Martial Structure How to Maximize Your Martial Arts Skills through Body Alignment, Movement, and Breathing

A unique guide to becoming faster and more powerful in martial arts through correct body alignment and proper structure, featuring over 100 images

In all martial disciplines—including karate, judo, taekwondo, and gong-fu—real martial skill does not require the development of large muscles or great strength but rather correct posture. Drawing on decades of experience as both a student and a teacher, Phillip Starr focuses on how physical posture affects not only physical abilities but also the mental condition and emphasizes the importance of developing power without exerting unnecessary muscular force. 

Thoroughly and accessibly explained and abundantly illustrated throughout with photographs that provide step-by-step instructions, Martial Structure is essential for anyone wanting to understand how the laws of physics and biomechanics can be harnessed to make them faster, more powerful, and more effective in actual combat.

PHILLIP STARR began studying martial arts in 1956, including judo, Kyokushin karate, Shito-ryu karate, Baixingquan (a form of Northern Shaolin kung fu), baguazhang, taijiquan, xingyiquan, and Filipino arnis. In 1976 he won the United States Karate Association's Grand Championships, becoming the first kung-fu stylist to win the title of National Champion. He is also a two-time winner of the Amateur Athletic Union's Chinese Martial Arts National Tournament. He has authored five books on the martial arts: The Making Of A Butterfly, Martial Mechanics, Martial Maneuvers, Hidden Hands, and Developing Jin, as well as numerous articles for various magazines and e-magazines, including Inside Kung Fu and Truwaza. Starr lives in Omaha, NE.