The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly

“Stay ‘unreasonable.’  If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.” 
Dan Webre

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Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.

Lucky 13: Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling Exercises for the
21st Century

A Product Review by Phil Elmore

This article was
published in

Tony Cecchine’s
Lucky 13 is described on his website as providing world-class fitness. 
“Get inside,” reads the copy, “and watch as Tony coaches his guys through
55 minutes of
plyometrics and intervals that will take your conditioning to elite
levels.”  The video provides exactly this.  I would not describe
a workout of this nature as pleasant, but it is definitely
rewarding.

After a brief introduction featuring oddly lilting music that reminded
me, for some reason, of a recent trip to
Casino Niagara, Tony jumps
right in, wasting little time on introductions.  This is a nice,
plyometric workout, he explains, encouraging the viewer to run in place
when not engaged in some other exercise.

In the first segment, Tony runs two training partners through a simple sprawl
exercise.  At his command from off-camera, they flatten
themselves to the ground and then get up again and resume running in
place.  This goes on for ten minutes.  As the two men train,
they visibly slow and become fatigued.  The sprawl looks deceptively
easy but is actually quite draining.

Production values of the tape are adequate if not more so.  The
video has that “filmed with a camcorder” feel, but Tony is clear, the
sound is good (a little hollow, but always audible), and the lighting is
bright enough.  The red-orange colors of the gymnasium in which the
filming takes place are not the best, aesthetically, for an instructional
video, but they aren’t too distracting.

The camera moves and zooms in and out as needed to cover the action. 
We get to see almost the entire gymnasium in which the taping was done. 
It is a large and relatively impressive facility.

Coach Cecchine, for his part, does an excellent job of narrating and
guiding the workout.  He is calm, articulate, and confident — an
excellent host who puts the viewer at ease.  He goes on to guide the
viewer through a thorough workout that includes a variety of jumps, runs,
squats, jumping jacks, intervals, and more.  

Throughout the tape, Coach Cecchine makes relevant
points on form, injury prevention, and fitness philosophy.

“As a combat athlete,” Tony states, “it’s very important that you
maintain a well-rounded fitness program.  You have to be strong; 
you have to have the endurance.  But I think too many people nowadays
don’t really understand what endurance is.  There’s a trend going on
now to do high count bodyweight exercises… but what happens to those
muscles when you really hit the fatigue zone?”  He suggests doing the
Lucky 13 exercises in conjunction with his
Routine Tape,
which covers bodyweight and strength exercises.  Using the two tapes
together, he says, is a great combination for those who don’t really want
to lift weights.

Coach Cecchine also pauses to warn the viewer about being careful of
injuries.  Be mindful of shooting pains, which indicate a
problem.

The tape concludes as Tony suggests going through a five-minute
cool-down.  This will give you a good
one-hour workout, total.  Polite and agreeable to the last, Coach
Cecchine thanks
the viewer for purchasing his product.

“You guys are going to get in great shape,” he promises.