|
Human Weapon the Complete Season One
Though it ran for just a single season on
the History Channel, Human Weapon featured a simple yet effective
premise and was one of the more entertaining offerings from the station
sometimes dubbed, not entirely inaccurately, ‘the Hitler Channel’.
Consisting of 16 one-hour episodes spread
over four discs, the series follows mixed martial artist Jason Chambers
and former wrestler and footballer Bill Duff, a hulking mountain of a
chap, as they travel the world exploring all manner of fighting styles.
Each episode begins with an introduction into the particular region’s
martial art, and shows footage of its exponents sparring and training.
The two hosts then undergo the tutelage of the discipline’s most
experienced adherents, before one of the pair then undergoes an actual
fight with a representative of the episode’s chosen style.
The fighting styles featured, and the
locations travelled to, are as follows:
Muay Thai - Thailand
Eskrima - Philippines
Karate - Japan
Savate - France
Judo - Japan
Pankration - Greece
Krav Maga - Israel
Marine Corps Martial Arts - United States
Mixed Martial Arts - United States
Kung Fu - China
Sambo - Russia
Pradel Serey - Cambodia
Silat - Malaysia
Ninjutsu - Japan
Taekwondo - South Korea
In addition to featuring tips from the
masters of each style, the episodes outline the origins and historical
context of each martial art. They also feature motion capture repeats
of key manoeuvres and stunning footage of some of the world’s most
beautiful and exotic locations. Furthermore the two hosts have a real
rapport, and though the only thing on the line is pride each fight
undertaken by the pair captures a real element of drama and suspense.
The series also features some truly
inspirational moments, such as an exchange with French Savate champion
Gilles Le Duigou, who tells of one bout against a Japanese challenger in
which he suffered two broken arms. Rather than giving up, Le Duigou
simply adjusted his fighting style to increase the speed and efficiency
of his legwork, eventually winning on points. When asked why he refused
to concede in spite of the severity of his injuries (footage of the bout
shows the damaged bones all but poking through the skin of his forearms)
he replied simply ‘Because I don’t like defeat. I don’t like it.’
All in all this expansive, well-crafted
series will have much to offer fans of boxing, self-defence and martial
arts, and may just find you practising a move or two in the relative
safety of your living room. Excellent stuff.
Special Features
Isolated footage of the main techniques and
fights depicted in each episode. |
