Phillip Starr, a fifty-year veteran of Chinese martial arts and founder of Yilichuan kung-fu, has offered Martial Edge a vital insight into his life and teaching upon the release of his debut novel, The Making of a Butterfly. The book focuses on Philips first kung fu teacher, Master W.C. Chen, and offers a great insight into how Chinese martial arts were taught and approached at a time when people were unfamiliar with its concepts and philosophy.

Martial Edge: With the growth of mass-marketed kung fu schools across the western world, do you feel that Master Chen was one of dying breed?

Phillip Starr: Yes, I believe that he was definitely one of a dying breed and he knew it. It's very sad. Most of his generation is gone now, along with the arts they taught. Much of what we see nowadays is only the outer shell of what they practiced.

The real substance; the spirit with which they approached their own training, is largely gone. For Chen and his generation (and those before him) training had nothing to do with who could do the prettiest forms, who knew the most forms, or any of that sort of thing. What mattered was what you developed inside and your ability to use it effectively.

Martial Edge: As a teacher, what traits taught by Master Chen have you encouraged within your own teaching. Do you still teach your style of Chinese kung fu in the old, traditional way?

Phillip Starr: Oh, yes - I teach my students in the same manner as I was taught. Master Chen was a stickler for basics, for realism, and he insisted that we approach our training with a very serious attitude. In my own school I emphasize the importance of self-discipline and the training is extremely rigorous. At the same time, however, there is a very strong sense of camaraderie, of family.

We don't use padded gloves or footgear but even so, the number of (serious) injuries we've had in more than three decades can be counted on your fingers. Discipline, the development of fine technique, and self-control are the keys.

Master Chen required all of us to practice regularly outside of class and I expect my own students to do the same thing. I believe that this is the only way to develop real skill but in our modern, fast-paced world students are more easily distracted and many of them feel that they just don't have the extra time to devote to personal training. That's really unfortunate because they will never develop a very high level of kung-fu.

Martial Edge: How far do you feel Western attitudes towards Chinese kung fu and culture have changed since you first practiced with Master Chen?

Phillip Starr: Oh, it's changed a lot! When I first began my training, Judo and karate clubs were very few and far between and there were absolutely no (commercial) kung-fu clubs at all. Chinese martial arts were almost never taught to westerners and this only added to its mystique. Kung-fu was regarded as a very mysterious, deadly, and secret form of fighting.

Naturally, everybody wanted to learn it and there were a few instructors who claimed to be kung-fu masters but the real art remained hidden for some a long time.

Nowadays, all you have to do is open the telephone book and there are all kinds of kung-fu schools listed. You can even go to China itself and train with any number of instructors. When I was young, this was not possible.

The mystique is gone but I think the real art is still almost as difficult to find now as it was some forty or fifty years ago...even in China.

Martial Edge: Martial Edge attracts readers from all abilities and disciplines what advice, as a teacher, would you give to a beginner reading this who wants to take up a martial art?

Phillip Starr: I would suggest that the prospective student should first determine just why he or she wants to undertake the study of martial arts in the first place. What do you want to get out of it? Look into your own heart. Do you really want it? How badly do you want it? Why?

Look around at various martial arts schools. This is a wonderful opportunity that didn't exist when I was beginning my training. Don't just opt to go to a particular school because it's the closest or the least expensive.

Speak to the head instructor. He may rattle off a bunch of titles and such but look into his heart. What kind of person is he? Can you learn from this person?

If possible, ask if you might try out a class or two to see if you, the instructor, and the art he or she teaches are a good match. In some ways it's like a marriage. You don't want to just jump in with both feet without getting to know your partner first!

My teacher once said that the cleanliness and condition of a school reflects the quality of training done inside it. That's another thing to consider.

Take your time. After all, you're going to be placing your trust and possibly your life in the hands of the instructor. Don't hurry and don't let anyone hurry you.

Martial Edge: Do you plan to write more in the future? If so, what can Martial Edge expect to hear from you next?

Phillip Starr: Oh, yes - I plan to write about various aspects of martial arts such as the scientific principles involved in traditional technique. This is an area of martial arts that isn't well understood nowadays. I'd also like to write about relatively unknown concepts and principles of fighting as they pertain to traditional Xingyiquan and Baguazhang.

A lot of the old, traditional training methods have been tossed by the wayside and neglected or forgotten altogether because some teachers are afraid that such tedious or rigorous training will cause students to quit. This kind of attitude is killing the traditional martial arts and I plan to do all I can to preserve them.

I can reach many, many people through my writing and I hope to publish numerous other titles. And I very much appreciate your allowing me this opportunity to speak to our current generation of martial arts practitioners! Martial Edge is a wonderful magazine and contributes greatly to the preservation of the real martial arts.

I look forward to coming back again!

The Making of a Butterfly is available now on Blue Snake Books.

Author Profile: Ben Johnson

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Ben Johnson is the Chief Editor of Martial Edge. He has worked for the website since 2005. Click on Ben's profile to find out more information

Also by Ben Johnson:

• The Role of Grappling in Self Defence
• My School: Natasha Hookham
• Lengthen Your Line

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Keywords : Phillip Starr, a fifty-year veteran of Chinese martial arts and founder of Yilichuan kung-fu, has offered Martial Edge a vital insight into his life and teaching upon the release of his debut novel, The Making of a Butterfly. The book focuses on Philips first kung fu teacher, Master W.C. Chen, and offers a great insight into how Chinese martial arts were taught and approached at a time when people were unfamiliar with its concepts and philosophy.

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