Living History as Cultural Imperialism?

I recently discovered a new TV addiction: the Living History program Human Weapon.

Contrary to the rather meat-headish name, this program is far more than simply watching two grown men step into an arena and beat each other to a bloody pulp. Rather it seeks to enlighten audiences in the history of Martial Arts as its presenters (a Pro-Wrestler and MMA Fighter) travel to different locations around the globe to discover both the physical and spiritual diciplines needed to be a true martial artist. All the fights are real (non-sensationalized) and all the history seems well revised, even going as far as to explain each of the key strikes they are taught with regard to physics, giving insight into how and why these techniques are so damaging.

However, as fantastic a program as Human Weapon is, could it not also be seen as but another attempt by the West to commodify Martial Arts for a mass market. Now I could give you all a long winded account of how the East has been subject to Western media exploitation ever since the days of Bruce Lee, but that is a lecture for another time. Instead, I would like to draw attention to the fact that when I first saw the advertisements for Human Weapon my fears were that it would be nothing more than a remake of a British reality show called Fight School. In this rather Orientalist travesty of a program, a group of prodominently white "students" from various martial arts diciplines were made to live in a clearly fabricated monestary for six weeks and study under the tutilage of a supposed fight master who bore a striking resemblance to Tai Bo idiot Billy Blanks! If that wasn't enough, the show was full of Kung Fu movie cliche's taken straight out of 1970's fiction films like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and offered no historical or cultural grounding whatsoever.

Clearly the program makers who concieved Fight School had never done any martial arts themselves because if they had they would understand that historical and philosophical theories play a crucial role in the teaching of martial arts (particularly Shotokan, Wushu and Tae Kwon Do). It also begs the question as to whether the program was made purely on the assumption that the Martial Arts alone would be enough to bring in the ratings, a myth which over the course of the 1990s was repeatedly proven to be false (if it wasn't Jean-Claude Van Damme would be as much of a megastar as Johnny Depp right now).

This is not to say that Human Weapon is without flaws as a series. Some would argue that, despite its naturalism, the program seeks to romanticise the violent nature of martial arts purely through the fact that it is being shown on TV, coupled with the fact that both presenters are Caucasian Americans, however, unlike Fight School and many of its other predecessors, one does feel that there is a growing sense of respect for the subject matter (a common factor in the screen production process) radiating from the on-screen experiences of the presenters, especially their willingness to put their own egos aside and humble themselves for their hosts. This is particularly evident in episode two when they under go Kyokoshin 'Iron Body' training where Bill (The Wrestler/NFL Player) admits the difficulty he had with "having to stand there and letting somebody punch" him.

Whilst this Worst Jobs In History approach to martial arts in the media is indeed a step in the right direct; it must also be noted however, that Western Media still has a long way to go before it will be able to give a truly accurate account into the nature of martial arts as a historical and cultural entity. Neither Fight School nor Human Weapon express the theory of responsibility in martial arts to a satisfactory degree, or explain the potential dangers that can arrise from teaching them to undisciplined children whose intellect has not sufficiently developed to accomodate or comprehend the deep issues within them. This area still lies very much in the realm of books and the hands of instructors, neither of whom are regarded with much reverrance by the wreckless arrogance of Western youth, and more work must be devoted toward rectifying these problems if the public is expected to treat these fighting styles with more respect than just as something impressive that they see in films or play in Videogames. Still, I highly recommend Human Weapon to any one who has an interest in Martial Arts or in the cultural/colonial histories of Asia.

Human Weapon is currently airing on Fox 8 but can also be viewed via the History Channel's website: www.history.com