannot spar, have no training partners, don’t feel like going to the gym but still want a good workout, and if you’re on the road a lot.
In next month’s magazine issue, I will share with you my personal experience using Bas’ MMA Workout set. I’ve already started and I will be asking some of my friends and teammate to join me.
On an ending note, I have some good news. The first 10 people who mention this article (make sure you say Ironlife) when ordering either Bas' Career DVD or MMA Workout set from Bas' site, will get a free personalised autograph pic with their order.
Hody
* My Interview with Bas Rutten http://www.ironlife.com/mag/issue8/rutten.shtml
** This DVD is region free
For more information on Bas Rutten and BasRutten.tv,
( please click on the above banner.)
* Article by Hody, Moderator @ www.IronLife.com & Team IronLife.com Writer.
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
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