China is one of the oldest civilisations on earth and also has one of the richest backgrounds when it comes to the martial arts.

So when it comes to training the Thunder Squad – A special unit of The Taiwanese National Police, they incorporate a gruelling martial arts curriculum to prepare their men for any situation out in the field. Established in 1985 to, this unit undertakes high-risk arrests and other highly dangerous assignments.

Host Chris Crudelli visited the training academy and sat down with the Director General.

A large number of criminal elements are extremely frightened when they see our SWAT teams appear. The basic difference with our team is their training containing the Chinese martial arts. The person must be subdued in such a way that he can’t attack us, the arrest method includes techniques of Chinese Kung Fu. The Director General explaining the training regimen.

In addition to learning how to wield various side arms and riot gear, their unarmed curriculum shown shows the officers practicing various kicking techniques such as spinning back kicks and sidekicks, a variety of takedowns against incoming attackers, multiple attacker drills, joint locks to subdue their targets on the ground (which also included a brief flying armbar) as well as testing their power and accuracy in a variety of wooden board and tile breaking exercises.

Mind, Body & Kick Ass Moves is a television programme broadcast on BBC Three. Presented by Chris Crudelli. The documentary series travels around the Far East exploring different martial arts and learning the secret skills and knowledge of the ‘Grandmasters’. The series investigates aspects of each different martial art by filming the masters demonstrating their style and skills.

Each episode focuses on a mix of different martial arts and masters and shows Crudelli taking some martial arts and tricks to the streets, in a style similar to street magic.