Martial Edge catch up with Phillip Starr, author of 'The Making of the Butterfly' to discuss the release of his new book, 'Martial Mechanics'. Mr Starr is coming to the UK and Ireland in May to hold seminars, (further details in the Martial Edge Martial Arts forums).

Martial Edge: What can people expect from your new book, and what gave you the idea?

Phillip Starr: I’ve been thinking about writing a book like this for some time. Many of my students have studied other martial disciplines and I am often rather startled at how little they know about real technique; about proper body mechanics, body alignment, and so on. I teach a good number of seminars each year and it’s not unusual for black belts from other schools to tell me that they’ve learned more about martial technique in the first hour of the seminar than they’ve learned in the last five years of their training. It’s very flattering, but it’s also quite tragic.

Our martial arts forefathers may not have been able to quote any of Newton’s Laws of Motion but they certainly understood, in their own way, how these very laws impact martial arts movement and technique! Unfortunately, much of this information didn’t get passed down through the generations and the end result is that we now have many martial arts enthusiasts who don’t really understand the how, what, or why of their chosen martial arts.

I decided that I’m not getting any younger and I honestly feel that it’s my obligation to pass on this information. No doubt, there will be some who disagree with what I have to say but truth is truth and one certainly can’t argue with the laws of physics!

My book presents this information in easy-to-understand language and shows you how to increase the (destructive) power and speed of your techniques, regardless of whether you practice shorin-ryu, Taekwondo, kung-fu or any other percussive discipline. It also teaches you how to use certain principles move faster and with greater stability, how to ensure that the opponent absorbs most of the power of your punches and kicks, and many other items that will dramatically increase the effectiveness of your martial techniques.

Martial Edge: As a writer who likes to draw on his own experiences, can readers expect more humorous anecdotes and personal stories?

Phillip Starr: Oh, yes! In fact, the book includes several humorous anecdotes and also pokes some good-natured fun at the reader. I think it’s the first instructional martial arts book to do so. I just got tired of reading martial arts books that were so…sterile! I mean, I used to duck out of classes in school because the teachers were so boring! I ducked out for a lot of other reasons, too – and my parents didn’t think any of them were quite valid.

But the teachers that made me chuckle; the ones who poked their fingers at me and teased me were the ones from whom I learned the most.

To tell you the truth, I’ve been a bit worried that readers may not like this style of writing but it’s more like the real “me.” So I’ll just have to wait and see how well it’s received.

Martial Edge: How much are elements of science involved in the perfection of a martial art, and do you feel that instructors are failing their students in not teaching them this side of their art?

Phillip Starr: I believe that if one does not fully understand the principles of physics and kinesiology and how they are applied to martial technique, one cannot possibly hope to acquire a high level of skill…not real skill, anyway. The problem is that many of today’s instructors, through no fault of their own, are unaware of these principles and how to apply them. Oftentimes, their instructors didn’t know about them, either!

The students think they’re learning an effective martial art but what they’ve got is just the outer shell – what looks like a martial art on the outside, but it’s empty inside. Let me give a couple of simple examples:

Get out of your chair (really, c’mon…) and pretend to throw a ball just as fast and as hard as you can. If you’re right-handed you’ll see that your right hip rotates forward into the throw. This is a natural human movement and we do it without thinking. I mean, nobody throws a ball without rotating the hip! We throw the ball with the whole body; not just the arm.

And yet, many martial arts adepts don’t rotate the hip properly when they punch! They stand there with their shoulders nice and square and they proceed to punch with the isolated strength of the shoulder!

Now we’re going to do the first movement of Heian Shodan. It goes by other names in various styles of Karate; Ping-An Shodan, Chonji, or whatever. Start in the beginning position, then step to your left in a forward stance and execute a left low block. Come on, you’ve got to get up and do it!

Now look at your left hip. It’s probably pulled back! You likely rotated your right hip forward!!! But – you’re supposed to be blocking and exerting force – with your left arm, right? So, by pulling your left hip back as you blocked you reduced the amount of mass you can put behind that block…and you’re blocking with the force of your arm rather than with the power of your whole body!

These kinds of errors are just a couple out of the hundreds that I’ve seen over the years. This is why some people claim that karate or kung-fu techniques don’t work very well in real self-defense. On one hand, they’re often right but the reason for this failing is that martial art technique is frequently taught and practiced incorrectly. Correct technique works extremely well in self-defense! In fact, it can be downright lethal. After all, that’s what it was originally designed for…

Martial Edge: Some of the oldest martial arts were created thousands of years ago and relied more on the spiritual than the scientific – in today’s scientific age, is there much place for these older arts?

Phillip Starr: I think some arts leaned heavily on “spiritual” concepts to convince their followers that they were genuinely powerful martial forms. In my opinion, physics is physics. One cannot substitute spiritual or metaphysical mumbo-jumbo for physical reality.

The idea of “chi” (aka. “qi”) is one such concept. Now, I happen to believe in chi but not necessarily in the same sense as some practitioners of some “internal” forms. That is, I don’t see chi as a “Star Trek” or “Star Wars” sort of “mysterious force.” It’s really quite natural.

But.

We live in a three-dimensional universe that is governed by certain (physical) laws and as long as we live here, we have to abide by them. I wish I had a nickel for every Taijiquan or Baguazhang enthusiast who told me that they weren’t concerned with learning all of this physics and body mechanics stuff because their chi was powerful enough that they didn’t need it (I practice and teach both of these forms, by the way).

