Fight Science Season 1, Episode 3: Self Defense

Pilot

Mixed Martial Arts

Analyze the unique fighting styles of legendary UFC champions like Randy Couture, Bas Rutten, Tito Ortiz and Dean Lister. Compare their strengths, advantages and limitations.

60 min

Special Forces

Special operations are elite military units trained for unconventional warfare. Now these warrior athletes are put to the test by science and cutting-edge technologies to exhibit their maximum capabilities under the most adverse circumstances.

60 min

Fight Like an Animal

For centuries, martial artists have been inspired by the animal kingdom. But can a human strike as fast as a snake, be as nimble as a monkey or as powerful as a tiger? The Fight Science team tests whether kung fu experts stack up against their animal counterparts.

60 min

Stealth Fighters

The Fight Science team explores the deadly art of stealth fighters, from hidden defenses to infiltration and escape skills - and discovers some results that defy science. Experts in Brazilian capoeira, karate, tae kwon do, and muay Thai kickboxing execute hair-trigger techniques that push the limits of human ability. A martial artist demonstrates evasive maneuvers and a Shaolin warrior breaks a steal-tipped spear aimed at his throat, allegedly by manipulating the body's powerful energy.

60 min

Human Weapon

What techniques can the average person use to survive a life-or-death confrontation? To examine methods of turning victims into victors, a team of self-defense experts employ a variety of advanced biomechanical sensors, high-speed photography and 3D animation in the custom-designed lab. You'll see how experts predict an attack before it happens, and how they prevail in a fight even when they are outmatched applying force to vulnerable points on an assailant's body.

60 min

Super Cops

They keep our streets safe using high-tech equipment, knowledge of human behavior and nerves of steel. But a cops number one challenge is surviving - and not killing anyone in the process. In a life-or-death situation, can technology determine who fails and who lives to fight another day? SWAT put police techniques and equipment through the ultimate stress test.

60 min

Ultimate Soldiers

Special operations forces are an elite breed of soldiers with the ultimate military training, superior physicality and extraordinary mental ability, especially under stress. The Fight Science team of scientists push these legendary fighters past their breaking point. A sniper is challenged to shoot between heartbeats while enduring temperature extremes inside a glass box. An Air Force pilot and an Army Ranger are spun in a gyroscope to test their ability to fight spatial disorientation.

60 min