Brain-Jitsu
Synopsis
Eight young trainees in the suspiciously made-up martial art of Brain-Jitsu compete in brain activities. Over the course of the hour-long show, they'll use all parts of their brain, aiming to avoid the last place in each challenge, for the loser will take the Walk of Eternal Regret, and no further part in the contest. The remaining players get to progress to the next colour of karate belt, as denoted by the bandana around the circumference of their bonse. Between each round, the remaining contestants practised in the Room of Mental Nourishment which usually acts as a loose training exercise for the next challenge.
The final round was always the Table of Supreme Focus, where they tried to move a ball using the power of their mind - a brain-wave monitor converted brain activity into electrical signals, which moved a magnetic ball along a track. The winner receives the "coveted" black belt.
Brain-Jitsu includes scientific explanations of which parts of the brain were being used, gave worked examples and tips for viewers to improve their performance. Simon Greenall is once again on hand, and cleverly manages to avoid the tricky task of Asian stereotyping by playing the whole thing as a Chinese man with a broad Yorkshire accent. Bizarre though it is, it's funny enough to fly by.
Two things irritate in an otherwise well-packaged show: the producers aren't aware that squares also count as rectangles (duh), and that the correct answer to 4 + 6 ÷ 2 - 3 is 4 not 2 (duuuuh).
