Fight School

Last updated

Fight School
Starring Simon Lau (Grand Master)
Clive Elliott (Shifu)
Nathan Lewis (Shifu)
Becky Riggs (Shifu)
Narrated by Lee Boardman
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes8
Production
Running time60 mins (including adverts)
Production company Granada Television
Original release
Network Sky One
Release19 September (2002-09-19) 
21 November 2002 (2002-11-21)

Fight School is a British reality television series broadcast between 19 September and 21 November 2002. It was made by Granada Television for Sky One.

Contents

Filmed in China, it followed a group of martial arts practitioners through a variety of stamina and endurance tasks to determine a winner. Each week one contestant was eliminated after a mixed martial arts bout. [1]

The Fight School contestants were (in eviction order) Andrew Spink, Dominica Oatley, Susan Reilly, Danny Ho, Alex Campbell (left through injury), Don Klass, Alex Hart (known as Allie), M Saville, Toby Russell (replaced Alex Campbell), Emma Ashford and Paul Bernard (winner)

One of the contestants, Don Klass, is the brother of television personality and musician Myleene Klass. The eventual winner was Master Paul Bernard who is World Kickboxing Champion. M Saville recently took part in the newly revamped Gladiators show on Sky One as one of the contestants. Andrew Spink, Alex Hart, M Saville and Paul Bernard all run Martial Arts schools around the uk.

A second series was planned but was cancelled pre-production because of the SARS outbreak which affected South China in 2002–2003.

Contestants

The 11 fighters competing were:

ContestantAgeHometownFighting StylePlace Finished
Andrew21 Devon Tae Kwon Do 11th
Domenica29South West Kickboxing 10th
Susan27 Liverpool Tae Kwon Do 9th
Alex19 Southampton Kickboxing 8th (withdrew)
Danny24 Newcastle Kung Fu7th
Don20 London Wushu 6th
Allie25 London Karate 5th
M21 Manchester Soo Bahk Do 4th
Toby18 Buckinghamshire Tae Kwon Do 3rd
Emma21 Bristol Kung Fu Runner-up
Paul27 Surrey KickboxingWinner

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martial arts film</span> Film genre

Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently featured in training scenes and other sequences in addition to fights. Martial arts films commonly include hand-to-hand combat along with other types of action, such as stuntwork, chases, and gunfights. Sub-genres of martial arts films include kung fu films, wuxia, karate films, and martial arts action comedy films, while related genres include gun fu, jidaigeki and samurai films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Lee</span> Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor (1940–1973)

Bruce Lee was a Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that is sometimes credited with paving the way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA). Lee is considered by some commentators and martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is credited with promoting Hong Kong action cinema and helping to change the way Chinese people were presented in American films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sammo Hung</span> Chinese actor, martial artist, producer, and director (born 1952)

Samuel "Sammo" Hung Kam-bo is a Chinese actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreographer for other actors such as Jackie Chan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Robinson (actor)</span> American actor and professor

Andrew Jordt Robinson is an American actor and the former director of the Master of Fine Arts acting program at the University of Southern California. Originally a stage actor, he works predominantly in supporting roles on television and in low-budget films. He is known for his portrayals of the psychotic serial killer Scorpio in Dirty Harry (1971), Larry Cotton in the horror film Hellraiser (1987), and Elim Garak in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999). He and his wife Irene have a daughter, actress Rachel Robinson, who appeared in Deep Space Nine episode "The Visitor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myleene Klass</span> British musician, television presenter

Myleene Angela Klass is a British musician, singer, television presenter and model. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass has been a television and radio presenter. She has hosted television series including Popstar to Operastar (2010–2011) and BBQ Champ (2015) on ITV and The One Show (2007) on BBC One. She was a regular panellist on the ITV lunchtime chat show Loose Women in 2014 and again from 2024 onwards. In 2006, Klass was runner-up on the sixth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and returned in 2023 for the "all-stars" series I'm a Celebrity... South Africa, which she won.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese martial arts</span> Variety of fighting styles developed in China

Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu, kuoshu or wushu, are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" of martial arts. Examples of such traits include Shaolinquan (少林拳) physical exercises involving All Other Animals (五形) mimicry or training methods inspired by Old Chinese philosophies, religions and legends. Styles that focus on qi manipulation are called internal, while others that concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness are called external. Geographical associations, as in northern and southern, is another popular classification method.

