Interesting. I’m watching the Discovery Channel and this show, “Fight Quest,” is doing a feature on Manila. The two hosts are here to learn about Kali, a form of weapon-based fighting art using knives and sticks. Interesting how they use fencing masks in practice to protect the head for new fighters. One of the hosts mention that this technique was used in Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible and Matt Damon’s Bourne movies.

Um, I don’t know about the sacrifice of the chicken and the dripping of the blood on the Caucasian host. The home gym in the decrepit old building which looks like it’s located in the heart of Manila is creepy too. The host Jimmy says he doesn’t trust having open wounds in the Philippines, as not many surfaces are sanitary.

Apparently, Kali is from Tondo. Jimmy is brought there to train. Hehe, Jimmy has with him a Mercury Drug plastic bag. Jimmy says something totally off in his spiel, that Kali is in the hearts and minds of everyone in Manila. Not really.

The other host Doug is getting pissed off already. He wants to learn and he wants to learn fast but the feels that his Master doesn’t get it and is just trying to inculcate the philosophy in him.

This about the show:

Welcome to the Fight!

Some guys like to fight. The rest of us like to watch.

In each episode, Jimmy and Doug will explore a new location identified with a style of fighting, such as kung fu in Dengfeng, China, and boxing in Mexico City, Mexico. There, after first immersing themselves in the sounds, smells and tastes of the local scene, the two guys will separate to train with local masters of that method — sometimes an ancient art of combat, and other times a modern form of butt-kicking. After several days of intense instruction, Jimmy and Doug will each face off against a local in a no-holds-barred test of skill.

The fighting is real. The injuries are real. In the end, only the best will win.

Don’t miss out on your chance to tour the world through the lens of some of the earliest forms of combat. Join Jimmy and Doug in their Fight Quest every Friday at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Check the TV schedule for additional air times, or to sign up for a reminder.

Welcome to Fight Quest, airing Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT starting Jan. 4. A blend of cultural immersion and good old-fashioned smackdown, the series follows seasoned mixed martial arts fighter Jimmy Smith and 25-year-old rookie Doug Anderson as they travel the globe, adding fight styles from Kali to kickboxing to their repertoire.

The hosts are two burly guys. Doug Anderson (the complainer between the two), is a 25-year-old decorated Iraq war veteran who declares himself a fan of The Clash.

I like Jimmy Smith better. He seems more outgoing and pleasant. He’s a mixed martial artist who says he loves to read.

Where did Doug get his funky sunglasses? They look too hip. After the training, he repents his whiny ways and says that it was an intense cultural experience.

So who wins in their respective fights?

Jimmy loses the knife fight.

Jimmy wins the sick fight.

Jimmy wins the hand fight. Jimmy wins. Understandable, he was way bigger than his opponent. Plus, it’s not like he didn’t have the fighting skills to begin with.

It’s Doug’s turn. Jimmy is shouting from the sidelines while Doug is getting creamed. Doug loses the knife fight.

Doug loses the stick fight.

Doug wins the hand combat.

And I stopped watching. Interesting show though. Who would think that someone like me, not part of their target demographic, would actually stay tuned and watch?