Human Weapon - Season 1 - Eps 2: Eskrima Stickfighting
Eskrima (or Escrima), a fighting style indigenous to the Philippines, is believed to have evolved from Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian martial arts forms brought to the islands by South China Sea traders around the 2nd century. It is a mostly weapons-based fighting style that combines punches, kicks, takedowns and joint lock techniques with stick and sword or knife fighting techniques. Eskrima was first introduced to the non-Filipino world in 1521, when Spanish explorers led by Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the South China Sea to stake their claim on the Philippine islands. Soon after the invasion, Magellan himself was killed on the small island of Mactan by native resisters armed with hardened sticks and led by the island’s chief, Lapu-Lapu. Spain eventually gained control of the Philippines and outlawed all indigenous martial arts. Over the next several centuries, many fighters continued their practice in secret, by disguising Eskrima techniques in what they pretended were ceremonial dance-like rituals. The ban was lifted after 1898, when the United States won control of the Philippines from Spain, but an air of secrecy remained around Eskrima and its practitioners. During World War II, Filipino fighters used the stick-and-sword techniques to resist Japanese invaders, compensating for a lack of firearms with powerful, swift movements of their sticks and knives. By the 1970s, however, organizations such as the Doce Pares association and the World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF) had managed to turn Eskrima from a martial art used primarily for killing into a sport, with organized competitions and generally sanctioned rules and regulations. Eskrima techniques are still employed by the Filipino army, especially in its struggle against guerrilla members of the militant Islamic organization Abu Sayyaf, related to Al Qaeda. Adapted from the Spanish word esgrima (fencing), Eskrima is variously referred to as Arnis (from the Spanish word for harness) and Kali. Unlike other martial arts, each strike in Eskrima is designed to be used three different ways: empty-handed; with a knife; or with a baston, or stick, often made of a lightweight bamboo-like wood called rattan. Eskrima fighters can use single-stick, double-stick and stick-and-dagger techniques. Some key moves in Eskrima include tapi-tapi, a system of defensive checks and counter-attacks, and labai, a violent takedown where a fighter checks his opponent, locks his opponent’s elbow over his arm, and uses leg thrust and momentum to throw the other fighter to the ground.
About Human Weapon
Title: Human Weapon
First Air Date: 2007-07-20
Last Air Date: 2007-12-27
Status: Ended
Rating: 7.2/10 (from 4 votes)
Language: EN
Seasons: 2
Total Episodes: 15
Network: History
Genres: Reality
Production Companies: Unknown
Synopsis
Human Weapon was a television show on The History Channel that premiered on July 20, 2007. The hosts, Jason Chambers and Bill Duff, traveled across the world studying the unique martial arts, or styles of fighting, that have origins in the region. Each episode usually consisted of a brief introduction regarding the featured martial art, including footage of established fighters sparring. The hosts would then travel to various locations, learning several strikes, blocks, or other techniques valuable to the particular art from various instructors and/or masters. Along the way, they learned about the origins and cultural history of each fighting style. To help the viewer understand the moves the hosts learn, each technique was visually broken down with a motion capture element. Creator Terry Bullman also acted as stuntman for motion capture. After practicing featured aspects of the art, the hosts typically assessed the various skills and their effectiveness. At the end of each episode, one of the hosts would fight a representative of the episode's fighting style. The show is similar to a later program called "Fight Quest". The show was cancelled in August 2008.
Cast
Bill Duff
Jason Chambers
