(Click screen shot to see large version)
The Ultimate Martial Arts Collection
Author: Dr. Ted Gambordella
Published: Dr. Ted Gambordella, 1999
Price: $29.95
Lots of folks remember Dr. Ted Gambordella's books from the 1970's and 1980's: titles like
The 100 Deadliest Karate Moves, Weapons of the Street,
and Tonfa Tactics. Although some of these are still available through
publishers like Paladin Press, most are out of
print and can't be found anywhere.
Until now, that is. Dr. Ted's compiled ten of his classic books onto a CD-ROM, including over 2,000 photos, and tossed in two videos to boot. The CD includes the following books:
There's also two long videos, in RealVideo format, of Dr. Ted conducting seminars. The first video, on nunchaku training, begins with the basic moves and then progresses to self-defense and kata. The second demonstrates what I call "amazing feats of martial arts," things like driving a nail with your head and bending knives on your neck. I found the second video a bit unnerving, especially when watching Dr. Ted bend a knife by sticking the point into the hollow of his neck. Kids, don't try this at home!
| The interface is a bit rough, but everything's there--ten books, two
videos, newspaper clippings of Dr. Ted bending knives against his throat, testimonial
letters from college coaches, you name it. (Click screen shot to see large version) |
|
This CD is a bit different from the other martial arts CDs reviewed on this site. Instead of an integrated multimedia environment, it simply provides the text and photos of Dr. Ted's ten books. But that's ok--it's meant to be an archive of these books that you can't get anymore. Plus, the price is right: at $29.95 for the ten books, you're paying about $3.00 per book for books that would cost around $15 each, and you get the two videos as a bonus. Not a bad deal.
All content copyright © 1999-2008 James Hom