by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
When the History Channel introduced the martial arts show Human Weapon last year, the network suits knew they had a winner. Featuring two certified experts traveling the world to study different disciplines of martial arts training, this program was a fresh-out-of-the-box hit. The show stars Bill Duff, a former professional football player and wrestler and Jason Chambers, a mixed martial arts master and professional kickboxer. These two intrepid fighters traveled to various countries to learn Mauy Thai, Karate, Judo, Eskrama stick fighting, Israeli street fighting known as Savate, and Kung Fu.
Duff is a hulking man with advantages in weight and strength. Chambers is smaller but quicker on his feet and has fast hands. Both men are highly trained, physically and mentally. In each country, physical training is paramount before they learn the discipline. Physical conditioning requires early morning runs, weight lifting, and sparring drills every day before the training even starts.
After their training sequences, the master of each discipline arranges a fight with Duff or Chambers, with a black belt of the particular style going up against the novice fighter. Half of the time, Duff or Chambers get their butts kicked. Each fight was full-contact without padding. Duff tended to win the Judo-like styles, and Chambers won the kickboxing styles. Their decision on which man will fight has to do with height and weight considerations of their opponents.
Each country’s martial art is unique, so learning that particular discipline is difficult, even for highly-trained athletes like Duff and Chambers. My favorite episode of HW was Duff and Chambers’ trip to Israel to learn Krav Maga. This martial art evolved from down-and-dirty street fighting, combining many different techniques into its moves. Every Israeli Army soldier has to not only learn it, but be a master of it. Krav Maga is a savage confrontation designed to quickly disable or kill the enemy in hand-to-hand combat situations. It’s very effective and uses the entire body as a weapon. Krav Maga is one reason the Israeli Army is so respected.
Just as Man Vs Wild spawned its clone Survivorman, the History Channel’s Human Weapon inspired a twin show on Discovery Channel titled Fight Quest, which debuted Jan. 4, 2008. The Discovery Channel owns the History Channel.
In the Discovery Channel’s production conference room, the convoluted logic must have been that two shows with the same exact concept are better than one. Strangely, the moguls decided to put them on the air at the same time, Friday nights at 10 pm, prompting the inevitable battle of the martial arts programs. Of course, if you like both shows, then the DVR was invented just for you.
Both shows feature high quality production values and fascinating histories of the various martial arts disciplines. In Human Weapon, the actual fights are professionally staged to add credibility to Duff and Chambers’ fight skills.
Fight Quest uses the same format as HW. Even the two guys are similar in appearance to Duff and Chambers of HW. Fight Quest features seasoned mixed martial arts fighter Jimmy Smith and 25-year old rookie Doug Anderson as they travel the globe learning new styles and techniques of the various martial arts. Like HW, FQ requires Smith and Anderson to engage in full contact matches after they learn the discipline. Hey, in the real world of karate or kickboxing – they go for the KO. However, both shows are intriguing, historically informative, and exciting. It’s a macho smackdown of kung-fu fighters trying to clean each other’s clock.
These fighters and the fights they get in are the real thing but which you choose to watch could come down which characters you prefer or the styles of fighting you prefer to watch. If you don’t care for what Duff and Chambers are into that week, switch over to Jimmy and Doug. Either way, it will be a butt-kicking Friday night.
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