Doug Marcaida Suffered an Injury During the Shooting of Season 4 of 'Forged in Fire'

A life-long martial arts enthusiast, Doug Marcaida developed an interest in weapons during a stint with the U.S. military — and he hasn't looked back ever since. As a judge on Forged in Fire, Doug is responsible for testing the most unique weapons made by an rotating group of zealous blacksmiths. But the job doesn't come without its challenges. Doug suffered a grave injury while on set on at least one occasion. So, what happened? 

Each episode of Forged in Fire sees four blacksmiths show off their skills and create impressive weapons in the hope of obtaining the coveted title of the Forged in Fire Champion and a $10,000 cash prize. The high-pressure environment and the hot temperature inside the studio double as the perfect breeding ground for accidents. None of the contestants have been injured on the set of Forged in Fire so far. The same cannot be said about Doug, however. 

Doug suffered an accident during the shooting of Season 4 of Forged in Fire, after wielding a less than pitch-perfect knife against a dummy. "I was injured during one of our tests. I was testing a heavy blade that was not very sharp against a dry, rubbery ballistics dummy where the shock of the cut and impact injured my rotator cuff," Doug explained in an interview with OffGrid Magazine. 

Doug had to have surgery, leaving him with no choice but to have his arm in a sling in some Forged in Fire episodes. Temporarily unable to use his arm, he relied on others to perform some of the tests for him. Doug shared a Facebook post about his experiences on Oct. 18, 2017. In it, he described the accident as a "boo-boo," before pledging to treat the experience as an opportunity to learn more about his bodily health. 

A lifelong martial arts fan, Doug cemented himself as an expert-level Kali teacher and is the creator of the so-called Marcaida Kali. He also runs a successful YouTube channel that has Filipino martial arts as the focal point. His channel boasts 79,500 subscribers and counting.

"I started as a kid with basics of karate, kickboxing, and Taekwondo, but it was always a side hobby. It wasn't until I discovered Filipino martial arts in my mid-twenties that I really became serious about training. I studied under the several grandmasters and instructors of Pekiti-Tirsia Kali, San Miguel Eskrima, and Kali deLeon, along with exposure to Silat and other FMA systems," Doug told OffGrid Magazine. 

"[Marcaida Kali] is a mix of all my lessons learned, but more so, the process. I teach learning methods. And the final test is to create your own system and call it by your name," Doug said of his practice as a martial arts instructor. 

Doug had to shoot a few episodes of Forged in Fire wearing an arm sling. But one of his co-stars,  Dave Baker, caused a far greater frenzy after showing up on the set of 101 Weapons That Changed the World with an eye patch. 

As he shared in a now-deleted Facebook post, he had to get a metal splinter removed from his eye — which necessitated the eyepatch. Unlike Doug, Dave's injury doesn't appear to have happened during the shooting of Forged in Fire. 

Catch new episodes of Forged in Fire every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on History.