Muay Thai Ring Girls
~ 80 mins
available on ebay

This isn't a documentary. This isn't an instructional video by any means. I guess you could call it a docudrama or a mockumentary. The fights are real, sort of, they take place, but are probably thrown or mismatched to help Master Toddy's folks look good. The more I see of these folks the more I get this uneasy feeling that all is not on the up and up.

This video doesn't help change my mind, Master Toddy plays himself playing Mr Miyagi, or something. Some of the funniest pseudo-philosophy comes through in the scenes where it is made clear to the world that Master Toddy saved these fine young ladies from terrible lives. The girls all train hard and go off to Thailand to find out they are fighting students of Master Toddy's brother that no-one knew existed. Really they should have stuck with pure documentary if thy wanted us to believe the fights were real or just filmed movie fights to get somebetter angles.

Really, very little real training is shown, the girls all sleep in the ring and train together while Gina Carano narrates about their character and how much each has overcome; very melodramatic. All the while Master Toddy shows the tough love of a trainer and father figure, though to me he comes off more like that creepy uncle we don't like to talk about. Seriously bad acting, matching bad plot and dialogue all make this a cheese fest. It is well shot, the video is clear and the sound is good. It is watchable exactly once. It has no replay value at all.

The Noble Art of Muay Thai
Phosawat Saengsawang
~1 hour

This video is available from dcothai
Overall this is a good video. The menus are clear and the English track is presented in a clear, understandable voice. The presentation is top notch.

The hour or so of video is jam packed with information. There is little repetition and none of the slo-mo repeats and things that drive me nuts on so many videos. Be ready with the pause and rewind buttons as you'll want to see most of it again.

There isn't anything too far out in the first parts of the video. The mai mai and luk mai coverage is quite good and easy to understand. There are some techniques in the middle section that you may not think of as parts of Muay Thai, for example the 'spring whip kick' which looks like an inside crescent kick and the 'smash kick' which is similar to an axe kick.

Overall this is a good video and well worth the $20. Even better if you get it as a gift like I did. Happy Holidays.