2007 has been an extremely busy period for Fighting Films. During the early part of the year FF released the 2006 World Team Championships and Judo for Self Defence on DVD, followed by the 2007 European Championships and The Grappling Series. Two new fascinating books The Pyjama Game and The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat - have also been added to our extensive book library.

In September Fighting Films had two major shoots the 2007 World Championships and the Fighting Films GB Judo World Cup.

Rio was the host city for the Worlds, and put on a marvellous display. After the disappointment of Cairo in 2005 the reputation of the World Championships was well and truly restored, as four days of fascinating and remarkable judo took place in the heart of Brazil.

A packed and knowledgeable home crowd went into a frenzy whenever a Brazilian was on the mat, and they pushed their fighters on to an incredible three gold medals. The Japanese were there in force. Their squad included the return of two judo legends, in the shape of three-times World Champion Kosei Inoue, and six-times World Champion Ryoko Tani. As ever in top-flight judo, there were numerous shocks, some stunning Ippons, and several nerve-shredding contests.

All highlights from the Worlds will be crammed into two action-packed DVDs, which will be released in Spring 2008, priced at £25 each.

The Fighting Films World Cup took place at the NIA, in Birmingham, England, the weekend after the Worlds. With six cameras on two mats, FF were there in force. The event was being filmed live, which meant that following an Ippon or exciting moment, replays would be shown on the big screens within the NIA. Trailers, highlight sequences and interviews with the British stars were shown during breaks in competition.

Star of the show was Britain's -60kg fighter Craig Fallon, who won all his fights by Ippon, and took home the player of the tournament award. Between October 15-17, Fighting Films' coverage of the event was shown on Sky Sports seven times. The DVD of the World Cup will be released in November, and will include 45 minutes of extras and trailers. It displays the best in British judo, with extended coverage of Fallon's march to the gold medal, and a remarkable 15 minute interview on his international career to date. There are highlight sequences from the past two European Championships of Britain's Winston Gordon, Euan Burton and Peter Cousins, a review from last year's event, and numerous trailers including 101 Judo Ippons 2003-2005!

The latest 101 Ippons includes action from two World Championships, the 2004 Junior Worlds, 2005 Europeans, and many other worldwide international judo tournaments. When Fighting Films selected the best Ippons from 2003-2005, the short-list produced over 300 techniques! Over a long period of time and a tight selection process this was whittled down to 101, to leave simply the cream of judo. Every Ippon leaves you astonished and gasping for more. This is the best 101s to date, and if you've ever done judo, at any level, you simply must get this DVD!

The English version of 101 Judo Ippons 2003-2005 will be available by the end of November. A multi-language version will be available early next year.

Previous Articles:

Feb '05: Behind The Camera - When are the Olympics going to be ready?
May '05: Behind The Camera - IJF Coaching Series Part 1
Aug '05: Behind The Camera - IJF Coaching Series Part 2
Oct '05: Behind The Camera - 2005 World Judo Championships
Apr '06: Behind The Camera - The Fighting Films GB World Cup
Aug '06: Behind The Camera - 2006 European Championships
Dec '06: Behind The Camera - 2006 World Team Championships