Fight Science

That's the title of tonight's two-hour TV special on the National Geographic Channel (DirecTV 276; Dish 186) from 9-11 p.m. (ET).

From Nancy deWolf Smith's August 18 Wall Street Journal review:

Answers two of the burning questions of all time: In the world of martial arts, which discipline has the edge in strength, agility and hitting power: boxing, kung fu, karate, jujitsu, tae kwon do, wushu or muay Thai kickboxing? And what is the most efficient and deadly weapon in the martial-arts arsenal? A ninja throwing star or a Chinese straight sword? A nunchuk or a Samurai katana?

Using advanced motion-capture technology, sensor-laden crash-test dummies, and some of the world's leading martial artists, "Fight Science" shows us the biomechanics of it all. Who's best at what? I don't want to give too much away, except to say that a boxer's punch can generate nearly 1,000 pounds of force; a kung fu expert can hit four times faster than a snake can strike; and a muay Thai kick to the chest is as destructive as a 35-mph car crash.

Suffice it to say that the dummies take a brutal beating and then — once the swords and other weapons come out — get hacked into tiny, quivering chunks.

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Watch a preview here.

Listen to podcasts here.

Wait a minute... what's that music I'm hearing...?