What to say if you liked it

A glimpse behind the veil of the secrets of martial arts – a complex system of energy and spirit elucidated through entertaining demonstrations

What to say if you disliked it

A succession of macho tricks dressed up in ornate oriental mysticism wrought to fool a gullible occidental audience sired on a pallid diet of Jackie Chan flicks

What was good about it?

• Presenter Chris Crudelli stalking the streets like a squat David Blaine showing members of the public how martial arts moves, such as chopping in half blocks of concrete, are performed

• The unhinged characters who Chris meets on his travels in the Far East, the best of whom so far is Master Sasaki. The man with bulging manic eyes that make him look like Father Jack Hackett illustrated how shouting can be used as a weapon, tossing back an assailant (and ringing a bell).

• Chris debunks some of the myths behind the martial arts, stating that the feats are totally concerned with physical prowess

• Watching a man pull a truck with his penis. Apparently that’s how some 50-year-old men in Japan keep their carnal conditioning

What was bad about it?

• The members of the public Chris shows off to are sodden with stupidity (bouncers, skateboarders and builders), and so their amazement at his deeds should be taken with a pinch of salt

• Chris panders to some of the myths behind the martial arts, stating that the feats are enabled by an energy force called chi

• Some of the spiritualism such as “the shared experience” between Chris and a woman having a tattoo seemed questionable

• Quite often it seemed little more than a bunch of men showing off how strong they are