Kicking, Punching and a Podcast
February 12, 2007Andy Baker - Creative Director
As a fan of mixed martial arts and boxing, I love watching, participating and talking about combat sports. And the first time I saw a 3 minute teaser for “Fight Science”, I knew that THIS show was going to be right up my alley. My name is Andy Baker, and I’m the Director of the National Geographic Channel Creative department. What that job title really means is that I make promos and commercials for the National Geographic Channel – and I was not going to miss out on the opportunity to work on. “Fight Science”.
About a year before I had even seen a cut of the film, I saw this teaser “trailer” for the show at a meeting – it was incredible because not only did it showcase MMA fighters, it was essentially a competition 
between the different fighting disciplines to see which one (karate, kung fu, boxing, ninjitsu, muay thai, tae kwon do, capoeira, etc) was best at certain aspects – kicking, punching, power, speed, reflexes, balance, and so forth. It was so cool for me to see scientific data about these legendary techniques – and I wanted to capture MY own excitement for the show and hopefully get other people excited about it in promos as well.
We started with producing a promo for the show, which basically entails writing a script that sums up what the show is about and getting people interested in the topic (sort of like movie trailers you see). Then we take clips from the show and edit them together with some music and graphics and hopefully the viewer at home is interested in the show and wants to watch it on TV. As we were in the final stages of making the promos, (which usually start running about a month from the airdate) we realized that we had an opportunity to get some of the key martial artists in one place at one time for an interview – which we could edit into a podcast and make available for real “die-hard” martial arts enthusiasts online and even on the Apple iTunes site...and I thought it might be really informative and fun to get the principals together in one room and just talk about the show – how they got picked, what they thought about the process, etc. So once the logistics and technical details were all worked out, I flew out to LA where they were all gathering for a convention and basically we all sat down in a suite at their hotel with a sound engineer and about 9 microphones. We unplugged the phones (although one rung in the middle of the recording – if you listen carefully, you might hear me scrambling to unplug it!) and everyone started talking about their experience filming the show. We knew we wanted to turn this interview into about 3-5 individual podcasts to be available online, and I was just hoping that we would have enough to talk about. 
Well, that wasn’t a problem – they ended up talking for about 2 hours – and they probably could have gone on even longer! With about 12 people (most of them fairly large athletes) in a small hotel suite and technical equipment, it got a little warm in there pretty quickly. By the end of the 2 hours, everyone was a little uncomfortable. The funny thing was, they were actually laughing about it because apparently during the filming the studio was incredibly hot, what with 15-20 athletes and way more equipment on the set. So I guess it could have been worse.
What struck me during the interview was how these crash test scientists, show producers and elite martial artists were all so close. They laughed and joked around with each other, but underneath it all there was an incredible amount of respect that everybody had for one another. The ‘moderators’ of the interview were the show’s two producers – Mickey Stern and John Brenkus - and they did a great job. And everyone was even nicer than I could imagine – they chatted with me about their experiences, I shared with them my love for boxing (and made sure to rub it in a little that, according to the show, the boxing punch was the most devastating) and really felt like I made some great friends out of the process. When it was all over, I flew back to DC to edit the podcasts - hoping that everyone who listened to them would be as excited about this great show as I was.
Fight Science Downloads:
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Episode Four
Episode Five
Comments (24)
this show was awsome you should do more shows about this stuff.am only 17 and i love watching this stuff.
Posted by brenda ruiz | February 12, 2007 9:51 AM
great show! i hope young people were watching.
Posted by celly | February 12, 2007 1:45 PM
This is a great show, i hope that you continue to show these kind of programs.I had my 15 year old sit down & watch it with me & it just gives them an idea of how it can be. Great program!!
Thank you
Posted by Liz | February 13, 2007 12:16 PM
Would like to see more on
the women's prison this
show might help some of these young girls that is
in gangs this show is telling them that they are
on their way to prison if
they don't stop now.
Continue to show the prison
Thank you
Posted by eilleen | February 16, 2007 8:28 PM
Fight Science has some interesting moments, but it ultimately misses the target on a few items. First and foremost is that the Kung Fu guy is a Wu Shu practitioner, not a traditional martial artist. What does that mean? He’s a performer, not a fighter. Also, the reaction time bit is interesting, but that is not why some martial artists seemingly read their opponents’ minds. Lastly, the power tests are pretty bogus, even the boxer mentions that the bigger the fighter, the harder they can hit. The boxer was probably a heavy weight, the TKD guy and others middle weight, the Kung Fu guy was a light or feather weight class. No real comparison there for a “scientific” study of power production. I could go on…
Posted by Marc | March 9, 2007 5:29 PM
I am a practising karateka and have been training for 21 years and found the programme extremely interesting and informative. I have recommended that my students watch this next time it is on. I would agree with Marc that the power tests could be thought out a little. These tests are great if you wish to find the static power, but what if the opponent is coming toward you, surely this would then increase the power delivered form the technique, especially if it was delivered with the correct timing and form. Other than this the programme was excellent, more programmes about the martial arts please.
