Fight Science
and Fight Masters (2009)
ABC DVD
Roadshow
R4 DVD
Which version of martial arts is the most
powerful? The fastest? Are all those stunts in the Bruce Lee films credible, or
just special effects? It’s a good way to start an argument so a group of
scientists, doctors, fast-motion cameramen and engineers set out to test the
different stunts and martial arts and examine the strengths and weaknesses of
each one. They were able to capture the rapid moves of the fighters and convert
them to high detail skeletal overlays to study the effects on the human body.
The results, while a little overdramatised, are spectacular and
interesting. Even a simple stunt like
breaking a block of concrete with a punch puts incredible stresses on the human
body and involves speeds and forces best understood by crash test engineers. The
amount of preparation is important and in some cases the human bone structure
itself must be gradually strengthened to compensate.
As for which art is the most effective,
each form has its strengths. The engineers examine factors like impact, reach,
injuries and stresses to the human body, and the effects of adding weapons to
the human forces.
The tests are credible, a synergy between
skilled engineers who know impact science and martial arts masters who know
their form of combat. The physiology of the human body was well known many
hundreds of years ago with a detail that was critical in hand-to-hand combat.
If you were only going to get a couple of blows in during combat you had to
make each blow count on a critical part of the body. The masters know these
areas well and explain them to us in simple language. Watching their moves in
slow motion is more like a deadly ballet.
The verdict? Each art has powerful,
telling blows. There are disadvantages as well. There seems to be no one sport
that is clearly superior in all situations.
In the second DVD in the set we look at
Mixed Martial Arts, a carefully regulated sport where a choice of blows, throws
and grapples can be used. They are selected from a range of sports but
regulation is necessary to avoid serious injury or death. Weapons, for
instance, are not permitted. In some fights the throws and moves look more like
one of the stunt wrestling matches but the sensors do not lie. The participants
are using carefully regulated full-on blows that deliver tremendous force. A
one-punch knockout is quite feasible. The experts discuss the training needed
to survive injury, not just dish it out. Again, though, there seems to be no
one technique that is superior. There is also a lot more posing than is really necessary
for a documentary.
This DVD set will not be to everyone’s
liking but I found it interesting because of the combination of science and
technology explaining and evaluating these ancient martial arts. It impressed
on me that the techniques, while old, were still very effective. In fact in a
genuine combat they could still be effective today. So yes, the Bruce Lee
martial arts films are quite credible. I will look at them in a different light
in future.
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This review will appear in Volume 2 No.6 (2009) of the digital and
print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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