Horsepuckey.

The fact is that fajin (the ability to emit power with intrinsic energy) is not possible unless one’s posture and movement is correct. It’s like trying to run water through a hose, with chi being water and your body being the hose. Incorrect posture or movements put “kinks” in the hose and all you get is a little trickle of water. Adhering to certain principles of physics and kinesiology eliminates these “kinks.”

I don’t believe that any of the original martial disciplines relied very heavily on the spiritual; that’s really more of a modern convention. Some instructors try to tell us different but they’re not being truthful. Aikido is a good example. The original form (as developed by O-Sensei Uyeshiba) was rather brutal; after all, one’s school doesn’t get the name of “hell dojo” because everyone is gentle! Yet, many modern aikido schools have watered down the art so much that it has now become ineffective! They point to O-Sensei’s teachings and his level of spiritual awareness to justify what they’ve done.

Taijiquan is another example. The original forms were very effective and training bordered on the brutal. Push-hands practice was regarded as a sensitivity exercise and wasn’t very heavily emphasized at all. Times have certainly changed…

But if Taiji adepts will learn to apply the proper scientific principles to their art, they’ll discover how to do it correctly and effectively.

Martial Edge: How much have we progressed over the years in creating the ‘perfect martial system’ given our steady development in scientific understanding? Are the newer styles of combat really more efficient than the older ones?

Phillip Starr: Frankly, I think the so-called “newer” styles of martial arts are far less effective than their traditional ancestors. Although we’ve come a long way in so far as our understanding of science is concerned, it usually doesn’t show up in the “contemporary” martial disciplines. If we would simply learn how to apply the principles upon which the older systems are based, we’d see how truly lethal they are! But that’s going to mean swallowing our pride and returning to the state of “beginner’s mind.” For some people, that’s asking too much. Such people will never learn real martial arts…

Martial Edge: What examples have you experienced with regards to learning physics and body mechanics and it helping you overcome an opponent? Does it give you an advantage over an opponent who has learnt their art without taking this approach?

Phillip Starr: It gives me a HUGE advantage over someone who hasn’t learned how to utilize these principles! I can move faster and hit much harder than he can…and with a lot less effort.

A good example is one of my senior students who, through extensive training with these principles, developed the ability to launch a fast and very powerful lunging punch out to a distance of 12-15 feet. What makes it truly effective is that he learned to adjust his timing so that he can fire this same thrust at normal fighting distance (which is 3.5 to 4 feet. His opponent has virtually no chance of defending himself against this kind of lightning punch; he’s hit before he even realizes what’s going on.

People often forget about the American G.I.’s who were stationed on “The Rock” (Okinawa) at the end of WWII and were the first to come into contact with the tiny Okinawan karate practitioners. Marines being what they are, there were frequent skirmishes and the under-nourished 110 lb. Okinawans would sometimes hit a 200 lb. soldier hard enough to pick both his feet up off the ground! You don’t do that kind of thing with raw strength. You have to be able to strike with the force of the entire body.

	Tastes like Chicken Next time you're watching different people do practice their form(s), taste their performances. That's right. Taste 'em. You may find that they all taste pretty much the same. Like chicken - with no seasoning.

Martial Edge: What are the most ‘scientific’ martial arts, and which are not? Which martial arts stress the importance of body mechanics more than others, and does this make them more powerful and effective?

Phillip Starr: It’s hard to say that one art is necessarily more “scientific” than another. It really depends on the instructor and what he has learned. At the same time, there are some arts that have strayed pretty far afield as far as authentic technique is concerned.

I will say that Master Hidetaka Nishiyama of the International Traditional Karate Federation has done a great deal of research in this area and I think that several other high-level Shotokan instructors have done the same thing. Does it make them more powerful and effective? Yes, I believe that it does.

That statement probably won’t make me a lot of new friends but it’s true. One of my dearest friends is Mr. Chris Smaby, who is a 7th dan under Nishiyama Sensei. His technique and that of his students, is really quite exceptional because of Nishiyama’s emphasis on proper body mechanics and the utilization of physical principles.

Internal Chinese systems such as Xingyiquan and Baguazhang are supposed to stress these principles but many contemporary neijia (internal kung-fu) schools have all but forgotten them. I hope my book helps to correct this problem.

Martial Edge: Do you explain for readers how they can adapt methods of body mechanics into their own training? What are the key scientific principals to remember when practicing any form of self defense?

Phillip Starr: Yes, my books explains how the reader can adapt these principles into his/her chosen martial art and it also provides many simple ways of “testing” your technique to see if you are performing it correctly or not. It’s put together in step-by-step fashion and is very easy to understand and practice. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. It’s going to require a lot of work and sweat!

The key principles to bear in mind are to move the body as a single unit and to strike with the power of the entire body rather than with the isolated power of an arm or leg. It sounds simple enough but learning to do it requires a great deal of practice.

I’d like to thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to ramble on about my new book. I truly hope that the members of Martial Edge will enjoy it!

Author Profile: Ben Johnson

View Full Profile

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:

• Massive Shoulders In A Matter Of Minutes
• Wuxia
• Aikido Explained: Shihan vs Hanshi

---

Share Our Martial Arts Features With Your Friends:

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.