Newsgroup: it.sport.arti-marziali
Titolo: M A R T I A L A R T S : T H E R E A L S T O R Y

    M A R T I A L  A R T S :  T H E   R E A L   S T O R Y
    T H E   L E A R N I N G   C H A N N E L  -  JULY 7TH, 2000
    At 9:00pm to 11:00pm
    Repeats at Midnight to 2:00am
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Beyond the popular imagery created both in Hollywood and Hong Kong, there
exists a little known world of secret martial techniques. From the mist
shrouded hills of China to small backwater villages in southern India,
fighting techniques have been developed that require silent devotion,
zealous commitment and above all, fighting spirit.
MARTIAL ARTS: THE REAL STORY will take a look at a wide variety of
techniques, and their practitioners. From the legendary "Beast of
Amsterdam," Jon Bluming, whose fists are well-known to the denizens of the
Red Light District, to Nan Don Sken, a Thai Boxer whose high flying kicks
can easily fell an opponent twice his height, this program is not about
Hong Kong myths and Hollywood legends - it's about the "real thing." What's
the real thing? Well, they're fighters who can't afford to do endless
re-takes on a Hollywood set or who only put on padding and gloves to
compete in the ring. These are street-hardened brawlers who know that real
fights are over in a matter of seconds, and it's the fighter who gets in
the first blow that will usually walk away.
But mindless kicking and punching is not what most fighting systems are all
about. Many martial arts are deeply ingrained in the folk and religious
traditions of cultures around the world, and many emphasize that the same
techniques that can kill an opponent, can also be used to heal -- and that
fighting prowess goes hand in hand with self-control and compassion.
MARTIAL ARTS: THE REAL STORY underscores an essential, yet rarely
acknowledged martial arts principle: the greatest masters never have to
fight. They can, and they will, but they just don't have to. In the words
of the late "Vee-jitsu" master, Florendo Visitacion, "the truly powerful
are those who are also restrained."
Although many Americans are familiar with traditional forms of karate or
judo, MARTIAL ARTS: THE REAL STORY explores some of the lesser-known but
equally effective techniques from around the world, including the fighting
forms of Chinese "grand ultimate boxing," T'AI CHI CHUAN; the deadly and
ancient art of Indian KALARIPPAYATTU which some claim may be the world's
oldest martial art; French "foot fighting," SAVATE, which grew to fruition
on the tough Marseilles waterfront; and the athletic Brazilian CAPOEIRA,
which African slaves disguised as a dance to fool their Portuguese
overseers. Relatively unknown forms of the world's oldest martial art,
wrestling, will be explored, including the centuries-old styles of
grappling like Viking GLIMA, which is still practiced in Iceland today, and
traditional backhold CUMBERLAND WRESTLING in England, which eschews WWF
theatrics in favor of down and dirty tussling.
MARTIAL ARTS: THE REAL STORY also goes behind-the-scenes with CBS TV's
popular Martial Law series, to watch how Hong Kong's celebrated action
star, Sammo Hong, brings his unique fighting style to the small screen. And
in contrast to Hollywood, our cameras capture the no-holds barred
hand-to-hand training of US Army Airborne Rangers preparing for the next
conflict.
MARTIAL ARTS: THE REAL STORY presents rare footage, some of it never seen
before, including silent newsreels of judo demonstrations in Europe; black
and white film of famous masters of the Chinese "soft" arts performing in
Taiwan, even footage of the most famous T'ai Chi practitioner, Cheng
Man-Ch'ing.
MARTIAL ARTS: THE REAL STORY will go to the heart of disciplines with roots
deep in the past, developed through centuries of experience in life and
death struggles. Often, truth is stranger than fiction; the reality of the
fighting arts is far more compelling than the caricatures frequently
presented to the public.
MARTIAL ARTS: THE REAL STORY features interviews with Robert W. Smith, an
ex-CIA agent whose books were among the earliest to shed light on the often
murky and misunderstood world of martial arts, and Joseph Svinth, a former
marine, martial arts practitioner and historian, whose research has
unearthed some fascinating and long forgotten anecdotes, including the fact
that even Teddy Roosevelt had a Japanese judo instructor in the White
House.

     T H E   L E A R N I N G   C H A N N E L  -  JULY 7TH, 2000
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