Human Weapon is an American reality television show in which the hosts, Jason Chambers and Bill Duff, travel across the world studying the unique martial arts, or styles of fighting, that have origins in the region.
The series premiered in the USA on the History Channel on 20 July 2007. There are 13 episodes in the first season as well as an end-of-season special. The second season aired two episodes in December 2007 before the show went on hiatus due to the writers strike.
Human Weapon premiered in South Africa on DStv's The History Channel on Friday 1 February 2008, at 21h30.
Repeats
Saturdays: 09h30, 15h30
Synopsis
Human Weapon charts an expedition through foreign continents, famous cities, exotic villages, back alleys and lush landscapes with hosts Jason Chambers – mixed-martial-artist and professional fighter – and Bill Duff – former professional football player and wrestler, who learn how each individual location gave birth to its distinct form of combat and study their form of martial art.
Each episode usually consists of a brief introduction regarding the featured martial art, including footage of established fighters sparring.
The hosts 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 learn about the origins and cultural history of each fighting style.
To help the viewer understand the moves the hosts learn, each technique is visually broken down with a motion capture element.
After grasping several key aspects of the art, training ensues to tie it all together.
At the end of each episode one of the hosts must fight a master or professional artist in the episode's featured fighting style.
Fighting styles examined include Muay Thai, Eskrima stick fighting, Karate, Judo, Kung Fu, Ninjitsu and Taekwondo.