Conquest

One of the quintessential images of medieval life, the tournament lasted well into Tudor times. Actor and fight master Peter Woodward investigates the purpose of these extraordinary and colorful events and how its many forms--the foot tourney, joust on horseback, the melee--developed from the ancient trial of combat. Our team experiments with weapons and armor designed for tournament, examines the rules of combat and the notion of chivalry, and joins a medieval tournament team for a joust on horseback! TV PG

Actor and fight master Peter Woodward searches museums and private collections for weird and unlikely weapons, then introduces them to our combat team to find out how they were used. We try out a Francisca, the throwing axe that gave the Franks their name; see how armored knights used a ball and chain; and learn the uses of the gruesome awl-pike, bizarre military fork, and the Guisarme, an extremely popular polearm. We also test strange axes like the Lochaber, Doloire, and Waggoner's Axe. TV PG

Actor and fight master Peter Woodward trains for the Orange County Fair's Demolition Derby, where he contends with the craziest drivers in California, all competing to have the last car running--and to take home $2,000 in prize money! For over 50 years, county fairs all over the country have been entertaining spectators with these pulverizing pile-ups, and we'll discover what it takes to put on these junkyard wars. TV PG

One of man's earliest effective hunting weapons, we learn why the bow and arrow became so dominant in history. Our combat team is sent to the woods to make their own as we study the craft of the bowyer and fletcher. We learn about Egyptian bows and try to fire accurately from an Egyptian chariot, and experiment with North American Indian bows--composite bows of horn and wood. And reenactors, using rubber-tipped arrows, recreate what it was actually like to be subjected to a ""cloud of arrows"". TV PG

Actor and fight master Peter Woodward guides viewers back to a time when knowing how to swing an ax meant the difference in life and death. Our experts practice with the Viking single- and double-headed types and learn that in the right hands these difficult and exhausting weapons had no equal. We also examine the berserker, an ax-wielding Viking warrior who worked himself into a state of concentrated fury. Finally, we look at the double-headed Saxon ax that was nearly the size of a man. TV PG

Actor and fight master Peter Woodward returns to the days of chivalry to find out why personal armor developed--from horn and linen to chain mail to full plate. We visit an armorer's workshop to see how it was made, and our expert team tries on various types, including the classic medieval plate armor, to assess their strengths and weaknesses, and tests fighting techniques with various knightly armor-piercing weapons. Then, we put the armored knight in his proper place--mounted on a charger! TV PG

Can actor and fight master Peter Woodward tame the untamable? Find out when we send him to Gary Leffew's Bull Riding School to be trained by a world champion bull rider in the heart of California's cowboy country! Once outfitted in Wrangler jeans, checkered shirt, and cowboy hat, Peter practices on a padded barrel, learning how to balance and relax. After experts demonstrate how to stay on a bull for 10 seconds and make a safe dismount, it's Peter's turn to ride on a 1,500-pound bucking bull! TV PG

With actor and fight master Peter Woodward as guide, we see how the duel developed from trial by combat. The duel of honor was always the gentleman's recourse against slander and insult--in the 16th century, the duel had become epidemic, with half of Europe's nobility injured or killed! Our team investigates the intricate laws of dueling, and in an arranged duel, two team members face off with blunt weapons and eyeguards. We also look at some famous historical duels and the variety of weapons used. TV PG

The ancient world boasted many special weapons, some of which became almost ritualized. Roman gladiators' weapons reflected gods, barbarians, and idealized warriors--of 16 different types! Our team works with tridents and nets, Thracian daggers and bucklers, heavy armor and short swords, no armor and long swords. Just like gladiators, they start with wooden weapons and progress to the real thing. But did the extraordinary styles and skills developed in the arena have any practical purpose? TV PG

Though the newest form of personal warfare is less than a century old, the basics of air combat have changed little since the first soldiers of the sky soared through the air in WWI. Actor and fight master Peter Woodward trains as a fighter pilot at the Air Combat USA School in Fullerton, California, using the latest flight simulator technology and aided by top military pilots. His challenge--prepare for a dogfight to be waged in a fighter plane over the Pacific Ocean against a deadly opponent. TV PG

The classic cut-and-thrust of the Hollywood movies had a basis in reality. The cup-hilt rapier, with its light and flexible blade, did not require a left-hand dagger for defense. This was the sword of the French Musketeers and of the Spanish Conquistadors--the most feared swordsmen in Europe. Our team shows how the art and sport of fencing began with this weapon, and compares the reality of the weapon with the myth of its use. Hosted by actor and fight master Peter Woodward. TV PG

Bodies fly through the air as our team follows wrestling techniques painted on the walls of Egyptian tombs, and looks at Greek wrestling, one of the very earliest and most important sports. We learn how the Greeks invented boxing, and how the Romans developed it for use in the arena. Next, we look at the medieval science of unarmed combat known as ""gripping"". Finally, we examine ancient Eastern methods that used the body as a deadly weapon. Hosted by actor and fight master Peter Woodward. TV PG

Actor and fight master Peter Woodward introduces us to Stone-Age weapons--flint or bone hand-axes, spears, bows, and slingshots--and shows us how to make them and how to fire-harden wooden spears. Paleontologists and ethnographers help us examine the weapons of primitive societies that have survived into our own time--assegais (slender hardwood spears), blowpipes, footbows, and boomerangs. TV PG

Peter Woodward and his team learn what it takes to be in a police SWAT team at the Direct Action Resource Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. They're put through the paces by FBI instructors John Hickman and Tim Williams and drilled in using all the special weapons and tactics employed by America's best hostage rescuers. Peter's challenge--lead his team down a rope from a helicopter, maneuver into an enemy-held building, breach the doors, clear the rooms, subdue the bad guys, and rescue the hostage! TV PG