<i>Hong Kong Phooey</i> American animated television series

Hong Kong Phooey is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast on ABC. The original episodes aired from September 7 to December 21, 1974, and then in repeats until 1976. The show was brought back in reruns in 1978 and 1981, and was included in the USA Network's Cartoon Express block throughout the 1980s. The main character, Hong Kong Phooey, is the clownishly clumsy secret identity of Penrod "Penry" Pooch, working at a police station as a "mild-mannered" janitor under the glare of Sergeant Flint, nicknamed "Sarge".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonsdale (clothing)</span> British sports brand

Lonsdale is a British sports equipment, textile and footwear brand focused on boxing and mixed martial arts established in London in 1960. Former boxer Bernard Hart started the brand as a boxing equipment company, but it eventually branched out into clothing as well. The company is named after Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, who in 1891 set up the first organised boxing matches with gloves, following the deaths of three boxers in bare-knuckle fights. As of 2020 the Lonsdale brand is owned and operated by Sports Direct owner the Frasers Group.

<i>Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School</i> Japanese light novel series

Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School is a Japanese light novel series written by Reiji Saiga and illustrated by Sora Inoue. It was serialized in Dragon Magazine from 1997 to 2010. A manga adaptation by the same authors was serialized in Monthly Comic Dragon from 1998 to 2001. A 13-episode anime television series was produced by Gonzo in 2001. It is set in a school called Daimon High, where disagreements among the student body are settled by martial arts matches called K-Fights.

Danny Foster is an English pop/soul singer and television personality, who appeared in the inaugural series of the British television talent-show Popstars, going on to become a founder member of the pop group Hear'say.

A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor.

Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar is a duo of fights starting in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 1 contest which received national acclaim, and was highly regarded among fans as one of the most exciting, greatest and memorable fights in the history of not only the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) but of mixed martial arts (MMA) in general. The bout was voted fight of the year by a poll of over 19,000 readers of the website MMAWeekly.com, and was recognized as the 2005 Shoot Match of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The fight was credited by Dana White as the "most important fight in UFC history". The fight was also voted the greatest fight in UFC history in 2009.

<i>Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple</i> Japanese manga series

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Syun Matsuena. Matsuena first published a manga titled Tatakae! Ryōzanpaku Shijō Saikyō no Deshi, which ran in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday Super from 1999 to 2002. Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is a remake of the series, and was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from April 2002 to September 2014, with its chapters collected in 61 tankōbon volumes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Yuen</span> Hong Kong actor and singer

Benjamin Yuen Wai-ho is a Hong Kong actor and singer contracted to TVB and Shaw Brothers Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Reid (fighter)</span> English mixed martial arts fighter

Alexander Aristides Reid is an English former mixed martial artist (MMA), fighting under Bellator, BAMMA and Cage Rage. He is also an actor, having been in Hollyoaks and making an appearance in Drifters. Reid was the winner of Channel 4's 7th and final series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2010.

<i>Popstars</i> (British TV series) 2001 British reality television series

Popstars is a reality music competition series that was broadcast on ITV in early 2001. It was the first UK series of the international Popstars franchise, and was billed as a documentary on the formation of a modern pop group. The programme began with audition rounds of aspiring singers performing covers of classic songs before a panel of judges. The best performers were selected to come to London for further rounds of auditions. Over the weeks, the judges eliminated various singers from the auditions until just a few singers were left in contention. In the final weeks, five contestants were chosen by the judges to form the new pop group Hear'Say. The programme then showed the group recording and promoting their first single, documenting their first ventures into the music industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snake kung fu</span> Chinese martial art

Snake kung fu is a Shaolin boxing style, one of several Chinese martial arts known as "snake boxing" or "fanged snake style" that imitate the movements of snakes. Proponents claim that adopting the fluidity of snakes allows them to entwine with their opponents in defense and strike them from angles they would not expect in offense. Snake style is said to especially lend itself to applications with the Chinese straight sword. The snake is also one of the animals imitated in Yang-style tai chi, Baguazhang and Xingyiquan. The sinuous, fluid motion of the snake lends itself to the practical theory that underlies the "soft" martial arts.

Zhang Lipeng, is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship. Zhang has also competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He won his UFC contract through an 8-man tournament on The Ultimate Fighter: China.

References

  1. "The Sunday Tribune – Spectrum – Television". tribuneindia.com.