Fight Science

[RUFNTUFGIRL]

I saw this on a site's link and thought it was pretty cool.
Go to...

http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/c...eoPreview.html

[MARTIALSTUDANT]

That does look cool!!!!!!

[SanHeChuan]

"I feel like superman...In a very humble way." LOL at the delivery of that line.

Forget BOB I want that crash test dummy.

[Su Lin]

They have data!!! Why is it every time anyone wants to impress they say they use NASA technology! There is even a mattress ac in the uk that claims they have used NASA technology!
Looks interesting, but a bit flash.

[David Jamieson]

more xma crap really isn't it. those look like a bunch of teh guys from teh xma thing that got trashed for being so goofy.

I guess they repackaged that pile of poo and sold it to natgeo now.

bleh.

[CaptinPickAxe]

I agree with DJ.

This another program to stroke the egos of XMA fanboys and wanna-be's. If they really want fight science and true data on a fighters prowess. Why not just get someone who fights for a living, not a hobby.

I'd take it a lot more seriously if they took a Pride/UFC/KotK fighter than taking Johnny Tae Kwon Do from Anytown, USA. I want stats on someone who breaks faces for a living. I want to see the science of the minds of Galdiators. I could care less about a psuedo-fighter when the only thing he fought was obesity before he got into MA

[CaptinPickAxe]

They have data!!! Why is it every time anyone wants to impress they say they use NASA technology! There is even a mattress ac in the uk that claims they have used NASA technology!
Looks interesting, but a bit flash.

Temporpedic is the Shiz, son! It has Visco-elastique memory cells that conform to your body's weight.... I have insomnia and have seen the infomercial too many times.

[Su Lin]

Perhaps you should try one of them, may help you sleep!

[PlumDragon]

Wow, so much negativity....

Personally, I think the show looks really cool. They claim to have fighters from lots of different areas, including a world-class Muay Thai fighter (Not sure if the claim is truthful, thats just what they claimed) and it looks like they are recording lots of measurments like power production, speed, accuracy, reflexes, balance all from a variety of kicks and punches, etc.
They even had a tid bit that looked like they will address the idea of whole-body connectedness.

As a martial artist, I jump for joy any time there is anything on TV even remotely to do with martial arts, whether its a UFC fight or a wushu form competition--this TV show is no different, and the only reason I wont be watching it next Sunday is because I have better things to do with my money than pay for cable...

[cjurakpt]

well, it seems pretty cool - at least, it could be a lot worse - i mean, it's not Final Fu...

the only problem with these shows is that they tend ot have a limited context - for example, they lump stuff together, they don't really establish context of each style, and they bestow a title such as Wushu Master as if it were some old style traditional system instead of a sport - on the other hand, they are at least trying to be objective with the measurements and what not;

i wonder if they are going to tackle the whole qi projection / dim mak thing - that would probably not be as interesting to watch as the rest of it though...

as far as MA TV shows go, the best that I have ever seen is one that was being broadcast on Fit TV about a year ago called Fighting Arts - this French Canadian Aikido BB woman went around the world spending time with a variety of local teachers in Thailand, Brazil, India, Japan, Filipenes, Europe, studying the particular arts for about a month each, to try to really get the flavour - there's not hype, it's all straightforward, and goes into pretty good depth about the specifics of the styles - since she was already a BB in Aikido, she knew how to behave properly, and was able to get some of the teachers, all very skilled, to really open up on on camera and show some very good stuff

[PlumDragon]

the only problem with these shows is that they tend ot have a limited context - for example, they lump stuff together, they don't really establish context of each style, and they bestow a title such as Wushu Master as if it were some old style traditional system instead of a sport

Im not sure establishing context of a given style is relevant. It appears they will do a variety of different types of punches, kicks, drills, etc to ascertain a variety of measurements. What does style have to do with it? Its about **** time somebody started taking measurements of martial arts feats--every other strenuous activity in the world does it...

As for the "Wushu Master" title, who cares what they call him?? Is it really such a big deal what the title is....? I suppose if thats really the biggest concern then I should be happy, because its largely immaterial when considering what the goal of the show is...

i wonder if they are going to tackle the whole qi projection / dim mak thing - that would probably not be as interesting to watch as the rest of it though...

I would be very surprised if they did. This is about measurements, results. For those of us who study martial arts with the idea of qi, there might be a mapping from one to the other that can be extrapolated from the show, but IMO talking about qi or "dim mak" in this show totally defeats the purpose of what they are trying to do: Its a biomechanical study of the amazing abilities of our body, and differs very little--IMO--from studies that have been done in the past about professional soccer player's ability to kick a soccer ball or the balance and strength of dancers, etc...Its not really about martial arts, in the end its about human feats.

[SanHeChuan]

The show looks good, the tests look good, the Martial artist...

James Lew, who picked them, said they had to be able to communicate effectively.

Which translates to, Flamboyant.

[GeneChing]

Martial Arts vs. Crash Test Dummies: National Geographic's FIGHT SCIENCE by Dr. Craig Reid.

[GreenCloudCLF]

Dan Inosanto cameo...nice.

[tug]

well, it seems pretty cool - at least, it could be a lot worse - i mean, it's not Final Fu...

the only problem with these shows is that they tend ot have a limited context - for example, they lump stuff together, they don't really establish context of each style, and they bestow a title such as Wushu Master as if it were some old style traditional system instead of a sport - on the other hand, they are at least trying to be objective with the measurements and what not;

i wonder if they are going to tackle the whole qi projection / dim mak thing - that would probably not be as interesting to watch as the rest of it though...

as far as MA TV shows go, the best that I have ever seen is one that was being broadcast on Fit TV about a year ago called Fighting Arts - this French Canadian Aikido BB woman went around the world spending time with a variety of local teachers in Thailand, Brazil, India, Japan, Filipenes, Europe, studying the particular arts for about a month each, to try to really get the flavour - there's not hype, it's all straightforward, and goes into pretty good depth about the specifics of the styles - since she was already a BB in Aikido, she knew how to behave properly, and was able to get some of the teachers, all very skilled, to really open up on on camera and show some very good stuff

Agreed on "Final Fu".

Just wanted to comment on the last paragraph of this quote - I have seen the aforementioned show and found it to be very enlightening at the least. As for the NATG show - I have seen it online (which I find confusing, because it is supposedly airing this coming Sunday) and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was very interesting to see the real mechanics of the human body in motion, and even though there are many naysayers out there about it, and a lot of negative responses with regard to the whole "NASA" thing, it didn't seem to make no sense.

Just my 2c.