Lesley Jackson watches one of the latest instructional guides that are currently gracing the martial arts publishing shelves and learns how to knee someone in the bladder in this straightforward guide to Muay Thai.
Muay Thai: Techniques in Action
Distributor: Crowood Press Format: Region 0 Length: 85 min. Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Audio: English Subtitles: N/A Extras: N/A Sound: Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1
Instructional DVD
Year of Release: 2007; Origin: United Kingdom; Studio: Crowood Films
Director: Mark Sheldon; Producer: John Condie; Cast: Bob Spour, Justin Reeks, Vinny Grewal, Em Cox, Andy Brown.
Alternative Titles: N/A
Plot synopsis
Consisting of four chapters:
Chapter One; Introduction, Health and Safety, Warm Up Exercises and Wrapping the Fist
Chapter Two; Basic Stance, Movement Patterns, Yaang Saam Khum, Targets
There seems to be a trend recently in martial arts publishing to produce a DVD to go alongside or replace the role of the book. These mostly instructional DVDs can have their place in presenting information in a way a book can’t; by showing movements in action, giving the author a voice and personality and by simply saving time. It takes just over an hour to watch this DVD, as opposed to several reading hours to consume the same information via the printed page. However, as functional as ‘a book on screen’ can be, they must ensure that they contain the same interest and detail that a book can offer or they will experience the same risk as a repetitive ‘how to guide’ will often suffer from; they can be very boring.
Bob Spour presents a straightforward on screen guide to the Thai style of boxing, Muay Thai. We are offered a very brief introduction to this martial art with a stern warning not to undergo training unless you have consulted a doctor beforehand, with the sensible emphasis on a thorough warm up. However, he does allow himself to fall into the trap of warning the viewer against the ‘stranger danger’ idea of using Muay Thai as a means of self defence as he says it can be used by practitioners to, “protect themselves against the environment we now live in.” This scare mongering using vague assertions about Britain’s imaginary modern crime wave can be a wee bit irritating when you’ve heard it for the umpteenth time, but this is a minor annoying detail about this DVD. His more encouraging approach of Muay Thai’s role of putting your, “mind on something else as your body is getting fit,” is a much more relevant focus upon this technical guide to Thai Boxing.
Bob Spour’s soft, Newcastle accent lends itself well to the role of presenter and his explanation of techniques is both clear and demonstrated precisely. It was pleasing to see both men and women demonstrators, all of whom appeared to be experts in their field. However, where this DVD does fall down on is that the repetitive nature of one technique after another does not make for a riveting night on the sofa; rather this should be used as a reference guide to dip into, much the same as a reference book. As entertaining as the baggy shorts and bandy legs were, I would have liked to have seen some clips of Muay Thai in action. There was very little actual sparring demonstrated and some clips of a real Muay Thai match would have made this DVD much more exciting.
Don’t be put off this DVD if you are looking for a precise, well presented and technically proficient visual guide to the moves and techniques of Muay Thai. This on screen guide serves its purpose well. But if you want some entertaining and exciting Thai Boxing action, watch the film Ong Bak instead.
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