# Weird martial art in "The Prisoner" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790 "2009-01-17T22:52:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/1 "2009-01-17T22:52:43Z")
Thanks to the link provided in the [RIP Patrick McGoohan](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=501769) thread, I’ve been watching [The Prisoner on the AMC website](http://www.amctv.com/originals/the-prisoner-1960s-series/). Never saw the whole series before. In the last two episodes I’ve watched – “Hammer Into Anvil” and “It’s Your Funeral”, we see Number 6 engaging in what seems to be a bizarre martial art involving two trampolines, a tank of water and a ledge. Jumping on the trampolines, two opponents sort of cat-and-mouse each other, jumping over the water tank, jumping up onto the ledge, finally trying to wrestle each other into the water tank. They call it something that sounds like “Kahsha”. Was this made up for the show, or was it a real martial art? Anybody ever heard of this? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/2 "2009-01-17T23:10:21Z")
Kosho! Completely made up, almost certainly by Mr. McGoohan. Deleted Wiki [page](http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com/w/index.php?title=Kosho_(The_Prisoner)_(deleted_05_Apr_2008_at_05:47)) about it. [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTqAfJYWe58) of a match. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/3 "2009-01-17T23:23:05Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Kosho! Completely made up, almost certainly by Mr. McGoohan. > Deleted Wiki [page](http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com/w/index.php?title=Kosho_(The_Prisoner)_(deleted_05_Apr_2008_at_05:47)) about it. > [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTqAfJYWe58) of a match. > > CMC fnord! Wow boring, the actual grappling occurs on the ground. I guess they never double-jumped someone to take the trampoline out from under their feet. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/4 "2009-01-17T23:33:10Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Kosho! Completely made up, almost certainly by Mr. McGoohan. > Deleted Wiki [page](http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com/w/index.php?title=Kosho_(The_Prisoner)_(deleted_05_Apr_2008_at_05:47)) about it. > [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTqAfJYWe58) of a match. > > CMC fnord! Thanks! Nothing like the SDMB for getting obscure cultural knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/5 "2009-01-17T23:33:51Z")
One of the saddest things I have ever seen in my life, in an uproariously hilarious way. I mustn’t have seen that episode as a kid, or my subconscious has blanked it out. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/6 "2009-01-18T02:27:54Z")
That was…really something. Sort of Dada. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/7 "2009-01-18T02:40:03Z")
Whatever you call it, it’s awesome. I’d love to try Kosho. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/8 "2009-01-18T02:52:38Z")
You know, I originally read one word in the thread title a completely different way than it was supposed to be read. And it REALLY, REALLY changes the meaning! I just stopped and wondered how the hell they could show that on TV in the 60s… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/9 "2009-01-18T17:05:59Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Kosho! Completely made up, almost certainly by Mr. McGoohan. > Deleted Wiki [page](http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com/w/index.php?title=Kosho_(The_Prisoner)_(deleted_05_Apr_2008_at_05:47)) about it. > [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTqAfJYWe58) of a match. > > CMC fnord! Oh, my stars. They look like two little Inuyashas. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-martial-art-in-the-prisoner/481790/10 "2009-01-18T17:41:03Z")
I guess the idea was to come up with some form of competition that was unlike anything in reality and on a limited budget. This was well before “American Gladiators” started doing the same thing.