Fight Science is a television program

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 shown on the National Geographic Channel

National Geographic Channel

National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...

 in which scientists and martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 masters work together to analyze the world's fighting techniques, to compare the disciplines and to find out which one has the strongest hits, kicks and deadliest weapons. The show also tries to prove through science if certain legends in fighting are possible, such as whether a one-punch knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

 is possible or if ninja

Ninja

A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

 are as nimble and deadly as stories tell. There is also a feature on human strength, wherein a man hits his head on bricks in order to shatter them. The show had several spin-offs including Sport Science.
Narrator is Robert Leigh.

It featured fighters including Rickson Gracie

Rickson Gracie

Rickson Gracie is a Brazilian 8th degree black and red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin and Royler Gracie.-Biography:Rickson...

, Bas Rutten

Bas Rutten

Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...

, Randy Couture

Randy Couture

Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...

, Alex Huynh

Alex Huynh

Alex Huynh is an Vietnamese American martial artist and stunt man. He was born on September 7. He specializes in wushu, training at the United States Wushu Academy, and lives in Southern California, after growing up in Roanoke, Virginia and attending Northside High School.As a stunt man, he appears...

, Amir Perets

Amir Perets

Amir Perets is an Israeli-born mixed martial artist, an entrepreneur, and an active participant in Fight Science featured on the National Geographic Channel...

, Mindy Kelly, Bren Foster, Amir Solsky, Glen Levy and Dan Inosanto

Dan Inosanto

Daniel Arca Inosanto is a Filipino-American martial arts instructor from California who is best known as a student of the late Bruce Lee and authority on Jeet Kune Do Concepts.-Martial arts:...

.

Legend tests

• The agility of a martial artist practicing ninjutsu (Glen Levy) was confirmed by revealing that one's center of gravity was constantly shifted to balance properly within the limit of the foot. It can be done but takes much practice and possibly years of training.
• The one-punch knockout and shattering bricks with one's head were confirmed, but only as a perfect shot, and therefore unlikely to be seen in a real-life fight.
• The so-called "death punch" performed by ninjutsu practitioner Glen Levy was mostly confirmed. Delivering a precise type of hammer-fist blow to the chest deflected the ribcage 2 inches into the chest cavity, causing damage measuring 0.8 in Viscous Criterion (a measurement of soft-tissue damage).
• The Iron Shirt defensive body technique was demonstrated by a Shaolin
  Shaolin kung fu
  Shaolin Kung Fu refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery.Of the multitude styles of kung fu and wushu, only some are actually related to Shaolin...
  
   warrior monk, who was hit with a wooden staff across the back while he was pushing down on a sharp spear by the base of his throat at over 2100 pounds of force that would have killed an ordinary man, and yet was unscathed and unbruised.

Weapon tests

All weapons were rated on range, control and impact.

• Eskrima sticks and the bō
  Bo
  -People:*Bo , name origin, plus people with the name*Bo , name origin, plus people with the surname**Bo , Chinese family names*Bo people , extinct minority population in Southern China famous for hanging coffins...
  
   were revealed to show extension of range and good control, but would break if sufficient impact was delivered.
• The nunchaku
  Nunchaku
  is a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.-Etymology:The Japanese word nunchaku is the Kun'yomi reading of the Kanji term for a traditional Chinese two section staff....
  
   and the three section staff showed good extension, but it was revealed to be out of control for a fraction of a second after striking an opponent and some of the impact was absorbed due to its flexibility.
• Shuriken
  Shuriken
  A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
  
   and Bows
  Archery
  Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
  
   were really only effective at long-range rather than close-up because once the shuriken was thrown or the arrow released, it was completely out of the user's hands.
• Swords
  Swords
  A sword is a cutting/thrusting weapon made of metal. Sword or swords may also refer to:* Swords, County Dublin, Ireland* Suit of swords, a suit in Latin-suited playing cards and Tarot decks* SWORDS, a ground-based military robot...
  
   originally came in two variants: stabbing (like a rapier
  Rapier
  A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
  
  ) or slashing (like a scimitar
  Scimitar
  A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
  
  ), but the katana
  Katana
  A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
  
  was proven to be highly effective at both.

Criticisms

Rhett Allain, professor of physics at Southeastern Louisiana University criticized the program for, among other things, failing to consider the weight of each practitioner in their analyses. Even though the boxer had the strongest punch in one program, he was also the largest of the participants. Allain asserts Fight Science should have normalized the results with a force of the strike/weight of the striker ratio. Furthermore, the Kung-Fu practitioner had the “weakest” punch, but he was also the smallest participant.

Episode list

Several follow-up episodes were released which focus on more specific fighting techniques and associated myths.

1. Mixed Martial Arts - 2006
2. Special Forces - 2007
3. Fighting Back - 2008
4. Ultimate Soldiers
5. Fight Like an Animal
6. Stealth Fighters - 2010
7. Human Weapon - Feb 18, 2010
8. Super Cops - Feb 25, 2010