Roger Corman’s Bloodsport rip-off may follow his prison-girl exploits on movies like The Big Doll House in using the cheap filming locations of the Philippines as a money saver, but at least he provides a fighting cast with good pedigree. The film features three world karate and kickboxing champs – Rob Kaman, Billy Blanks, and Don Wilson, making his leading man debut in the first of 11 movies he would make with Corman. Wilson plays sweet-natured valley boy Jake Raye, part of Hal & Jake’s Self Defence School in California, who travels to Manila to investigate the death of his brother who was slain in a street killing following victory at the deadly Ta Chang martial arts tournament. The story offers nothing in the way of surprises, but there is a lightness to the film which makes it quite refreshing. Jake befriends siblings Baby (Shaner) – a drunken jock who stumbles his way through the film – and his sister Nancy (Bowman), a dancer who provides a love interest and a particularly suggestive stretching sequence. Kwong (Avellana) is the far eastern sage and budding artist who manages Jake when he enrolls in the next competition, which is when the film shifts focus and the revenge aspect takes a ringside seat to a succession of violent kickboxing bouts.