The Human Weapon

[NightOwl]

I just saw the Kung fu episode...for some reason itunes put it up and never got around to the MMA one . I'll put on a review soon.

[bushido_man96]

I just saw the Kung fu episode...for some reason itunes put it up and never got around to the MMA one . I'll put on a review soon.

Sounds great! Looking forward to another fine review.

Nice vid, Adonis. Thanks for sharing.

[dete]

the show has lots of hollywoodness to it, but I still like it very much.

My fav. episode was the Judo one.

[NightOwl]

Kung fu:

Alright, I must admit I was worried about this one- after all, Kung fu is a catch all term and covers countless styles. While some of them resemble each other in many ways, others are quite different (like comparing Choy lee fut to tai chi or northern mantis). Unfortunately with this episode, I feel that all in all my concerns were realized. They start off in Beijing with some sort of demonstration, then for the first training segment they go to a...movie studio. Now, many martial artists did (and still do) participate in kung fu flicks, but the mecca of sorts for that kind of thing was in southern china such as at the shaw brother's studios. Either way, they learn a scissor kick that is hard to pull off without the help of wire, and in the end it is a bit like looking for tips from the guy who starred in Rudy for your next big game. After that they take a completely different turn and through the magic of reenactment cover a group practicing wing chun and doing their best to name drop bruce lee (they also just so happen to be training on the great wall). They cover the distinct punch, but all in all it felt to me like a bit of a wasted opportunity to explore something more...although the guy getting sick over the wall was a highlight. Finally, they throw in an aimless romp through the shaolin temple where they dress up and watch crazy human tricks, and then in what feels like a completely different episode go into sanda training. As for the final fight, Jason lost but was definitely the better fighter overall.

Overall, they made a mistake in trying to take on too big a topic, and choosing strange spots to train. If they were going to stick to northern china, perhaps a look at wushu and sanda would have been the best route with maybe a look at shaolin. As it is though, it is probably the weakest episode in the series. Fortunately, there is....

Sambo

My favorite of the three 'military' arts thus covered. I think that it did the best thus far on the pop history look at an art, and I at least felt that they learned a good range of complimentary moves. They start off with training with a bodyguard syndicate, go to various gyms, and even train with Russian version of the green berets. Another point of interest was the brief look at what they do between filming (it involves video games and laying down in cramped spaces with vodka) and just how much these guys go through. I personally could never keep up with the constant training and still be expected to be able to fight at the end of the week. Speaking of which, the fight was...interesting. It featured a newcomer picked by the legendary fighter Fedor, however the match was extremely lopsided, with Bill incorporating many of the things he learned in Russia to beat the challenger with a score of 9-0. The hosts themselves wonder why Fedor chose the guy he did, but either way it was an entertaining episode.

[ps1]

Yeah...

I saw the Sambo episode. It was so bizzare that they chose a fighter with no experience in the ring. I guess they just though he would be tougher than he was.

Personally, I would rather see the guys fight people they have no hope of beating. That way the martial art could really be showcased in all its glory.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks for the updates, NightOwl. I have faltered in my ability to keep up with the episodes (I stay so busy!!).

[bushido_man96]

I saw the Cambodian Bloodsport episode this weekend. I rather enjoyed it. There were lots of similarities with the Muay Thai episode, but the styles had their share of differences as well. Interesting, nonetheless.

[dete]

I saw the Cambodian Bloodsport episode this weekend. I rather enjoyed it. There were lots of similarities with the Muay Thai episode, but the styles had their share of differences as well. Interesting, nonetheless.

the final guy I think took it pretty easy on Jason even though much lighter, looked like a mean fighter. his elbow when he was warming up looked vicious.

[bushido_man96]

One thing I did notice was the lack of elbow strikes in the fight. I am guessing they were left out for a reason. However, I thought Jason fought well, and he even took the guy down 3 times. I thought for sure that might get him the win. I guess the Cambodian's punches and kicks scored really well, though. I think the fact that the Cambodian basically controlled the pace of the match got him the victory.

[NightOwl]

Ah- finally got all of the videos seen! I don't really feel like giving too much of an in depth review though, so I'm going to try to keep it short.

Cambodian Bloodsport:

VERY similar to Muay Thai- but then again it is from the same region so that is to be expected. Overall it was pretty good- as mentioned before the fight seemed more of a sparring bout than anything, but it was still fun to watch. One thing that did bother me a bit though was...I felt a bit guilty for watching it. Although Muay Thai has similar aspects to it, in cambodia especially there is a feel that the people fighting (many of them kids really) are giving up themselves for petty cash (it mentioned that many of them have to stop before there mid 20's). I mean, yeah a boxing match is the same but they aren't in there fighting for their lives, and they are fighting in an environment where there are a lot more safety precautions. Anyways...

Silat:

Crazyyyy stuff. Silat was definitely one of the more unique ones covered, and I found it very interesting. A lot of the styles actually reminded me of Chinese systems such as hung gar or Eagle claw- however these guys seem to go at it fairly hard core. Oh- and there is a claimed crazy trained in a cave super killer silat master....AWESOME. The jumping through hoops, claims of instant death from a knife, and some other things made me roll my eyes at points though. Also although Bill passed the challenge, it felt to me that he made the same mistake one too many times

MMA:

It was bound to happen- the mma episode! Lots of cameos, a nice overview of strategies, etc made this a good episode. But by far the best part was the back to back fight at the end. Seeing Jason win his bout was great- even more surprising though was to see bill tie up for a draw with a top MMA fighter! Very exciting and one of my favorites.

+stgstwthwrhtwoyr5woqiotrhw';a;$#!385y34yrl

On another note, season two has already begun filming and the first two episodes will start later this month. The two upcoming styles are: Ninjitsu and TKD. The first being ninjitsu. I am not too sure about the ninjitsu- human weapon's history has always been a bit sketchy, I still am smarting from 'Fight Science) where they have a guy who is in reality a stuntman coming in to demonstrate ninjitsu. Supposedly from what I have heard, since the bujinkan has a no sparring policy (for the usual reasons), they didn't really know what to do for the final challenge. In the end they decide to do a one point tag sort of thing with weapons. /:cry