Posted by Derek | April 5, 2007 7:33 AM
Very interesting. Clearly not a study of each particular fighting style, but rather a testament to what an individual fighter can do. I especially enjoyed some of the less common, more "mythical" arts like Ninjitsu, but I was disappointed that you didn't feature capoeira more. You only showed the capoeirista doing the handstand in the beginning and that was it. I'd like to see more on balance using capoeiristas, and more on capoeira in general.
Posted by Jaz | April 20, 2007 12:25 PM
Hey,
I love what you'e doing!
Don't ever change and best of luck.
Raymon W.
Posted by RaymonWazerri | April 20, 2007 9:15 PM
I LOVE MARTIAL ARTS AND I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS ART BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL.
THANK YOU,
PRANAV
JUNE 22,2007
Posted by PRANAV N. THAKUR | June 22, 2007 1:36 AM
First off, I loved it. It was almost everything I was hoping for. The science behind the movements was amazing, especially that knee from the Muay Thai guy. Just wondering... You showed a few clips of capoeira in the show. but the art was mentioned in the show at all. Why?
Posted by Russ | June 29, 2007 5:12 PM
I'm kinda dissapointed how they let down karate. The karateka was noone I have ever heard of before, no background was given and they didn't even specify the karate style he used. And what's with that red karategi? Why not traditional white? And why wasn't it someone Japanese for that reason? I mean they do have a Chinese doing Wushu. They really praised TKD while TKD is very similar to karate and at the same time younger as a MA. And finally they dropped Capoeira. Why? Was it too weak or what?
All in all, it was an interesting show but in no way did it objectively examine the realationship between MAs. Anyway, to sum up, there are no better Martial Arts but there are better Martial Artists.
Posted by hotora | July 27, 2007 7:08 AM
Will you have Fight Science available on DVD? I missed the shows and would love to own it. Thanks!
Posted by SSF | August 13, 2007 1:11 PM
how can i thicken my bones so that i can be able to break cinderblocks?
Posted by John Moore | September 7, 2007 5:24 PM
I am SO dissapointed i missed this show the first time (or 2) around.
I can't find info on when (or if) it will be aired again? CAN ANYONE OFFER INFO ON WHETHER OR WHEN THIS SHOW WILL AIR AGAIN?????
Much appreciated.
m
Posted by madaline | September 10, 2007 2:47 PM
I am also interested in knowing when a DVD will come out. I saw one that was around 90 minutes, is there more than one episode?
Posted by Joe | September 27, 2007 1:03 AM
When will this show be available on DVD?
Thanks.
Posted by John Tocci | November 21, 2007 9:27 PM
I don't think they'll get around to answering the big question.
The question is: How can someone get fight science dvds??
Posted by Alex Tomlin | December 8, 2007 5:35 PM
What's up with the picture,i can hear only sounds ,it's great show but...
Posted by sretilardo | December 16, 2007 4:27 PM
thought that the show on the ufc fighters was fake. No way couture hits two times as hard as a heavyweight boxer, and the show made them seem invincible. If they hit with that much force the would all have many more knockouts. I think the information that was told to the audience was fake, just like how scientists tested marciano;s punch power and said his hits were as powerful as a tank missle. It's all stuff to make the fighters seem more than human. HYPE
Posted by josef | February 1, 2008 2:26 PM
can you please have the full episodes available online? i want to see the very first episode of fight science, the one with the actual ninja jumping on the platforms. i told my friend and he doesnt believe me!!! i really hope you put up the classic episode. thank you.
Posted by jennifer | February 2, 2008 5:49 PM
sir.
Iam exciting to get it in the net .I need some earlier programmes in cd form,can u help me
thanks
pranjal assam,india
Posted by pranjal sarma | February 14, 2008 1:11 AM
I've been searching for this particular show, not the 2 imitations that have been recently aired, for some time now. Simply asked, "Is or will it be available on DVD?"
Posted by Alex D | March 10, 2008 10:16 AM
When will the NGC Fight Science "Fighting Back" episode air? And is it available on DVD for sale?
Please advise.
Posted by Anton | March 11, 2008 5:07 AM
Is this available on DVD or what? Love it.
Posted by Karen Sarmiento | April 2, 2008 4:03 PM