MCM eXpo kicks of on the 25th of May

Looking forward as always on K.I.T.G. the next event we will be at is the MCM eXpo in May at London's Excel Centre ,it runs from Friday the 25th of May till the end on Sunday Evening .Last year was the first MCM we had covered and really did not know what to expect. 

Where really geared up for this year ,and will get a good overview of the games and stars at the event, and of course the many people who turn up in Cosplay to brighten up the event.

Thing is with these events ,money is easily spent with the many wonderful stalls selling ,Media ,Apparel,Trinkets and Novelia  . 

Looking forward to this one Big Time.And then we get to do it all again in October when the event returns for it's winter show. 

Click here for MCM site

The next show in their calender  after London in May is in Manchester on the 21st of July.,Can't see us slapping to Manchester though ,bit far for a day trip.Especially if your in Cosplay..Any way they don't let warlords on Trains.

But the MCM group put these shows on across the country there was one recently in Birmingham in March and the Midlands in February. So where ever you are you can get to one of their shows.

Disaster strikes Birmingham,the Martial arts show

Yes this weekend is the weekend Martial arts in the UK took a blow, It's with sad regret that i report of the lackluster professionalism at this years Martial arts show, After the canceled MMA show, it seems the knock on effect took it's toll ,as the moment we arrived things  seemed dodgy. 

Signing up for seminars was the first inkling. the staff had no proper list for seminars and no schedules,with a overly long wait for what was a short queue  ,one staff member who obviously new what was going on about who was there,was speaking to another, I overheard her say,it don't matter let them wait it won't make a difference . 

Yes i was able to book a seminar ,with a guest who was not actually at the show. so when my seminar time came ,there was no one to take it, i must admit i had found out before hand that my chosen candidate for instruction ,Mr Cassonova Wong was not here. But many people did not know who and who where not there. 

This young girl started the show last year,Last year she came unstuck in her routine,she was the same this year

All very well,but i was bored of this by the end of the day

For starters the appearance of the place and set up was shabby ,with empty stalls,and the event was smaller then ;last year ,the area used for training and seminars last year was a closed off piece of the hall, The seminars where located around by the stage by the restaurant,with no privacy like last year, i thought this is not good! Silvio Simac and Bill Wallace where doing seminars on mats  which where in some places held together with duck tape. and Mr Wallace had to contend with a crowd and people exiting the restaurant..

Not professional at all. There was also a lack of performers as many performers where doing 3 or 4 sets each ,i would see someone performing Akido and think that was OK, then move on to the next mat or stage to see who would be up ,and hey it's the same guys from the last stage..

I think i saw the Shaolin Monks on the main stage 3 or 4 times. i only watched them once, but as the place was so small you could see who was where.

Kung Fu forms,this guy was quite good.It was nice to watch.

I actually feel sorry for the families that traveled to the show ,to meet the stars ,that where not there, who had paid there money in good faith and where offered ,as one friend of mine (who was performing there) A local market of haphazard stalls.

In fact when it was time for my friends troupe to perform (he was a little nervous being on stage ) they had actually forgot about their slot and had closed off the event till one piped up and said what about us. Professional all the way -NOT.

At one stage they had roped in a member from STEPS, who had visited the show ,  to have a interview on stage. The only thing keeping many men at bay was the Miss Galaxy competition,but then females in Bra's Bikini's and doing workouts and strutting their stuff on stage pleases any man.

But after you had seen them repeatedly,you start to wonder am i in the right show.

There are many other things ,some which i discovered  at the show,  things i can not divulge as i have been asked not to quote,things that would rock the martial world.

But one things for sure my trust and respect for the show and it's organizers  took a mighty blow yesterday and one i think it won't recover from. 

My advice to all MMA show ticket holders ,is get your money back as the show was cancelled ,don't wait to be let down again.For us Martial arts show ticket holders ,we just have to write it off as a bad day.

On a lighter note* it was a good day for K.I.T.G. as i was able to make new friends ,and discover a old one.Plus it looks like i will be doing another feature on a famous martial artist soon.

Also i will be posting some pictures of the show on here ,on the main sites photo gallery and on Facebook page for the site.

Just because the show was a shambles ,it did NOT mean the performers that did turn up where not up to scratch ,they did there best ,but with a dwindling crowd there showcase was not seen by large numbers. I will post the pictures  on the main sites photo gallery so anyone featured can copy the picture for their own use.

This is The Snake

Telling it like it is!

American Kenpo ,these guys where one of the highlights for me

I watched them for quite a while

Brought back memeries of my time with Jeff Speakman in Germany.

Terracotta Film Festival and the Martial arts show

Since the last update there is much news and new articles on site, First up is if you where in London for the Terracotta Far East Film Festival in April and attended ,then you would have seen some brilliant films from across Asia, if you did not attend then you missed a Great show that spanned 4 days .

The Prince Charles Cinema in London's Leicester Square hosted the show in it's fourth Year

K.I.T.G. was there to cover seven of the 16 features shown in the main festival (there was a Special Horror Night) With Films of many a genre from War,Comedy ,thriller and drama there was much on offer along with Guest stars and Directors. For the full picture visit the event feature here!.

New film reviews on site have been a bit sparse as due to completion of them, A review of ''MY WAY'' the Korean War epic featured on our sister site,and you can view it at Shoot'em in the Head /MY WAY

Jan Dong Gun ,Centre ,in MY WAY.

Other reviews from the festival will be published on K.I.T.G. over the next ten days. One review that has been published is a classic look at ''In the Line of Duty 3'' with Cynthia Khan.To see some cool pics from the film and more click here.

Cynthia Khan - We Love You!

Why would you do that?

The Action is non stop in this classic film

Now other film reviews  to come in the next few days are , the Tsui Hark epic,The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate,Seediq Bale (the complete uncut 4 plus hour epic) ,not the international two and half hour  print screened at Terracotta festival (though that will be reviewed also) , plus look out for reviews of  ''Devil Hunters'' and ''Killer Angels'' which starred action heroine ,Moon Lee.

Another event feature to come is the coverage of the Birmingham Martial arts show which falls on the 12th and 13th of May. The guys have to pull out all the stops this year as they have had some bad luck ,just days before the show, The Cancellation of the Adjoining MMA SHOW ,has dealt a blow to the proceedings ,but it was unavoidable at the last minute, also a number of guests from the Martial arts show have had to cancel due to work commitments ,they include Richard Norton and Don Wilson,and on a sadder note ,Joe Lewis has cancelled last minute due to his Cancer taking a turn for the worse. Joe was at last years show and loved it, (K.I.T.G. unfortunately could not meet him on the one day we where there due to time and was hoping to correct this this year) we wish you well Joe .

Though the MMA SHOW is off now till October,we hope TMAS will pull out the stops to impress,our biggest worry is if any knock-on effect will cause any more problems

We will be reporting on the show over the next few days, look out for some photo's tomorrow and again during the week. I really hope all goes well in the end as we hope next year it runs a bit smoother.

**Note customers who bought MMA show tickets have been offered a full refund and free entry to the Martial arts show if they still wish to attend. Of course many will have to or loose travel fees.

Visit the official site for more info - martial arts show NEC

For now i will sign off  and look out for future updates in a few days.